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Re: Another article about the West Oak. Diesel Shop demolition
Author: R Ruiz
Date: 10-05-2010 - 17:52
On the easy end of the spectrum: A few hand-painted signs, more light fixtures, various pieces of equipment and hardware, some of the building materials (brick, timber, corrugated steel).
In the middle: The remaining wood doors, the steel lattice power line towers/light standards, a steel lattice column.
On the difficult end: One complete bridge crane assembly including the riveted support structure (There was a group interested in removing and reusing this historic equipment), one of the 1874-era roof trusses, an entire bay of brick construction.
They don't make this stuff anymore, and these items were associated with a railroad facility that had been in continuous use for over 130 years. Just about every lay-person I talked to about this building's imminent demolition knew which one I was talking about because of its prominent spot along I-880 and BART, its obvious age, and unique appearance.
Some of the items from the building could have been put to use by a railroad museum, while other pieces could have been a part of an exhibit on the history of the building, and the lesser-known world of railroad shops and maintenance facilities in general. Some of these artifacts could have gone to a museum at Niles, while others could have gone to a future Bayshore Roundhouse museum. Before you laugh at that the prospect, you should know that the roundhouse WILL be a prominent part of the future Brisbane Baylands redevelopment project, and there are real efforts being made to see that some from of museum is established there.
Railroad history is not just about the locomotives and cars. It is also about the people that worked for the railroad and the various environments in which this work took place. As industrial American slips further and further into history, fewer and fewer things remain to remind us of how we built this country from nearly nothing.
My photos of the building from the just before its destruction are here: [www.flickr.com]
In the middle: The remaining wood doors, the steel lattice power line towers/light standards, a steel lattice column.
On the difficult end: One complete bridge crane assembly including the riveted support structure (There was a group interested in removing and reusing this historic equipment), one of the 1874-era roof trusses, an entire bay of brick construction.
They don't make this stuff anymore, and these items were associated with a railroad facility that had been in continuous use for over 130 years. Just about every lay-person I talked to about this building's imminent demolition knew which one I was talking about because of its prominent spot along I-880 and BART, its obvious age, and unique appearance.
Some of the items from the building could have been put to use by a railroad museum, while other pieces could have been a part of an exhibit on the history of the building, and the lesser-known world of railroad shops and maintenance facilities in general. Some of these artifacts could have gone to a museum at Niles, while others could have gone to a future Bayshore Roundhouse museum. Before you laugh at that the prospect, you should know that the roundhouse WILL be a prominent part of the future Brisbane Baylands redevelopment project, and there are real efforts being made to see that some from of museum is established there.
Railroad history is not just about the locomotives and cars. It is also about the people that worked for the railroad and the various environments in which this work took place. As industrial American slips further and further into history, fewer and fewer things remain to remind us of how we built this country from nearly nothing.
My photos of the building from the just before its destruction are here: [www.flickr.com]
