The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-06-29
A DISTRIBUTING POINT.
The Consolidated Tank Line COmpanyIIncreas-
ing Plant and WIN Make This Dstribut-
ing Point for the Southwest.

Some months ago it may be remem bered
that it was given out that the CONSOLIDATE
ed Tank Line company had decided to in
crease their facilities here for handling
oils. The object was to enable the COM
pany to make this distributing point
for western Kansas and the territory, tax
ing in great section of country calling
for many hundred thousand gallons of
oils every week. Up to recently the only
station of the company in the state which
virtually was the distributing point for
the state was at Kansas City, Kan. 1t
was discovered that when Wichita
secured distributing rates giving en-
couragement to the wholesale interests of
the city and made it an inducement to
distribute from this point, the Tank Line
company could be benefited by making
this distributing point as we'll as those
engaged in other business. The company
at the time was having some trouble with
the Frisco road about some land on Fifth
avenue ust south of Oak street, where the
station is located. 1t was not desired to
make any further improvements there
until the land title question had been set
tied. The matter was under fair Roadway
for a settlement when the Frisco went into
the hands of the Santa Fe and owing to
extensive business between the Santa Fe
and the tank line company the matter was
amicably adjusted within a very short
time.
The improvements made for the station
here, to be a distributing point for the
Wichita territory, has cost over 10000,
which makes the station at present cost
over $4,000. The three horizontal tanks
have been moved few feet east of their
former location to give more room. They
are each thirty-two feet long and ten and
half feet in diameter. Adjoining on the
south is a tank on end, twenty feet
high and twenty feet in diameter
and adjoining on the north is a tank on
end, fifteen feet high, and ten and one-half
feet in diameter.
The warehouse is thirty by eighty feet,
two story brick. On the second floor, in
the south end, are the pumps, which do all
the work of handling oils The oils come
in on tank cars or in barrels, and are side
tracked near the warehouse. A pipe is
placed in the tank or barrel on the car and
by means of pipes and pumps the oils are
placed for storage in any tank desired. 1t
remains there until an order comes in from
some point, and by means of the pumps
the tank or barrels on the cars are filled
to comply with the order and the ship
ment made.
The storage capacity since the improve
ment is 13S, 600 gallons. The car tanks
hold 5000 gallons, and each pump can
transfer $4,000 gallons per day, which
gives the plant pumping capacity of
1900 gallons day
up ito within the present year all transfers of
oils have been made by hand pumps.
With this expensive way Of hadling about
one hundred thousand gallons of coal oil
and about the same amount of gasoline
have been sent out to the surrounding
country each month. When the question
had become thoroughly demonstrated that
a distributing station would be profitable
here it was then concluded to put in
machinery and handle all the business
from the southwest at this point and at
the same time be prepared to do it as
cheaply as possible and save time. The
present facilities enabling the company TO
cut off the distributing business from
KANSAS City, Kansas, for the west and
south, will from the first as estimated give
the plant here nearly one million gallons
of oils to handle per month.
The company commenced business here
four years ago the nth of last September
and at lifetime Colonel Lewis Weitzel
was appointed manager. He has held that
position ever since and the increasing Of
the facilities of the company here are
largely due TO his investigation and repre-
sensations to the management.