Oil Field Pumping Station

[Mik]

Since many of you model US prototypes, I thought I'd show you my progress on one of my (many) current projects that I'm doing for a build challenge on another board. To save everybody bandwidth, I'll leave many of the pics as links for you to click if you choose or ignore if you wish.

The prototype, or what is left of it, stands in the Allegheny National Forest, near Warren, Pennsylvania. Pumping stations like these were used in older, low production, oil fields before rural electrification. It simply wasn't economically feasible to have an engine for each well, so a central 'power' with a single engine was used to pump up to 20 wells simultaneously, with iron rods reaching from the power house to jacks on the well heads. Generally the wells in these fields, some drilled back in the 1870s, were pumped for 2 to 3 hours about twice a week.

The structures on the Lockwood Lease are typical of a pumping station belonging to the South Penn Oil Company circa 1909. It consists of a natural gas well, an engine house, attached compressor/condensor house, and attached power house. These photos and drawing are courtesy of the US National Archive

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360901pr.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/360901pr.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360903pr.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/360903pr.jpg

The original buildings have been heavily vandalized and stripped of most anything of value or easily transportable.

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360909pr.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/360909pr.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360910pr.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/360910pr.jpg

The model will be somewhat less...disreputable looking. Or at least not quite as destroyed.

One of my first subassembies was actually a bit of modeler's license. - The original Lockwood power had an Olin Engine, built in Titusville. To make one would have required carving masters from wood, then casting the parts in resin. More work than I had the time to do.
Instead I chose to modify an Ertl diecast toy IHC Mogul
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P1300018.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P1300018.jpg
....Into something that will hopefully look like an Evans, which were made in Butler, Pa.
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/evans2.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...uff/derrick/evans2.jpg

Along the way, I remembered why I really dislike cutting Zamac! :thumbdown:
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P1300019.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P1300019.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P1300018_01.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...errick/P1300018_01.jpg

Since the engine was being completed, it was only logical to work on the enginehouse. The original was sided in corrugated iron, I chose to do roughcut lumber instead because I had a lot of coffee stirrers onhand.
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P1310019.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P1310019.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P1310021.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P1310021.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P2010019.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P2010019.jpg

To achieve that careworn look of the original, I used a technique I had never tried before. First I stained the 'boards' with a red/brown acrylic wash
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P2010018_01.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...errick/P2010018_01.jpg
then a black wash
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P2020019.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P2020019.jpg
then a grey/green wash
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P2020020.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P2020020.jpg
then a light sanding with coarse sandpaper along the grain yielded a decrepit looking building, but still not quite what I had in mind...
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P2020021.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P2020021.jpg
The next step was to 'stipple' (I think that is the word) the siding with rubber cement - sounds silly, right?
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P2020022.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P2020022.jpg
then I pretty much just slathered on some white acrylic, I wasn't worried about even coverage, I was just slopping it on. The reason for this will become obvious.
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P2020023.jpg < Link To http://i592.photobucket.c...f/derrick/P2020023.jpg
The last step is where the magic took place. After the white paint was dry, I rubbed off the rubber cement, and sanded the thing again with the coarse sandpaper along the grain, but with a slight twist of the wrist to make a curved pattern typical of a circular sawmill... and:

Not something I'd want to do too often, not because it doesn't work, but worked entirely TOO well, and would be very easy to overdo.

The inside walls of the engine house were sheathed with plain sheet iron as an attempt at fireproofing the structure. Fires in the oil fields were entirely too common, and anything that could possibly prevent one (that didn't cost too much!) was encouraged. The closest I could approximate was aluminum flashing material. I probably should have cut it smaller, about 2" x 2", but I wanted to give the structure additional resistance to damage from 1:1 clumsiness. I may add smaller pieces over the top of the base sheet to make it look more like the patchwork and repairs found in the original (or what's left of it)
http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j371/AlleghenyValley/pumpingstation/P2070019.jpg < Link To http://i1082.photobucket....ngstation/P2070019.jpg

That brings you all current with where we are today. Trying to figure a way to make the power "operational" has put me over budget for the challenge. :brokeheart: The limit was $10. The bevel gear pair from R/C truck suppliers came to $15, and I had already spent $3 on the flashing. Having come this far, I'd really hate to bodge the heart of it just to stay within budget. Although I probably COULD build two of the 'power' units and change the static one out after the challenge..... But what is the fun in that?

 

[trammayo]

Great (and unusual) project - like it! Are sites (like the one your project is based on) protected as "Ancient or Historical" or are they left to decay?

Nick

 

[Mik]

The US Forest Service has a finite budget. A few will be preserved as 'interpretation centers'. A few will protected. The rest left to the elements and thieves until they become a hazard. Then the bulldozers will come....

One of the joys of living in a society that mostly only values youth, money, and newfangled flash

 

[trammayo]

Seems a shame but I suppose (at least) most sites are documented. In the West of Ireland, people have been known to "accidentally" destroy ancient sites! Trouble is they don't realise that, apart from being mapped and otherwise recorded, there are reular fly-overs with helicopters trying to locate unauthorised developments (as well as rubbish burning which is illegal) - I presume they photograph and overlay maps back at Council HQ's!

Mick

 

[Mik]

In the Pennsylvania woods there are small tracts of 'old growth', and much larger tracts of 'second growth' hardwoods which were planted 80-100 years ago with the intention of being harvested at maturity. Unfortunately, in our modern society, there is a very real, often vitriolic, conflict between the 'G- D- moneygrubbing forestkillers' and the 'G-D- daisypicking bunnyhuggers'.... aka those who would log out the 2nd growth trees for the very valuable lumber, and those who feel the forest, even such an unnatural one as this is, should be left forever (or at least from now on) untouched. The vast majority who can see both sides, and favor intelligent compromise (aka sustainable logging and replanting), tend to get pretty much marginalized, and spit upon by both fringes --- just like in most US political discussions of late...

Then again, you also have all the slobs who want to "get back to nature" then leave a wide trail of destruction and garbage behind for somebody else to clean up.

I occasionally wonder if there will be anything much left worth having of the earth for "the meek" to inherit after the bold, the brazen and the selfish are done with it?????

What has this to do with the artifacts like these in the north woods? Those who might wish to preserve sites like this are hampered by the labyrinthine "environmental impact" rules pushed through by over the top environmentalists on one hand, and outnumbered and outflanked by the vandals on the other.... so they will probably be gone in another 20 years.

 

[Mik]

And then... nothing... for days.


I've been under the weather, stressed and out of sorts, so I just kind of stopped while the clock was running. Even though I didn't FEEL like working on much of anything, I decided I needed to do something today. If anybody else tried to build an 8 sided structure without fixtures or jigs, I'd question their sanity. But I just honestly didn't give a rip if it came out a little bit drunk.... and it did.

Next I started constructing the power... and somehow managed to make it too tall... yes, those are expensive 1/8 scale R/C truck gears ($15 pr + Shipping, now I'm over budget) I'll look into shortening it inna bit.

And that's it for today...

 

[Richie]

Very nice work Mic

 

[beavercreek]

A great looking project that has a real feel for the subject matter. Nice one Mik

 

[nico]

lovely job Mik

 

[MR SPOCK]

Been reading this and the links and totally absorbed in all this relic stuff,models look brill as well
​

​

thanks Mik
​

 

[Mik]

I was supposed to have this finished by today

But I did get part of it done! I started by covering the roofs with aluminum furnace tape. The prototype had tin on the enginehouse and cedar shingles on the powerhouse. The furnace tape can be either flat sheet iron or tarpaper depending on how I decide to paint it.

I FINALLY built the clutch (non-operating) today. and (static) crank throws and connecting rod.
http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j371/AlleghenyValley/pumpingstation/P2200021.jpg < Link To http://i1082.photobucket....ngstation/P2200021.jpg

I only had enough 3/8" sq left for 5 amplifier arms. There should be at least 8 to 14. Th rod to the wells are hooked further up that the rods to the power resulting in a longer (amplified) stroke. I turned to power by hand to make sure it all worked OK. It does.... and should be fun to watch if/when I finally motorized it.

This is what it looks like so far.
http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j371/AlleghenyValley/pumpingstation/P2200023.jpg < Link To http://i1082.photobucket....ngstation/P2200023.jpg

Yet to do:
porch roof
compressor/condensor house roof
"South Penn Oil Co." sign
intake and exhaust piping
2 pass condensor
air compressor and starting tank
window muntins, stiles and sashes
3 man doors and a sliding door
belt
crank guard
magneto and wire
powerhouse ceiling
motor drive.
additional amplifiers

plus eventually:
well pumpjacks
counterweight
oil storage tank(s)
tank car loading rack.

Think I will get all done by MAY?

 

[Bram]

Working out the angles for roof of the 8 sided building would have given me a serious headache, well done

 

[Mik]

Working out the angles for roof of the 8 sided building would have given me a serious headache, well done

I cheated. I laid the plexi on the installed roof brace and marked the 3 corners with a marker, then used a straight edge to connect the dots. I cut them out with a scroll saw, and beveled the edge by eye with a Dremel. Not perfect, but it worked

So I went looking yesterday for a South Penn Oil Co sign. Spent over an hour and couldn't find one for all the Pennzoil stuff. Today I go wandering through the West Virginia Oil Museum website looking for a deadman (counterweight) pic, and find...
http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j371/AlleghenyValley/pumpingstation/35-SouthPenn.jpg < Link To http://i1082.photobucket....ation/35-SouthPenn.jpg

figures, don't it? Then I found more stuff I could have really used a month ago.

How about a real one under construction?

Just a guess, but they may have been originally barn red. The weathervane was actually practical. They used it to sight the well rods in a straight line.
http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j371/AlleghenyValley/pumpingstation/07-05-022-big.jpg < Link To http://i1082.photobucket....tion/07-05-022-big.jpg

Aaaaaaand a brand new 25HP Olin inside. If you look close you can also see the inverted air compressor (they used air to turn the engine for starting) in the next room.