On May 26, 5:51*pm, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:
"John Gilmer" wrote in message
"Bob Noble" wrote in message
.. .
It looks more to me like that is a *bridge used to support a big pump for
some kind of irrigation. *Note the pump in the middle with the overhead
to rise the pump.

I suspect that the "bridge" served to hold a "hydralic ram" which uses the
velocity of the water to pump a small portion of the water to the level of
the surrounding fields.

Nope. *Hydraulic rams need a head of water above the pump so that the water
drops into the ram. *- its the action of the water falling into the ram that
makes the pumping happen.

Odd. My neighbor back when I was kid supplied his entire household
and livestock with one. There was no "drop into the ram" - it ran
purely on the stream flow. I realize I am wasting my time but...

A ram operates by a stream of water in a pipe suddenly being stopped
by a valve. the resultant surge compresses air in the champer which
pushes a small amount of the water into the discharge pipe through a
check valve. Vavlves reset and the flow is reastablished only to be
stopped again. Wash, rinse, repeat. It does not pump much water each
cycle but it operates 24/7. A cycle repeats every few seconds.

You could look it up on the 'net.
Harry K