The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1876-09-01
A. on Pipe 500 mfses Lsss.

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The Pennsylvania Transportation
Company, Of which Mr.. Henry Harley
Is president, has been chartered by the
State Of Pennsylvania for the purpose
Of transporting oil from the oil regions
to the principal AtlIntic scaboard ci.
ties. The plan proposed is to run the
oil through q four inch pipe laid on
the surface the forcing power will be
900 lbs. 10 the square inch; there are
10 be stations at distances Of Is miles,
at each end Of which an engine Of
100 horse power will be erected to
work pump to continueithe flow from
point to point. The company having
decided upon the construction Of the
work, the president sought the SER
vices Of General Herman Haupt. He
pronounced the scheme, after a thor.
ough examination, 70 be entirely prac-
ticable, and is now acting as engineer
in-chief. In view of the enormous
product Of oil in this country-3O,OO0
barrels per day-snd the rank il now
holds among the leading articles Of
export, coupled with the exorbitant
charges for railroad carriage from the
wells to the seaboard, by the compile
ton Of the enterprise and its successful
operation q complete revolution will
be accomplished in the handling Of this
article. As q proof Of how valuable
this traffic has been TO the several rail-
roads over which the oil has been
borne, it is only necessary to say that
up to the present time the railroad
charges aggregate s79,OOO,OoO. The
minimum cost of transporting oil by
rail is so cents per barrel, and the
minimum cost by the pipe process is
l6 cents. The average charge by rail
is 81. 1.25.
The estimated cost Of the entire
work, including fixtures. ETC., is s1,-
$50, 900; aad considering the differ
ence in cost between this method and
that by rail, upon the hypothesis that
the company will discount at least rs
cents a barrel on rail rates, it will
readily be seen that, with all the ex-
penses Of operating. the first years
earnings will pay the first cost of the
work. The Pennsylvania Company is
the parent company, but there is also
the Baltimore Transportation Com
pany. chartered by the State Of Mary
land, and some FIVE other companies
are expecting to unite. The first OBJ
jective point or terminus will be Bal
timore, as being the most feasible and
direct route for the pipes. Following
which other termini will be established
in Philadelphia, New York, etc.
The pipes being laid on the surface,
and there being no obstacle in the way
of forcing the oil to any hight, the line
will literally be an air line, and the
distance from the oil regions to Balti-
more is 800 miles. The oil will be
distributed from the pipes into immense
reservoirs, with refining establishments
adjacent. Of course the whole rail.
road system will oppose it, for it is
taking from them a traffic from the
very nature Of which there could be no
competition; but the advantage to the
oil producers, who will have the entire
control, will be immense, and the ad-
vantages which will accrue from such
facilities to this important branch of
our export commerce will be incalcu-
liable.
The feasibility of this enterprise, so
far as the passage of the oil through
pipes is concerned, has been fully es-
lablished by the present system in
operation in the oil regions, where the
aggregate length of the pipes convey
ing the oil from the several wells to
the reservoirs is nearly $50 miles,
Boston Traveller.