Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-12-24
LONG OIL STREAM
Mil Soon be Running From Kan
sas Fields to New
York.
SPANS RIVER AND MOUNTAIN
Thousands Of Barrels to Fill It
Some Interesting Facts in
Connection.

Within a few months sluggish
stream of yellow oil will be pulsinS
half way across the continent. says the
Keokuk Gate City. Starting from hed
Fork. il will pursue its course across
Kansas to- Kansas City, across Mis-
souri,. under the Mississippi river and
across Illinois to Whiting. near Chi
cago: across Indiana to Cygnet, ONO,
where II will receive a fresh impulse
from the largest oil pumping station
in the world: across Ohio and the
northwest corner of Pennsylvania to
Olean. " Y. the junction point OF the
different pipe lines. and thence across
New York and northern New Jersey to
the refineries of the Standard Oil com
pany at Bayonne, ~. j., and Newton
Creek. New York City. reaching the
latter by line laid under the Hudson
river. Central park and East river.
One section tn Build.
The only portion of the pipe line
which is to carry this stream which
remains To be completed il that be
tween Kansas City and Whiting. line
of pipe having already been laid from
Red Fork to- Kansas City. Twenty
thousand barrels. the amount requir ID
To- fill il. has been pumped into thc
latter section from the odorous stOraS
tanks in Red Forks. and from II 4
thick. greasy stream is now pouring
forth into the tanks at Kansas City.
There is 4 man TO watch every foot
of all these pipes Little of the oil es-
capes after IL has flowed into these
pipes. From the moment the valve in
the pipe at it's exit from the tank ri
the well is turned the men of the PIPE
line company keep watch of every bar
rel that flows out until IL reaches its
destination in some refinery.
The pipe line is constantly patrolled.
The patrolman's life at times is al
most as tedious and trying as that Of 4
life saver.
Summer or winter the journey must
be made. No matter if the snow lies
several feet deep on the ground. So
every day. Clouds of snow blown hither
and thither by the wind of zero tenn
perature must be faced.
Cleaned with Scrnper.
In order that the flow of oil may not
be decreased by the collection of par
ATTN on the inside of the pipes. a
scraper is sent through them every
two weeks. The scraper is a stem
about two and one-half feet long. hav-
ing at its front end diaphragm made
of wings that can be folded on each
other. and thus enables it To- pass an
obstruction Il cannot remove. This
machine carries a set of steel Scrapers,
somewhat like those used in cleaning
boilers. This piece of apparatus is put
into the pipe and carried along by the
current. Its progress can be followed
by the noise IL makes in it's passage
IL has been found by following the
noise of this machine that the current
of oil moves no faster up hill than a
slow walk. and that one must break
into dog trot sometimes in order to
keep up with il going down hill. The
scraper is prevented from entering the
pumps AT the next station by curving
the pipe and providing a little pocket
at the point where the pipe begins TO
bend. Instead of going around the
bend with the oil. the scraper slides
straight into the pocket and is taken
out.