The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-09-15
GEO B. MCCLELLAN.
An Oil Pipe Three Hundred Miles
Long.
Boston Traveller.

The Pennsylvania transportation COM
pany, of which Mr.. Henry Harry is
president, has been chartered by the
state of Pennsylvania for the purpose of
Transporting oil from the oil regions to
the principal Atlantic seaboard cities.
The plan proposed is to run the oil
through a four inch pipe laid on the sur
face; the forcing power will be nine hun
dred pounds to the square inch there
are to be stations at distances of fifteen
miles, at each of which an engine of one
hundred horse power will be erected to
work pump to continue the flow from
point to point. The company having
decided upon the construction of the
work, the president sought the services
of Gen. Harman Baupt, of HOosac tun-
mel fame, and who, during the war. was
chief of the bureau of military railroads,
and a hydrographical engineer of great
skill and experience. He pronounced
the scheme, after a thorough examina-
ton, to be entirely practicable, and he is
now acting as engineer-in-chief.
In view of the enormous product of
oil in this country-30,000 barrels per
dav-and the rank it now holds among
the leading articles of export, coupled
with the exorbitant charges for railroads
carriage from the wells to the ssaboard
by the completion of the enterprise and
its successful operation, complete re-
volution will be accomplished in the
handling of this article.
Asa proof OF how valuable this traffic
has been to the several railroads over
which the oil has been borne, it is only
necessary to say that up to the present
time the railroad charges aggregate S79,-
600 900. The minimum cost of trans
portation oil by rail is fifty cents per
barrel, and the minimum cost by the
pipe process is sixteen cents. The
average charge by rail is $1.25
The estimated cost of the entire work,
including fixtures, etc, is 81 ,25O,OOO aud
considering the difference in cost be-
tween this method and that by rail, up.
on the hypothesis that the company Will
discount at least twenty-five cents a bar
rel on rail rates, it will readily be seen
that with all the expenses of operating,
the first years earnings will pay the hrst
cost of the work.
The Pennsylvania company Is the par
ent company but there Is also the Baltl-
more transportation company, chartered
by the state of Maryland, and some flve
other companies are expecting to unite;
The first objective point or terminus will
be Baltimore, as being the most feasible
and direct route for the pipes. Follow
ing which other termini will be .estab-
lished, in Philadelphia, New York, etc.
The pipes being laid on the surface lace
and there being no obstacle IN the way
of forcing the oil to any height, the line
will literally be an air line, and the dis
tance from the oil regions to Baltimore
is 800 miles.
The oil will be distributed from the
pines into immense reservoirs with re-
fining establishments adjacent.
The feasibility of this enterprise, so
far as the passage of the oil through
fished bv the present system in opera
ton in the oil regions, where the aggre-
gate length of the pipes, conveying the
oil from the several wells to the reservoir
is nearly $50 feet.