Tuesday, October 22, 2013
The Gulf Oil Pumping Station was constructed here in 1931 as part of a crude oil pipeline that stretched from Texas up to the North East.
This facility employed seven full time employees ranging from engineers to telegraph operators. The engineers were responsible for monitoring the oil levels and pressure and maintaining the several large 50 ton, 3-cylinder Diesel engines that powered the pump station. These engines were approximately 12 feet tall and used some of the same oil that they pumped through the lines.
There are three large storage tanks on site to store the oil which came through the lines. These tanks were built with a moat around them in the event of a spill so as to minimize damage to the surrounding area.
This facility operated well into the 60's and was shut down in the late 60's or early 70's. It has been abandoned since. Anyone who gets close to the tanks can still detect the smell of the oil they once contained. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the large engines, nor the station itself except a twisted steel frame and the crumbling brick walls.
1 Comment:
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October 16, 2024 at 12:46 AM
a couple of fun notes on this, long into the future. 1: (I hope this doesn't give away the location too much) this is a pumping station for an old oil pipeline between bartlesville OK and Cincinatti OH that was built sometime in the 20's. 2: at some point in the past couple decades, an ISP company bought the old pipeline and has a fiber cable running through it, bringing high-speed internet to all the small rural towns along the way. 3: there were pumping stations approximately every 60 miles the whole length, although this seems to be the only one with storage tanks. several of the other stations are still extant, although just as many have been demolished (or in one case absorbed into a town's school complex)
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