The project to remove material from LA-96 at Van Nuys for use at LA-43 in San Pedro continues.
On February 10th, Los Angeles Air Defense Museum Association members and members of the California Air National Guard's 261st Combat Communications Squadron worked in the rain in an attempt to release the locking bars on the A Section magazine elevator.
As you can see in this photograph, the elevator platform is in the up position effectively blocking access to the magazine from above. The elevator platform is resting on hydraulically operated "locking bars" that support the weight of the elevator platform when in the up position. When this site was operational, a missile was launched from the elevator platform.
Association President Frank Evans, and Project Engineering coordinator, Scott L'Ecuyer had been previously successful in dropping the elevator platform in the C Section Magazine by connecting power to the elevator hydraulic valve solenoids and activating the valves in sequence to allow the 24,000 pound elevator platform to very slowly drop down into place inside the magazine. They have every reason to believe they can duplicate this process in the Alpha Magazine.
But first, the elevator platform locking bars on the A Section Magazine have to be manually retracted
Two of the Air National Guard's truck winches were used to pull the locking bars back to allow the elevator platform to drop down into the magazine. After opening up a hydraulic line to bleed the fluid from the locking bar cylinders, the locking bars were retracted.
One of the 261st's trucks pulls on a locking bar.
Unfortunately, it was discovered that the other two locking bars were also in place and so the elevator platform didn't drop as anticipated.
The other two, larger locking bars will have to be released. This will involve removing the access plates over the other two locking bars and giving this whole thing another go.
On a more positive note, the Safety Kleen Corporation was on hand with a vacuum truck to remove the hydraulic fluid from the B Section and C Section magazines. Safety Kleen was contracted by the California National Air Guard as part of it's on-going program to make sure the sites they are responsible for are free of any hazardous or toxic material that might be a danger to the environment.
Thanks to Scott L' Ecuyer for the photographs.
Update: Today, February 18, 2005, Frank and the crew successfully dropped the A Section elevator platform.
Now, we need the use of a crane with about a 10-ton capacity to lift the pumping units out of the pits and onto a truck.
If you would like to join our project, please call Frank Evans at (818) 562-1515 or sign in at our guest book at our website.
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