Odessa in Ector County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
El Paso Natural Gas Company's First Compressor Transmission Engine
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 12, 2017
1. El Paso Natural Gas Company's First Compressor Transmission Engine Marker
This compressor went into use in Culberson County, Tex., on Oct. 1, 1931, and served until 1969, aiding in the rise of the southwest as an industrial empire.
This was the first compressor transmission engine at the number one transmission station of El Paso Natural Gas Company, founded in 1928 by Paul Kayser, a Houston attorney.
The pioneer transmission station of the El Paso Natural Gas Company was one of the earliest in the Permian Basin. A cooper-bessemer type 19, this machine is an 800-horsepower horizontal tandem reciprocating compressor engine. Equipped with two 10 1/4-inch by 24-inch gas compressor cylinders, it weigh about 173,000 pounds. It served under load for 152,064 hours, compressing more than 144 billion cubic feet of natural gas in its working lifetime. It conveyed production from fields at Jal, N. M., and in Winkler County, Tex., to city of El Paso and southern New Mexico and Arizona. It was the first machine of its kind in a system that expanded into 22,000 miles of forwarding lines furnishing low-cost energy for industries and households in eleven western states.
Erected 1970 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 1434.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic
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Location. 31° 53.168′ N, 102° 23.275′ W. Marker is in Odessa, Texas, in Ector County. Marker can be reached from Andrews Highway. Marker is at the north end of the Ector County Fair Grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4201 Andrews Highway, Odessa TX 79762, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Cable Tool Rig (within shouting distance of this marker); Permian Basin Oil Show (approx. 0.2 miles away); Permian Basin Fair & Exposition (approx. 0.2 miles away); Odessa Chuck Wagon Gang (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Permian Basin (approx. 0.2 miles away); M.O. Boring, Jr. (approx. 0.2 miles away); E.G. Rodman, Sr. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Tom “Pinkie” Roden (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Odessa.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 12, 2017
2. El Paso Natural Gas Company's First Compressor Transmission Engine Marker
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, November 12, 2017
3. El Paso Natural Gas Company's First Compressor Transmission Engine Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2018. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2018, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 408 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 23, 2018, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona.
