Re: Who supplied the oil
Author: Chas
Date: 04-01-2013 - 22:42
There was a jointly owned pipeline that ran from the oilfields south of Coalinga to the Bay Area where it served both Associated and Standard Oil. In time Associated bought out Standard Oil's and Southern Pacific's interest in the line.
Also, the Southern Pacific built a rather large tank (it covered 17 acres) at Tracy, which held three and a half million barrels of bunker C fuel. There was another pipeline from Associated and Standard Oil that served that tank. The fuel in the tank was not needed during the Depression, and the Navy told the SP that they would see that they received all the fuel they needed, but they did not want the railroad to store such fuel. As result, the tank was pumped dry. The decision to switch to diesels caused the railroad to abandon sale the tank right after World War II.
As for the Associated line, it was in use as late as 1966.