The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-09-08

4ekh men are undertaking Dre9
i'minary work on what win 81
one Of the worlds great pipe
ADes. L Is designed to aid the
national defense program, and
% relieve the oil shortage on the
Atlantic Seaboard caused by the
diversion Of tankships to war
service. Asf
This line win range in size
nom 10 70 "a inches, and it will
carry thousands Of barrels of
81 daily from the fields OF the
Southwest and Central United
States 70 refineries in the New
York area. 1t viii require more
than 100000 tons OF steel and the
labor Of thousands Of men to
build, but ii viii take only d
few months to complete. Once
finished il viii do the work Of
dozens Of tankships.
Pipe Dreams
Many of the pioneers who
enulaied Colonel Drake in pro-
dlacing oil from wells back about
1889 thought of the possibilities
Of pipe lines as a solution for
petroleum transportation prob
lens. They said little about 1t,
for the idea then would have
been regarded as utterly foolish.
After all, Oil Creek was handy
10 the wells and the nearest
railroad was only 80 miles away.
Crude oil could be put in barrels,
loaded upon barges, floated
down Oil Greek II miles 10 the
Allegheny River, and sent on
10 market.
When oil wells began to spread
into the back country of Penn
sylvania and up into the hills,
cooperage shops came into their
own. The only means of reach
ing the Creek was by wagon,
Wagons meant oil in barrels,
and barrels meant business. A
single wagon team sometimes
consisted Of 5000 teams and wag-
ons. and what these oil caravans
did to the dirt roads was a eau
ton. Between oil leaks and rain
some of the roads became seas
Of mud in which horses found
cred, and many shipment was
lost.
transportation Conference
Eventually matters reached .
state which necsesitated action
The petroleum industry, in 1861
held what probably was its firsi
conference on transportation.
Meeting at the Tarr Farm, near
Oil Creek, the OH men discussed
what could be done about wagon
trains laundering, barge cargoes
being lost during freshets, and
other weighty problems.
Heman James, of Erie, had an
idea He proposed that a four
inch wooded pipe be laid in a
trench along Oil Creek and the
oil moved by gravity to the re-
fineries at Oil City 1t seemed
to be an acceptable idea and the
oil men got busy.
However, they had reckoned
without the teamsters. There
were thousands of teamsters,
who did not intend to see their
business destroyed. They talked
with their representatives in the
Pennsylvania legislature, and
the proposal to incorporate a
pipe line company was defeated
as inimical legislation.
Still the idea of transporting
oil by pipe line persisted. Plans
were made for other lines. One
was built, 200 feet long, and Il
worked. Three pipe lines, vary
ing in length from two to three
miles, were built in 1863, and
they worked too. In fact, de-
spite leaks. faulty pumps, and
other difficulties, they worked
well enough to establish pipe
lines as practical
Reality Replaces Dream
Then came historic 1865. BY
this time the roads were in
worse shape than ever Team
sters were charging exorbitant
rates. Oil was being produced
faster than it could be moved,
especially at Pithole.
Samuel VanSyckel, a Titus
vile oil man, had an idea. and
he refused to be silent about it.
Water is pumped up hill and
down to supply Philadelphia
he said to a friend. why can't
we pump oil the same way?p
The idea scarcely was we'll re-
ceivea. Diners at the Morey
Hotel. where he had his meals,
sarcasticalIy inquired: "Can you
make water run up-hill?"
Froends tried to discourage him,
pointing out the folly Of spend
ing a mint Of money on two
inch line from Pithole to MilIer's
Farm on the Oil Greek Railroad,
five miles away.
VanSyckeI was not interested
In making water run uphill; he
was interested only in moving
oil. He began laying pipe Sep