This is a centrifugal pump - possibly Byron Jackson? - Flat Belt Driven on the Sacramento River.  
This particular pump is usually hidden under water, some times one can see the top of the impeller housing and the remainder of the priming line.
River is extremely low - 38.9' at Colusa when I shot these pictures today.

Notice the concrete Belt Trough -   Discharge pipe is to the left of the trough.  
In all probability this was driven by a PTO on Caterpillar Tractor - possibly Sixty --- reason I believe this to be true - it was on I. G. Zumwalt "home orchard", probably predates Diesel Power.

At one time there were several orchards belonging to I.G. Zumwalt Company along the Sacramento River -  Many of them had centrifugal pumps belt driven from tractors, even up into the 1960's.

For those that do not know -- I. G. Zumwalt was one of the earliest Caterpillar Dealers.
CTS


 

That is an Old one!!  Looks a lot like the old BJ but could be a Gould or some of the similar ones.

 

John,
I suspect that photo of IGZ Decal is one of those I submitted years ago. Probably in one of the postings of Dealer Decals?

RE: Pump and small pipe with half union on the upper end of the volute housing --- yes, that is where they would have pulled the air from the system (Prime) and in many cases even today on the smaller applications they use a hand pump. For example a Douglas or other make with a piston seal and flap (check valve) in the bottom of the piston chamber.
One must remove all air from the pump or risk cavitation problems and ruin the impeller.

The attached photographs are from a Irrigation District pumping plant --- this plant had 3 pumps powered with 150 Hp Westinghouse motors, pumps were rated at 30 Cubic Feet Per Second at 24' head. This particular plant has not run in many years. One of the pictures shows the priming pump on the right side of the motor and the sump pump on the left side.
These plants were all way below ground grade - in a pit - and as evident in these pictures - you can see standing water and the "bathtub" ring where the water has risen over the equipment in the past years.  The suction side of these pumps has been blocked off - the pipes filled with concrete as they penetrate the levee placed for flood protection.
That is why you see a plate and the small pipe rising from the suction side of the intake pipes.

Hope you have taken a trip into yesterday - there are few locations locally that still have intact centrifugal pumps, let alone operating plants. Reclamation District 108 has at least two large plants running centrifugal pumps.

cts

another method is to have a drum or bucket of suitable size above the pump and filled with enough water to prime the system to the pump. a hose with shut off is fitted to the drum and runs to the pump. you simply open valve count to 20, start pump, wait for drum to refill and turn off valve simple and it works they had a old chemical drum for this purpose on the top of the bore pump house at school every few yrs fit another drum as it got brittle from the sun. it was a line shaft turbine pump the shaft guides were water lubricated.

i worked on a 6cyl k series mirrlees-national in a ocean going tug. priming the oil was around 40 strokes on a hand pump till it spilled over in the sight glass. she made 1800hp at 450rpm. she started on 400psi air but full mechanical injection.
my mates boy couldve stood in the cyl mind you he was only 4.

Priming these pumps would take a HUGE reservoir to fill the pump and suction lines!
The belt driven is about 12 Inch suction.
The electric driven have 30 inch suctions and suction is about 75-100 feet from the water in river. Lines must go through a levee and down the river bank.
On many of the smaller pumps, they did use a reservoir to prime them.
CTS