# South Penn Oil Lockwood pumping station - sort of



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Since I pretty much finished the build challenge project for here, it was time to get off dead center about the one for LSC. I wanted to do something that others hadn't. I also wanted it to be something I could actually USE, either on the permanent layout, or to take on the road - since we don't have room to store any more dust catchers here. I 'wasted' almost two weeks dithering about exactly WHAT to build.... or maybe I was just giving the others a head start? Note: Since this is a mirror of what I'm doing on another site, and there will be a LOT of pix, some will be left as links to save everybody bandwidth


Two days ago, I decided on a prototype. I'll be taking a few liberties along the way to speed construction, and stay within the confines of the challenge rules. This is what the original looks like, courtesy of the Library of Congress archives:








http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360901pr.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360903pr.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360904pr.jpg









For those who may not know quite what it is, that is a 1909 oil field pumping station. Older, low production, wells were not economically viable to pump using one engine per well. So they came up with the idea of one engine pumping multiple wells simultaneously via a gear diven contraption that the oil men called a 'power'.
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360909pr.jpg

Radial rods going out from the central power operated individual jacks at the well heads - up to a mile away.

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P7020020.jpg

The Lockwood station, near Warren, Pa. pumped 14 wells at once, some stations pumped as many as 20 


The model will be a bit less .... disreputable... looking. Or at least less vandalized.

I spent most of the first day working on the engine. The Lockwood station had an Olin, built in nearby Titusville. I didn't have the stuff to do justice to one, but I did have this:










Somewhere along the line I remembered why I hate cutting Zamac, but by day 2 I had it looking something like an Evans, which were made in Butler, Pa. While I was doing the butchery, I couldn't help but wonder WHY, nobody makes a kit of these 15-20HP gas engines in any of the model RR scales. In the days before rural electrification, even right up to WWII, they were everywhere. They ran grist mills, machine shops, water and oil pumping stations, even small town electrical generation plants.... not 'sexy' enough, I guess? This one could probably have been done as a kit with 6-8 major castings and a few detail ones.











Meanwhile, I also started on the engine house walls. I used out of scale 3/8" sq (9x9s) to frame the side walls to help prevent damage from 1:1 scale clumsiness. Lockwood is sheeted with corrugated iron, but - since I don't have a crimper, and don't drink enough beer for that many cans- the model will have plain board siding.

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P1310019.jpg









The inside walls were covered with flat sheet iron, in an attempt to help fireproof the structure. I'm working on a couple ideas to model this.
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/360908pr.jpg 


I started the end walls late last evening. Since they won't have to bear as much load from the roof, I used more scale appearing 1/4" sq (6x6s)
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/tigerlillie06/His Stuff/derrick/P1310020.jpg

At the moment I'm dithering. I HATE making roof trusses. If I make the roof permanently fixed, or 1 piece removable with a 'sheetmetal' ceiling, I can get away with simple plywood triangles. If I want folks to be able to peek inside, that requires a hinged roof and 6 identical pretty, pain-in-the-butt trusses... I'm inclined towards a removable roof with locaor pins that will double as electrical connections for the ceiling lights. 


Now you know about as much as I do.... so it's probably time for me to get back to work!


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I ordered the reduction bevel gears for the power off an r/c shop, $6 for the pair.... over half the budget. But I'll now be able to make it "operable".... if they arrive in time. 

After dinner I finished siding the outer walls of the engine house and pieced together a plywood base. Then I erected the 4 walls and stuck the engine inside temporarily to get a better feel for the layout... IMO it actually looks pretty good! 









Then I started the condensor/compressor room walls (the part that looks sorta like a breezeway between the two big parts). I'll side those later tonight. Shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes since they are a bit over 3" long. 









Day 4; Rather than start on the octagonal power house yet, I decided to work on the exterior engine house walls some more today. I'm looking for a specific effect that I've only read about, but never tried before... This method I'm going to document is experimental as far as I'm concerned, so here goes nothing.... 

First I gave the raw wood a wash of watered red/brown 









Then with watered black 









The with watered down grey/green 









I left it dry for a few hours before lightly sanding with coarse sandpaper (60 grit) WITH the grain to cut randomly through the various paint layers and roughen the boards. 









It actually looked pretty good at this point.... but not what I was after. The next step was to randomly lightly stipple (is that the right word) the walls with rubber cement and let THAT dry. 









The last step for today was to cover the walls with the color it was supposed to have been painted with. An even coat would have just been a waste of effort, so I just simply slathered it on. 









The next step requires that the present mess be thoroughly dry before continuing, so I have to wait until tomorrow to see if it worked. Patience may be a virtue, but it isn't one of mine


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Day 5: I'll let you guys judge if it worked or not....... 









It isn't a process I'd want to use often, not because it doesn't work, but perhaps because it worked rather too well. Decrepit, neglected buildings should be the exception, not the rule. 

Next I went back to work on the Evans. I detailed the head with a new rocker arm and 'valves', and started to plumb the natural gas line 









I built the governor, re-installed the crankshaft and got the flywheels running pretty true - then realized I had installed it backwards and had to redo it... now they wobble  









The offside view. Not perfect, but pretty good. 
http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j371/AlleghenyValley/pumpingstation/P2020021_01.jpg 

I'll probably build the clutch later this evening. The main diff between an 'architectural model' and an 'engineering model' is I get to approximate that stuff without it being functional


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

When I last updated this I hadn't yet put the inside walls up. I decided to use aluminum flashing to simulate the original sheet iron. I'm thinking I may use some furnace tape to add more 'seams' since it is much easier to cut 

















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 rather expensive gears, they put me over budget. And I'll look into shortening it inna bit. 


















The floor in the engine house only took about an hour 









And that's it for today...


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

Wow Mik, Fantastic!







When I was a kid I used to trek off into the woods at the end of our street. I would visit one of many of these in our woods. It was my hope that armed with my complete lack of knowledge and toolls that I would have it up and running in no time. I found a good bit of the parts scattered about and got the flywheels freed, but that's about as far as it ever got. I still visit it once in a while. 

Ive often thought about modeling one of them. Your work is great I can't wait to see it finished. It really took me back.







Is this going to effect your project count in your "build style" post?


Mik, if you want to email me I'd love to share all of my old Oil City and related Photos with you. I made you a friend. I think that is how you get the private messaging to work.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Randy, annd to get the PMs to work, all you have to do is manually enter the person's user name. Kind of primitive spam proofing?

Anyway, I love old pictures. The real AV ran on the East side of the river. It was probably still active Conrust when you were there. I did find these in LoC archive. From about '75 I figure you might like them. In the one from the Oil City side, you can see the abandoned part of the RoW curving along the river bank headed towards Cranberry



























And a Google Earth image of the same spot from Mar 2006....much of the good stuff, like the roundhouse and turntable, is gone 











A panoramic map from 1896


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Great job. Nice industrial feel to it.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I was supposed to be finished by today, not! But I did get a few things 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 finish it.









Kim says, "Hey! This thing gets FM!".... I think she called me 3 times for lunch, but I was engrossed in cutting the foil tape, and wasn't paying attention. So she stole it for a bit. 









I FINALLY built the clutch (non-operating) today. and (static) crank throws and connecting rod. 









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.

















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?


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

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... 









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. 

















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.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I could not figure out how you were goint to pump anything with that. Now I see. It is a great building and you did a great job. There use to be something like that on the Del Oro layout. But I don't remember seeing the modual lately.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Okay, sorry to corfuzle you JJ.... I'm pretty certain there are others who didn't know as well. The part I left out (because I haven't gotten that far yet?) Is all those rods spreading out in all directions have something like this at the other end


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

Very nice Mik. I can't wait to see it nestled in to your layout. Here are some pictures my Little sister took of the station I used to go visit.









That's her cat she took for the photo shoot as well. 










When I used to go work on it the Building was still kind of fallen down around it. Now it's under all those leaves ! 











Those parts at the base are right where I left them 20 years ago! Ah, memories.


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## Dooley (Dec 20, 2011)

Hi Mik, do you have any measurements off of the model you made? I am trying to figure it out from the posting, but wanted to know if you had some.

Thanks!

-John 
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## curlyp (Sep 4, 2009)

Looks great [email protected] url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Providers/HtmlEditorProviders/CEHtmlEditorProvider/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

You have to remember, I built this (mostly) un-compressed. The engine house is 11" long and 10" wide (20' x 22' in 1:24), the compressor house is 3-3/4" square (7'6"), and the power house is 9-1/2" (19') across the flats. The walls are 4" (8') at the eaves, and 10"(20') at the peak. 

I'm not sure what (if anything) is on this page that you don't already have: 
http://www.the-ashpit.com/mik/southpenn.html 

And thanks for motivating me to try to finish it! It's spent the last year or so just sitting and collecting dust....


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