SINCLAIR’S HIDDEN HIGHWAY

foreign [Music] the first half of the 20th continued expansion of oil Transportation companies in the United States from distant Wells oil flowed to Big Market centers of pipeline systems one of the nation's largest was owned and operated by the Sinclair pipeline company who sent a steady stream of oil coursing to Refinery by 1951 that stream was inadequate oiled behind capacities of huge refineries like the installations at East Chicago and Wood River Illinois demand for oil products had already reached a staggering rate and was increasing partly because of Defense needs partly because oil scientists wouldn't take a holiday at the research laboratory in Harvey Illinois they made new products from oil and improved old ones consequently old steam pumps like those in the company's Fort Madison Iowa stationed work day and night to push capacity loads along the pipeline their cold stoked furnaces required around-the-clock Manpower when a part failed it couldn't be ordered it had to be made although considered the last word in engineering design when installed in 1905 after 48 years of continuous service the steam pumps were obsolete the diesel-powered station that Marceline Missouri was also outmoded engines of 1920 couldn't keep up with the oil industry's tremendous growth maximum capacities had been established and there was no power margin for increasing them the La Plata Missouri station was supplied by electric power for his engineering Advanced all electric systems were preferred for economy and efficiency even solar Plato's equipment was too small to allow much increase in pipeline capacity and it predated electronic controls Through The Years Sinclair had Acquired and built nearly 14 000 miles of pipelines in 1951 company officials planned to modernize and expand they proposed to build a new big and crude oil line that would stretch from Cushing Oklahoma to East Chicago Indiana along the Route Seven powerful new pumping stations were to be erected the first at Cushing with two each for Kansas Missouri and Illinois the super carrier shorter and more direct route would replace multiple 6 to 18 inch lines yet existing capacity would be doubled quick action followed surveyors platted and staked out every foot of the root with Precision detail as soon as right-of-way easements were purchased huge bulldozers began the task of clearing a wide smooth Trail for the construction equipment to follow across open Farmland the work went forward at a rapid pace in wooded areas progress was much slower Rush gangs with axes and light saws went in first their job was to hack a primary path through the heavy undergrowth and to remove small trees right-of-way clearing required many men and many machines for the new line was to be one of the country's longest stretching 675 miles across nearly 3 000 privately owned properties temporary access gates were installed wherever fences had to be cut they could be let down quickly to permit passage of equipment meantime long train loads of freight cars were arriving with pipe from the steel mills the first half of the line called for giant 24-inch pipe the second half for 22 inch either size was big enough for a man to crawl through easily each 40-foot segment of 24 inch pipe weighs nearly two tons enough for a king-sized Bud if one were dropped each one represents a sizable sum too so great care was taken in lifting and rolling the pipe to avoid Distortion of the pipe cross section or damage to the beveled ends there were 80 unloading points along the right-of-way eventual delivery totaled more than three and a half million feet of pipe and required the capacity of well over 5 000 Freight cars pipeline Builders were of 1951 when the first Construction contract was awarded old man winter had already wrapped pipe delivered to Northern areas in a white blanket and many unloading spots waiting trucks indicated construction already underway so pipe was transferred direct from Freight cars to the long trailers then hauled immediately to the right-of-way and within a few weeks all remaining contracts were quickly signed so that construction could go forward simultaneously on all major line spreads pipe was strong on the right side of the plan looking in the direction construction Advanced joints were staggered to make handling easier ends overlapped to allow sufficient pipe for rejections and field bends with truckers working on day and night round-trip schedules pipes soon stretched over miles of terrain in an uneven zigzag pattern modern wheel type ditching machines made quick work of scooping dirt from a trench path through sand clay soil and the softer rock formations while the 24-inch pipe company Engineers specified a ditch 40 inches wide and 50 inches deep for welding ends are cleaned and buffed then pipe sections are lowered into place and joints trued by an internal lineup clamp to make sure the root bead penetrates to the inside pipe wall this clamp holds the joints apart about the thickness of a small coin pipe bending is a requirement in the field Engineers find ups and downs in land that natives describe as flat country that's why the pipe bending unit is always one of the busiest on the construction scene this machine can make bends up to 25 degrees deeper bends and standard ankles up to 90 degrees are fabricated at the steel mill measurements must be exact pipe must remain round for after the line is in operation internal cleaning units called scrapers will often be sent through Under Pressure designed to fit inside pipe diameter perfectly they would be halted by any irregular spot as soon as the all-important root weld has cooled slag was removed by wire brushing to prevent bubbles from coming through the filler and final cap or cover bead an H joint x-rays looked into the wells to make sure that a continuous unbroken wall had been formed these X-rays were made by independent contractors who used mobile equipment x-ray negatives were developed and studied on the spot in a flaw however slight was quickly revealed and corrected the pipe cleaning machine takes over once a long welded section has been thoroughly inspected and declared fit a gasoline engine driven unit it travels along the pipe at a fast clip rapidly removing dirt scale and rust although it's encircling scrapers and wire brushes make the cleaning unit look and sound like a lumbering mechanical monster it is remarkably efficient after cleaning the pipe thoroughly it applies a thin coat of coal tar primer every operation was checked by company inspectors who Moved constantly up and down the right-of-way to make sure that specifications and procedures were being followed scientific coating and wrapping machines are the ungainly Giants that have done most to help prolong pipeline life the same Earth that produces Rich crops for Farmers brings another kind of harvest rust and corrosion to buried pipe early pipelines went down without protection from the galvanic action of the soil but modern methods of construction have brought vast improvements and have reduced maintenance costs to a minimum the coating and wrapping machine is one of the most ingenious of all those peculiar to pipeline construction first it applies a layer of hot dope then from huge spools on rotating arms it binds the pipe to a glass fiber reinforcement and heavy craft paper enough of the hot coating material seeps through the glass fiber insulation to form a tight securely bonded seal with the wrapping paper an inspector with an electrical device known as the Jeep or holiday detector subject to the wrapping to critical standards the Jeep readily spots holes even if only a pinhole in size defects were marked with a crayon and patched immediately by hand another type of protection against corrosion is given by rectifiers attached to the pipe at intervals determined by Engineers they are designed to prevent electrolysis corrosion forming electricity is drained off to carbon anodes placed in the ground Highway and rail crossings were frequent obstacles and they were assigned to special Crews here both were encountered a short distance apart working conditions were hot and hazardous construction equipment was not allowed to obstruct the regular flow of traffic it had to be moved at the convenience of the traveling public one of the newest methods of boring under Crossings was followed at this dual assignment it made use of a casing enclosed auger the auger sections were joined together and pushed into the tunnel casing which was larger in diameter than the pipe it was to hold after the front auger section was in place the entire section was lowered slowly into the approach ditch alignment had to be perfect for state regulations specified the minimum depth at which such tunnels may be bored this type of operation calls for painstaking preparation and repeated measurement checks the boar must be held true so that it will emerge on the opposite side at the proper depth as the auger propelled itself forward it pushed the casing through at the same time its rotating blades carried Earth back down the pipe and shoved it out at the far end when the boar broke through on the other side it was removed and the long pipe section was prepared for the lowering end operation over its extra heavy coating spacers were attached to hold the pipe off of the bottom of the casing buckling like an unwieldly steel spring the pipe section long enough to channel through both Crossings was slowly lowered into the approach ditch pushing the pipe into the casing took time and patience skill and stamina working together with smooth coordinated teamwork the big cats carry the section forward as soon as the pipe was in place the crossing gangs would move on while Ty and Crews would arrive to join the tunnel sections to the line segments not far away in the same area Station construction was keeping Pace with the building of the pipeline foundations were nearly complete and great strides had been made though much of the intricate engineering maze was underground massive machine mountings that covered pumps held include a future operation capacities were planned to meet present demands they could be stepped up as the need arose with yard piping in the outside walls would soon go up and Foundations and tank dikes were already prepared for the big working tanks along the right-of-way Farm drainage lines were frequently encountered obstacles they were severed to permit ditching operations then carefully restored with new tile for old in many instances where other pipelines and there were hundreds crossed the right-of-way detail Maps revealed their exact location and the rule of boring under the deepest existing line was always observed terrain varied from sandy soil to Solid Rock covered with a scant top surface of Earth blasting was often necessary and time-saving pneumatic gang drills were brought into boreholes for Dynamite charges in Porous rock formations drilling operations were comparatively easy but on this stretch harder Rock straighter required heavier drills and took more time powder monkeys prepared the dynamite sticks and attached fuses it was no haste and no smoking after the charges went into the holes they were tapped down then all fuses were attached to an electric circuit the signal was given the area cleared of man and then a master switch set off the charges which sent Earth rocks and clods spiraling Skyward with the display over scoop shovels and bulldozers moved into the area to remove rock fragments from the trench path and the right-of-way before pipe is lowered into ditches in Rocky areas a padding of soft dirt is added to protect it from Jagged rock edges at River Crossings rocks were just one form of hidden hazard pipelines have considerable buoyancy at Rivers even when filled with oil huge concrete River weights were bolted to pipe sections their tremendous additional weight was needed to hold the line in its proper depth far beneath the riverbed deep entrenchment was required to ensure protection against flood damage boat anchors and dredging activities wooden slats were wired on to prevent damage to the coating and rock Shield installation during the placing of the river section the final step in preparing the bulky pipe made much larger in circumference by the special protective materials called for a hot outer coating a coal tar product its purpose was to prevent seepage into the inner wrapping each River Crossing presented a different kind of problem and the work was assigned to seasoned contractors steep river banks had to be cut back for hundreds of feet in order to give a gradual slope into the riverbed although there were five major rivers on the route size was never an indication of engineering challenges encountered clam shovels were kept busy day and night digging the long approach channels needed at the Grand River Crossing cleaning out operations were continuous because of quicksand the banks kept caving in filling the trenches with loose dirt and rocks construction went forward from only one side of the river when weighted pipe was ready for the trench it was carried across the stream by powerful cables mud made slippery going yet even with the enormous weight of the pipe operators managed to jockey it slowly but surely near The River's Edge seasoned Crews moved cautiously undue strained at any point meant the risk of having a cable snap there were numerous bends required in the pipe for this Crossing as the entire section was bent to conform to the Riverbanks and bottom then welded together and moved into place in one continuous section in addition to being supported and pushed forward the pipe had to be turned to the angle that would make it conform to the channel below equipment often mired for hours in the Soggy ground for water had backed up under the entire area through deep approach ditches and hazardous as conditions were they were somewhat easier to overcome than the even greater areas of quicksand found at the Cimarron River farther down the line the nose of the pipe was left uncapped during the operation because it rode high in the air until it reached the opposite Bank when the pipe was in its proper position in the waiting Channel it was ready for alignment and joining to the next pipe section the marginal pipe allowance was cut away by a torch that cut at the proper bevel man as soon as pipe ends were cleaned and buffed an external lineup clamp was used to square the joints of the long sections as soon as the wells are completed the joint will be cleaned primed wrapped and coated by hand Modern Electric arc welding has made present-day larger diameter pipelines possible at many spots other unusual problems were worked out this overbend section was designed to go over a river Levee ordinarily places where pipe is left exposed above ground are few and far between but in this instance ditching operations would have weakened the Levee embankment for the Deep angle type of bends required for the terrain the pipe bending unit was not used these sections were drawn to scale and ordered from the steel mills ready for emplacement in the field all such operations seemed to go forward without a hitch sections fit into place over irregular terrain like pieces of a huge jigsaw puzzle and the reason goes back to original engineering planning the case history of every mile of land to be covered had been recorded by contour and profile Maps once the overband crossed the Levee hump at the right spot and with alignment assured welders took over to join it at the sections waiting on either side each welder has his own number and it is used as a code to identify his work only experts are eligible for pipeline work and even then they must pass rigid qualifying tests on a tie-in like this Peter cold and wet while it takes asbestos Shields to protect upper bodies from the Hot Metal Sparks of that electric Arc for some stream Crossings pipe was fitted with a nose cap and with cables attached to the ring pulled directly over the water riverweights are on and so far so good but advancing the pipe is a slow procedure and if these bottomland areas weren't muddy Enough by Nature heavy rains often left the ground all but impassable although sucking River Flats couldn't be compared with quicksand or actual swamp lands these long low reaches of the Mississippi Valley were taxing on both men and machines Crews that prided themselves on the amount of pipe they could handle in a single day were slowed down almost to a standstill at times Mountainland machines finally were Victors over the Acres of mud and the weighted pipe was now ready for lowering in it didn't take a slide rule to figure out that such sections weighed hundreds of tons they looked heavy they were heavy the slightest jar against the trench Bank sent big clumps of dirt and rock clattering into the watery ditch below with one section down machines were moved forward and the same process with minor variations carried on many different work phases were carried out simultaneously light up and Welding teams leapfrogged one another ahead of cleaning and coating and lowering in Crews the construction Foreman was the production director for this continuous Panorama of power and speed cats often tipped precariously but disaster threatened more often than it occurred the big lineup of equipment necessary for lowering the massive pipe sections made a strange chorus Ensemble but they followed the Foreman's signal directions like a well-rehearsed unit filling operations began just as soon as pipe was lowered into the trench bulldozers and tractors with drag lines moved back and forth in rhythmic sweeps restoring the ground to a smooth surface Speedy Fillion prevented any accidental damage to the finished pipe in farm areas it also meant that stock could move about freely again disking and harrowing followed the back filling operations while other cleanup Crews made sure that there was no trash or brush left on the right-of-way contractors Pride themselves on leaving land as they find it or in even better condition fence Crews arrived on schedule completely equipped to restore fences of any size and type after removing temporary access gates they used post hole diggers for drilling and then set out new fence posts wire fencing was strong and these men didn't forget that last interesting addition the part that makes fences so hard to get over at an inviting picnic spot strands of barbed wire special cleanup operations were on the agenda for some areas at this experimental farm land not only had to be reworked but re-terraced into a scientifically planned Contour pattern how efficient were the cleanup Crews there's an answer back along completed sections of the new hidden Highway for Royal just Trot its course where grass has grown back over the right-of-way Trail there was no such Serenity on the Landscapes of construction activity the pipeline route was still advancing along Mississippi bottomland but to add to the excitement there was a five-star hurdle ahead a levy a stream a highway a railroad crossing and a bluff looking at the area from a different angle didn't simplify any of the obstacles but it did put them in the order they were to be tackled sags were piled high to hold water back from the trench but there was still enough left for mud bands several days later the score read three hazards down and two to go this stretch turned out to be a complete engineering free-for-all a regular construction field day those drilling Crews aren't back on the job for practice the bluff was composed of solid rock so more drilling more dynamite and more fireworks when charges were fired orders were to watch out above and below explosions Shot Rock up over the High Bluff and clattering down into the valley well from Big Rock they've manufactured lots of little rocks but at least these can be scooped up to make way for the trench the backhoe won this assignment and it's jerky and uneven performance signaled trouble ahead the bluff didn't look so formidable from a distance and actually its height was not the main difficulty it was the strain put on equipment by the sharp angle of the incline loose Rock and soft Earth made its steep grade even harder to climb trucks and other heavy equipment were winced along the right-of-way Trail the Steep Hill made All Phases of the work more difficult but the highest standards of perfection in all jobs pipe cleaning coating and wrapping welding and laying in of the line had to be met just the same as on level ground while welders got a new slant on their work wheel blocks braced the trucks that carried generators for their arc welding units men invented machines to help them with their work but in terrain like this Crews had to give their machines a hand when gravity decided to reverse the truck's Direction hard-working welders finally reached the top and the prospect of going down the other side was welcomed by leg muscles that would rather walk downhill than climb did somebody say climb the view from the top of the bluff pointed to three more Hills on the route ahead and each one just as tough as the last there were five Mighty rivers to cross the twisting Cimarron the unpredictable Arkansas turbulent and treacherous Missouri the sprawling Illinois and the greatest of them all the surging Majestic Mississippi Quincy Illinois was chosen for the Mississippi Crossing dredging was a continuous operation to keep the channel defined and line up Targets on Shore provided exact Direction sites which is were used in this operation one served as a floating base of welding operations the other is a pipe transport Ferry when the pipe sections were weighted and ready for placement the wrap bars moved toward the distant Target slowly easing a section down the ramp and into the water then to keep the bars from being floated off course by the current it was anchored at the next forward position as soon as the transport came alongside with more pipe the barges were lashed together before a transfer was affected each time another welded joint was completed the first bars moved forward again trailing more pipe behind while the transport returned to the loading dock for more weighted pipe this huge scale water Hopscotch continued until the opposite shore of the Mississippi was reached adding the river's span to the approaches that were required this Crossing accounted for more than a mile and a third of weighted pipe this method of using barges not only solved the problem of the Mississippi's powerful current but also permitted a free flow of traffic over its much traveled surface meanwhile the modernistic designs of the pumping stations were beginning to evolve from The Maze of engineering drawings that were required the huge 150 000 Barrel working tanks were being erected when completed they would form a working cushion to ensure a steady flow of oil into Chicago regardless of subnormal or abnormal line flow welding operations were carried out on a grand scale an automatic welding machine moves slowly around the tank welding both inside and outside at the same time fusing each tank section into one solid steel wall and looking out from the station the Labyrinth of yard piping was a fair enough hint that the new oil Freight to come would be given a royal if somewhat confusing welcome pipes LED away toward the working tanks and other oil hungry areas near the East Chicago terminal there was more water in sight and underfoot where Lake Michigan's seepage backed up under the land through its tributaries ground appeared firm and crusted over yet underneath was an ooze very much like that of swamp areas part of the construction here entail dewatering in order to make ditch digging possible sand points were put straight down into the muck then suction tubes and hose lines Drew off water after the water level had been lowered sufficiently it was then possible to dig a trench just ahead on the right-of-way road crossing gangs were preparing to bore under more railroad tracks the auger went through the moist Earth much more quickly than it had through the dry hard soil of earlier Crossings dewatering pumps were still working and would not be stopped until all Construction in the area was completed where deep ravines made it impractical to put pipe underground A-frames supported the overhead span the Missouri River Crossing was the last River span to be tackled not so broad or so deep as the Mississippi the Missouri Crossing pours tougher engineering problems and proved much more difficult to cross the fastest flowing major river in the United States it sometimes bred under currents that raced along with Savage Whirlpool Fury a decision was made to assemble the long section needed on one side of the river and pull it across to the other bank weights were to be closer together than at any other water crossing stretching back along tracks that had been put down a mile back from The River's Edge the pipe was jockeyed forward a few feet at a time by teams of cats working together since the pipe was being pulled by cables from the opposite side while pushed from this side two-way communication was required to tally the Foreman's orders every piece of pulling equipment side boom cats powerful drag lines huge winches on the opposite bank and the close cooperation of men with their machines was taxed to the utmost unless every machine pulled in perfect Unison the extra strain on the remaining machines was almost certain to snap a cable or break a block causing Long Cold delays it took six full days to get the pipe across the nearly a mile span of river and approaches some days the sun Shone weekly more often it hid behind an overcast to carry the more than a million pounds pipe weight along the guide track wheels and carriages were first used as supports but they were soon discarded in favor of logs because they buckled jumped the track and finally collapsed beneath the Giant's weight the logs skidded more easily down the guide track which held up during the entire operation at every critical point of procedure the foreman double checked his calculations before signaling for the pipe to be advanced and by comparing the size scale and scope of this engineering feat with the earlier Grand River Construction the terms major and minor stream Crossings can be better understood at The River's Edge the end pipe section was held off the riverbed Bottom by cables lash to Big pontoons a floating bar securely anchored on the Upstream side kept the pipe on course toward the opposite Bank on the opposite Bank massive tractors strained against the pull of the tow cables attached to the pipe's nose out in the water pontoons rode above the choppy surface and often resemble struggling sea monsters the big cats on both sides were struggling too and sometimes their push and pull efforts looked more nearly like a tug of war contest after a week and many frazzled nerves later the pipe was finally in the trench the silt flow would soon fill it in a small economy that can usually be chalked up at River Crossings nearby a main gate valve had been installed and could shut off the future oil flow in case of an emergency by January deeper snows banded the middle west and the right-of-way which had so recently echoed the clatter and hammering of many machines looked as if it had never been Disturbed in March Surplus on the last section of pipe was cut away by Mr Roy J tippetts chairman of the Sinclair pipeline company's board of directors then he watched the final golden World take place near the East Chicago Indiana terminal a shower of golden Sparks closed the line that would soon be transporting Black Gold salvaging of pipe from the old lines began just as soon as their oil Freight Cargo was assigned to the new underground highway ingenious pipeline reclaiming machines sliced through the Earth quickly and exposed the pipe ready for cutting and cleaning the multiple lines the old pumping stations belonged to yesterday for today and tomorrow a completely integrated system serves the Cushing to Chicago area the electric pumps respond to dispatching orders by remote control the control panel boards in the pumping stations are deceptive behind the few flickering needles is a complex picture of station relay involving problems of speed pressure volume and channeling to keep the oil traffic floor schedules there is an interwoven network of pipes and automatic valves farmers and long rows of electric switches deliver an uninterrupted supply of power the new all-electric systems represent the latest advances in engineering the new stations are modern and handsome but more important are their efficiency dependability and long-range capacity potentials microwave Communications stretching over nearly not provide a two-way relay system for guiding day and night operation of the new crude oil carrier there are 40 terminal and repeater stations along the way the focal point for control and monitoring is in funny headquarters at Independence Kansas the microwave system provides thousands of voice circuits its multiple channels also permit dispatching supervisory control of telemetering and VHF radio from one central location except where microwave and pumping stations lie along the Route the new man-made pathway for oil lies buried in unnoticed under fields and rivers highways and Hills its tremendous capacity provides transportation for 280 000 barrels of crude oil at that cargo will soon be translated into comfort in one form or another we touch wear or use oil every day of Our Lives oil has mechanized the American Farm it Powers the farmers tractors and trucks provides insecticides and sprays for crops for industry oil provides Fuel and power and has brought into being thousands of factories that manufacture petroleum products including Plastics medicines textiles synthetic Rubber and cosmetics our whole National preparedness program is geared to oil for tanks and planes and ships so over the hidden highway there is oil transport that will soon become myriads of products for daily use in any one day's delivery there may be a new discovery that will make lives richer and happier [Music]