What kind of gas stations...

Magnolia station in Houston in 1935. They became Mobile eventually.

 

Sunrise in Galveston, Texas. May of 1971.

 

Heck, I don't know "What kind of gas station" this is. But it is still cool.

 

I love the Merc Monterey!

 

Love this pic - Very likely a Wilshire gas station...somewhere in southern California is my guess.

-Mike

 

That's a wonderful photo, Russ. Sure captures the flavor of the '30s in the mid-west.

 

I have received a letter from a member, with a ton of gas station and associated railroad information. It is filled with fascinating details, which modelers can certainly use. This is rather lengthy, so it will be broken into many parts. The following is, of course copyrighted to him. With his permission, I share it here.

Part 1:

April 20, 2017

To TrainBoard members:

Hello, I am a brand new member, and I will be using the moniker “oldSA&APFan”.

For a number of years, I have been interested in various aspects of history. And over the years I have served as the Chairman of the Gillespie County Historical Society (G.C.H.S.), Chairman of the Gulf Coast Archeological Society (G.C.A.S.), Chairman of the South Texas Archeological Association (S.T.A.A.), and have been a member of numerous other groups.

I happened to run across the article …. “What kind of gas stations” … that had been published on TrainBoard, and was quite interested in the discussion about Humble Oil Co., but, realized how little was actually known about “how big” Humble Oil & Refining Co. was in its heyday.

Actually, while the Humble Co., was active in Texas, they had a “huge” presence, with all their Service Stations, their Tanker Cars traveling along next to the highways being pulled by locomotives, their many Oil Tank Trucks, traveling the highways while delivering gasoline and oil products, and their many Bulk Oil and Gas facilities scattered throughout the state. All of this, from 1911 to 1973.

In 1961, after I turned 21 years old, I was hired on by Humble Oil & Refining Co., in the main office at Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Draftsman in the Exploration Dept. My dad worked for Humble for about 33 years, as a Special Agent, and as a Special Texas Ranger. So, I have had an interest in Humble for many years.

Humble had a ship terminal at Harbor Island, Texas, located between Aransas Pass, and Port Aransas, with large oil storage tanks, where ocean-going tanker ships were filled with oil and gasoline, for shipment overseas. And the Atlantic Oil Co. docks were adjacent to it. Atlantic was founded in 1866, as the Atlantic Petroleum Storage Company. And, in 1874 the Atlantic Refining Co. was purchased by John Rockefeller, and integrated into the Standard Oil Co.

 

Part 2:

During WWII, Humble and Esso ships, as well as ships from most of our allies, were docked at Harbor Island, to take on loads of gasoline and oil, to transport it overseas, for the WWII war effort. Nazi submarines patrolled the Gulf of Mexico on a regular basis. Catalina seaplane Patrol Bombers from the NAS Corpus Christi, patrolled far out into the Gulf of Mexico on anti-submarine patrol. And, these patrols were actually “combat patrols”. These planes were armed with depth charges, and bombs, and carried machineguns.

An undetermined number of ships were sunk by Nazi submarines in the Gulf of Mexico, and some exploded and burned so fast that an S.O.S. could not be sent. So, many of them just “disappeared” without a trace. Possibly as many as 250 ships “may” have been sunk in the gulf by Nazi submarines. During the war years, this type of information was considered “Classified”, and was heavily “Censored”, so most of the news was never published in the newspapers, or aired on the news. With the result that most Americans, were never aware exactly how close the war was actually coming to America.

There was a Battery of 6 inch, 155 mm “Long Tom” cannon guarding the entrance of the channel, located on the Port Aransas side, complete with anti-aircraft guns as well.

From Aransas Pass, out to Harbor Island, there was a short-line railroad, named the “Aransas Harbor Terminal Railroad” (A.H.T.R.) that served the port at Harbor Island. The railroad consisted of a two-story Office building, and storage facilities at Aransas Pass, with an open shed for the locomotives to park under. There were two locomotives, both 2-6-2 Prairies, and were oil fired. There was an elevated fuel tank to refill the tenders. I am unaware whether the A.H.T.R. actually owned any rolling stock or not, with the tank cars being switched off of the mainline, to be delivered to Harbor Island. There were “Crossing Gates” located across the road out to the Island, to stop the automobiles and collect the tolls. The gates also allowed the locomotives and tank cars to cross the road, on their way out to the port, located on Harbor Island.
The oil tanker cars were switched off the mainline at Aransas Pass, from the S.A. & A. P. Ry., or later the S. P. main line, and were hauled out to Harbor Island, by the A.H.T.R., and unloaded into large storage tanks. Eventually pipelines were completed out to the port, which virtually put the railroad out of business.

The very last time I can personally recall seeing the A.H.T.R., 2-6-2 locomotives in use, was when the oil tanker John Worthington was torpedoed out in the Gulf, and limped into Harbor Island about 1944. It was declared too badly damaged to salvage, so it was tied up in the Harbor Island to Aransas Pass Channel, and cut up with torches. There was an old railroad siding that serviced an old wooden pier, that the ship was docked to. The scrap steel was loaded by truck mounted cranes, into the Gondola cars, which were pulled by the two 2-6-2-‘s. Then the bottom of the hull was towed out past the old light house and beached, where it remains today, but, it has settled down into the mud and sand, and can only be detected by a slight rise in the sand and vegetation.

The long, single lane railroad trestle from Aransas Pass to Harbor Island, had been planked over, and used as a “Toll road”, with turnouts added every half mile or so, to enable automobiles to pass each other, and it to travel to Harbor Island, and then take the ferry to Port Aransas and Padre Island. This old wooden planked causeway was “very slippery” when it was wet, and several serious accidents took place on it.

But, now that you have been introduced to some of the background, let’s discuss the Humble Oil Co., and Oil Tank Cars.

 

Part 3:

A TIME-LINE OF OIL TANK CAR DEVELOPMENT, AND, THE HUMBLE OIL AND REFINING CO.



Now I realize that many of you are probably already familiar with a lot of the information that I am about to give, but, there are many younger folks that have no idea of the scope of Humble Oil Co., in the recent past.



1865 – Near the end of the Civil War, two wooden tanks were mounted on a flat car, and were used to successively transport oil, with about a 2,100 gal. Capacity.



1866 – Atlantic Petroleum Storage Co. founded. And Vacuum Oil was also founded in Rochester New York.



1869 – Upright Wrought Iron tanks were used in place of the wooden tanks, but proved too top-heavy to be successful.



1870 – “Horizontal metal tanks” were introduced with a 4,200 gal. Capacity. They were 24.5 feet long, and 5.5 feet wide.

Also, the Standard Oil Co., was founded in Cleveland, Ohio.



1874 – Atlantic Refining Co. (Former Atlantic Petroleum Storage Co.) was purchased by John Rockefeller and integrated into the Standard Oil Co.



1879 – Vacuum Oil was purchased by Standard Oil Co.



1880 – The 4,200 gal. “riveted” iron tanks were still in use, and the name “Union Tank Line” was introduced.



1882 – Standard Oil of New York, is formed by a Trust Agreement.



1888 – The tank car capacities were increased to 6,000, and to 10,000 gallons.



1890 – The “standard size” tank for an oil tank car was 32 feet long, and 6 feet diameter with an 8,000 gal. capacity.



1891 – By this time, the “two and three dome tank car” had been introduced, and were in use to deliver “mixed” cargos of oil, gasoline, or kerosene, to smaller dealers.



1899 – Vacuum Oil originates the Mobil trademark as “Mobilgas”. And Mobil becomes Socony-Mobil.



1901 – The “Frameless” oil tank car was designed, but proved un-reliable.



1902 – The Steel “Through Sill Underframe” is designed, and accepted.



1903 – By this date, over 10,000 petroleum tank cars of all designs, were in operation.



1907 – Vacuum Oil, Standard Oil, New York Central Railroad, and Pennsylvania Railroad were all indicted for violations of the Inter-State Commerce laws, and Vacuum Oil was charged with shipping 228 cars of petroleum products to Standard Oil at unlawful rates, over the railroads.



1911 - The “Humble Co”. was founded in 1911, at Humble, Texas, by the brothers Ross and Frank Sterling, and their sister Florence Sterling, and other investors.

Also in 1911, the Standard Oil was ordered to “Break up” their conglomeration, and Vacuum Oil became an independent company again. Also, Standard Oil Co. of New York, became a spin-off of Standard Oil, and became known as Socony.



1912 – The “Aransas Harbor Terminal Railway”, was built to service the port on Harbor Island, and to transport oil tank cars out to the port, as well as freight.



1915 – By this time, a total of 50,000 oil tank cars of all designs were in operation.



1916 – By 1916 there were eight different size tank cars available, from 3,600 gal., to 12,000 gallon capacity.



1917 – In 1917 the “Humble Company”, was “reorganized and incorporated” on June 21, as “Humble Oil & Refining Co”. Into this new organization were merged Paraffine Oil Co. (Refiners of Kerosene), Blaffer &Farish (Contract Drillers & Traders in oil), Schulz Oil Co., Ardmore Oil Co. (An Oklahoma Oil Co.), and Globe Refining Co. ( Refiners, out of Louisville, Kentucky)

Also by 1917, Humble was operating 217 wells, with a daily production of 9,000 barrels.



1919 – In 1919 Humble Oil & Refining Co., sold 50% of its stock to Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, for 17 million dollars. But continued to operate as “Humble Oil & Refining Co”. Also, in 1919, Humble began construction on the Baytown, Texas, Refinery, one of the world’s largest refineries.

Also in 1919, the Union Tank Line name was changed to Union Tank Car Co., so it wouldn’t appear to be a rail road.



1920 – Welded seams on tank cars begin to replace riveting, in tank car construction.



1923 – The “Welded, Insulated Tank Cars” are introduced.



1927 – The ICC, issues new regulations, improving the Three Dome Tank Cars.



1930,s – Humble Oil & Refining Co., made large additions to its reserves, possibly after leasing the nearly one million acre King Ranch for drilling. And, also by 1930, there were 140,000 tank cars, of all designs, in operation.



1931 – Vacuum Oil (Mobil), and Standard Oil of New York (Socony) merge in 1931, and made Socony-Vacuum Corp., 3rd largest oil company in the world (Vacuum was already selling Mobilgas, and Socony,s Pegasus logo was adopted and was the origin of Mobil Oil Co., name and logo).



1939-1945 - These were considered the WAR YEARS. And shipments of oil and gasoline increased dramatically. Older tank cars were dragged back into service from old sidings, from scrapyards, and anywhere else they could be found. And shipments of oil and gasoline were given the R.O.W. over other classes of trains. This was considered a “National Emergency”, and oil and gasoline shipments “had” to be moved. The tank car trains consisted “of all sizes” and “mixed brands” of tank cars that were operational. Because the government had introduced “pooling” of tank cars, in order to save time, due to the war.



1949 – By the end of 1949, Humble Oil & Refining Co. was operating 9,928 wells.



1950’s – By the mid 1950’s, Humble Oil & Refining Co., had expanded its operations into the states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arizona.



1955 – Socony-Vacuum dropped the “Vacuum” and became Socony Mobile Oil Co.



1958 – By 1958, Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, owned 98% of Humble Oil & Refining Co. stock. And, by 1958, the first “20,000 gal. Oil Tank Car was introduced.”



1959 – Humble Oil & Refining Co., and Standard Oil of New Jersey, consolidated their domestic operations, and in September, Humble Oil & Refining Co. received a new Charter from the State of Delaware. By the end of the year Esso Standard, and the Carter Oil Co. were also incorporated into the Humble Oil & Refining Co. holdings.



1960 – In 1960, they were also joined by Enjay Chemical, Pate Oil Co., Globe Fuel Products, and Oklahoma Oil. This restructuring allowed both companies (Humble Oil & Refining Co., and Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey) to sell and market gasoline Nationwide, under the brand names of Humble, Enco, and Esso brands.

In the 1960’s, Humble had more than 21,000 square miles of land under lease in the U.S.

And operated 24,000 producing wells, in 21 states, with a daily production of 600,000 barrels of crude oil. Also, in this year the 30,000 gal. oil tank car was introduced.



1961 – In 1961 the Enco brand was being actively sold by Humble Oil & Refining Co.



1963 – By this year, Union Tank Car Co., introduces the “Whale Belly” oil tank car.

Also in 1963, Socony Mobile Oil Co. was re-named Mobilgas, and later, just Mobile.



1966 – In 1966, the Justice Dept. ordered Humble to “Cease & Desist” from using the Enco brand, due to protests from Standard Oil of Kentucky. And in the late 1960’s it was learned that “Enco” was a Japanese word, meaning “engine failure”. Making “Enco” a very undesirable word to associate with motor oil.

Also in 1966, Socony-Mobil dropped the Socony, and became just Mobil Oil.



1967 – The “Funnel-Flow Sloping Tank Car” is introduced.



1973 – Having consolidated their domestic operations in 1959, Humble Oil & Refining Co., merged with its parent company, Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, and created the new name of EXXON COMPANY in 1973.

And with this, Humble Oil & Refining Company, ceased to exist, after 62 years of very active and continuous service.



1998 – Mobil Oil merged with Exxon Company, and formed ExxonMobil.

 

Part 4:

Looking back, it’s difficult to imagine, that the “Humble Oil and Refining Co”., has been gone for 43 years now, but its understandable why anyone who is under 50 years of age, may have absolutely no recollection of the Humble Oil Company, and its tremendous impact on Texas, and the economy.
I can recall seeing the long lines of oil tank cars, that were “everywhere” during the war years. We saw them when we crossed the old Bascule Bridge near the port of Corpus Christi.
We saw them as we drove alongside the tracks on our way to Portland and Gregory, and out to Harbor Island, and when we were around any of the oil refineries. So, during the war years, they “needed” to move the oil and gasoline for the war effort. And, apparently, every old tank car was dragged back into service, some after years of neglect. Some cars were fairly new and clean, while others were dirty, grimy, rusty, sun-bleached, dusty, and covered with oil spills and stains. But, there wasn’t any time to waste just “cleaning” the cars, they “needed” to be moving oil, or gasoline, due to the war.

And, there was no such thing as uniformity. The oil tank cars came in every size, and this became even more apparent as you drove along the highway, near the tracks. Some were shorter, some were longer. Some were smaller, and some were larger. They must have dragged out every old car they could find, no matter if they were sitting on an old siding, unused for many years. Or maybe, they were already in a scrap yard, or in a junk yard, it didn’t matter. WWII was a “National Disaster”, and they needed to move oil and gasoline. It didn’t matter if the car was rusty or not, as long as it had couplers and wheels, it was put to use. So, one of the most impressive things, were all the various sizes and types of tank cars that would be seen in a passing train. And that is what caught my attention the most. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t pay that much attention to the “Brand names”. So, at this late date it is difficult to recall many of the actual logos.

However, I do recall seeing tank cars that were grayish-colored (sun bleached black) cars, with the logo painted in white. As I can recall, the logo was simply “HUMBLE”. When you looked at the car from the side, the “HUMBLE” would have been painted on the left side or end, of the car, with the weight, gallons, ect. ect., painted on the right side or end, all painted in white, with no other colors.

Now the tank car shown in the article, parked at the Galveston Museum, was just the opposite. It has the Blue and White Oval, with “HUMBLE” in red, in the center, painted on the “right” end or side of the car, with all the other information painted on the “left” end. From the photo, I can’t make out the year it was built, or the gallon capacity. Maybe someone else can, who has a better view.

So, the question becomes, “when were” these two very different logo’s actually in use by Humble ? Could the grey car date to the very early use by the Humble Co. of 1911 to 1917? Possibly … with the black color all sun-bleached to grey.

And, could the Galveston car date to the 1917 and later era ? After Humble and Standard of New Jersey had merged operations? So, these are the questions that we need to ask, and attempt to resolve. Surely, there “must” be a photograph somewhere, or some other information, to determine a time line from. At this point, I simply don’t know. But, I would like to know, if anyone has the answer.

 

Part 5:

And, I am including this tid-bit of information about the Texas Company, which many of you may be completely unaware of.



A note about TEXACO OIL CO.



1901 – In 1901 the Texas Fuel Co. was organized in Beaumont, Texas.



1902 – In 1902 the name was changed to Texas Company.



1936 - By 1936, Texaco was selling fuel to General Franco, during the Spanish Civil War, in which Germany was also heavily involved. Germany was “testing” their newly acquired Army and Air Force, under battle conditions. Texaco sold General Franco over 200 car loads of fuel, evidently violating the “Neutrality Act”, for which they were heavily fined by the government.



1939 – After the onset of WWII, in 1939, Texaco’s CEO, Torkild Rieber, an admirer of “Adolph Hitler”, hired pro-Nazi assistants in their New York offices, who cabled Berlin about ships leaving New York for Britain, which were carrying fuel oil, so they could be intercepted by German submarines.



1940 – By 1940, Torkild Rieber was in serious trouble with the U.S. Government. And Torkild Rieber was forced to resign his position as C.E.O., and fined very heavily. In addition, Torkild Rieber was charged with “Treason”, by the U.S. Government.



1941 – Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, on December 7th., 1941, the “Day of Infamy”. Which threw the United States headlong into the war that had already been waging in Europe for two or three years.

 

Part 6:

After the war had ended, there was a document produced, which listed how the various corporations were ranked during the war, in their value of military production, and Texaco was ranked 93rd. So, evidently, Texaco hadn’t received very many military contracts. And, personally, I can’t recall seeing that many silver painted Texaco cars in the war era trains. But, then maybe I just can’t recall.

Malcom Lee Johnson

References :

Personal Recollections of Malcom Lee Johnson, 1940 – 2017.

Google, 2017


Malcom Lee Johnson

2016. Texas Tales and Tall Ships, Vol. 1 & 2,: A Texas History book.

Published by; Tate Publishing Co., Mustang, Oklahoma.

 

Not exactly a gas station but there is a Philips 66 behind it. Down town Houston from the Sloane Gallery collection. Date unknown.

 

Here is one from San Antonio in 1938.