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Photographer: Craig Swain
Taken: July 25, 2008
Caption: Oil House Interior
Additional Description: Many types of petroleum products kept steam engines and the railroad yard running smoothly. Since each type of oil was intended for a different use, a separate storage tank was required for each product.

This oil house's concrete basement contained fourteen storage tanks for various types of oil - car, engine, lubricating, valve oil, mineral or crude, turpentine, gasoline, signal lamp, cylinder and head lamp. Oil "experts" employed by the railroad custom-mixed these oils for use in individual locomotives.

The upper floor of the oil house was divided into two rooms. Next door was a storage room where oil delivered by boxcar in large sheet iron drums, was stored.

Thirteen self-measuring hand pumps, connected to the smaller tanks in the basement, allowed small amounts of oil to be pumped into convenient receptacles. Seven powerful pumps attached to an overhead drive shaft pumped oil from the larger cellar storage tanks as needed.
Submitted: June 8, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.
Database Locator Identification Number: p66437
File Size: 0.797 Megabytes

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