WEBVTT

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You

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Oil is on the move in a growing progressive American industry which began with a single well

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drilled by Colonel Drake in Pennsylvania in 1859. Today nearly a million and a half wells have

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been drilled in the United States. Over 2,000 products come from petroleum and oil comes from

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many parts of our nation to keep America on wheels. Yes, oil is on the move. Oil is under

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our lands, our seas, and oil is in the Rockies. Oil is in Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming.

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The Denver-Julesburg Basin had been opened. The new adena field in Colorado was being developed,

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and there was increasing crude oil production in Kansas. Now efficient methods of crude oil

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transportation were immediately necessary. Officials of the Pure Oil Company and Sinclair

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Pipeline Company felt that an important contribution could be made by the building of a large capacity

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18 and 20 inch crude oil line to carry crude into major refining centers. This large diameter

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pipeline started at Marino, Colorado. Crude oil from the Denver-Julesburg Basin could be moved

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almost by gravity flow through Colorado and Kansas through areas already producing or known

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to have possible production. This new line was to join Sinclair's Chicago Big Inch at Humboldt,

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Kansas. Thus, crude oil from all of the Rockies and the rapidly developing nearby areas could

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be made available to great refining centers. The Arapahoe was to be its name. The decision was

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made and surveyors then started plotting the route, which up to then had been nothing more

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than a penciled line on a map. Right of way for the line had to be acquired, over 1,200 landowners

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were involved, some nearby and some far away. Rivers had to be sounded, currents measured,

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and the methods of crossing determined. More than 79,000 tons of high tensile, carefully tested

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steel pipe and casing had to be fabricated in steel mills and delivered along the route of the

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line. Many pipe yards at convenient points had to be established in Colorado and Kansas. Each one

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had to be handed to the spreads or crews working the area. There were actually five separate

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construction spreads or operating areas over the length of the Arapahoe. All kinds of terrain,

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from the flint hills of Kansas to rich prairie soil, had to be prepared for ditching. Access

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gates along the entire construction route had to be cut into the regular fencing to allow for the

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movement of men and machines. Modern ditching machines did the bulk of the trench digging.

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Most of the route of the Arapahoe was across soft, loamy soil that was placed neatly on the

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offside of the ditch so that it could easily be replaced after the pipe was laid in. With

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construction beginning late in August and operation of the Arapahoe hoped for by December,

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all phases of construction, including the delivery station at Humboldt, had to begin almost simultaneously.

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When the land became slightly rocky or a bit on the ledgy side, the back hose took over from

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the ditching machines. When the back hose bogged down, the heavy flint and sandstone had to be

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attacked by diesel cats attached to a router. Something had to give. Most of the country

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crossed by the Arapahoe is valuable farm or grazing land. Arapahoe officials specified that such

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land must be protected while the line was under construction. When mechanical means failed to

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budge earth or rock, the powder monkey was called into action. For farmed or grazed land, many light,

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gently nudging shots were employed. For land not so used, fewer and larger charges.

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And where very rocky terrain was encountered,

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a big one generally did the job. Rarely did the path of the Arapahoe pass near established

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routes of travel. All pipe and casing had to be trucked from the nearest pipe yard over all kinds

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of roads to the company's right of way. Many of the workmen on this gigantic job of pipeline

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construction came from communities near the root of the Arapahoe.

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After stringing came the lining up of the pipe on skids. The direct path of the Arapahoe took it

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or over all kinds of obstructions. Under was the order for a place in Kansas with the trunk lines

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of a railroad parallel to federal highway. This crossing, as it is called, involved

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boring under the highway and railroad so as not to hold up service for one single moment,

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not even slow it to Iota.

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After the proper boring was completed, the casing which carried the auger remained in

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the opening made under the obstruction as protection for the line carrying the crude oil.

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It was a tough, ticklish job that involved many men and machines working smoothly with one another.

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Hills and valleys presented very few problems to the line contractors. In order that the pipe

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fit into its tailor-made trench, it had to be bent to conform with a slope of many a hill.

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Before welding could begin, beveled edges had to be buffed and cleaned. Pulling the

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line of clamps into place was another exacting operation.

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First, a tack weld or stringer bead to hold the aligned position.

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Then a filler weld or first pass. Actually, a weld over a weld almost half the thickness

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of the pipe. Each welder's working number was stamped on the welds he made. Then preparation

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for the windup of the welding operation. The final or tack weld actually stands a bit above

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the level of the pipe. The high-intensity electric arc makes a band around the previous welds.

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So that no invisible flaws would remain to weaken a weld,

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thousands of welds along the Arapaho were x-rayed shortly after they were finished.

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Where there was a defective weld, it had to be corrected before placing the line in the ditch.

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Once all welds had been x-rayed, inspected and accepted, the line was made ready for

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an operation that would extend its life for at least half a century. The cleaning and

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brushing machine first removed all rust and foreign particles and was immediately followed

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with a prime coat of asphalt for additional protection from the ravages of moisture,

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cold and heat. Then followed the flexible nimble-fingered wrapping machine, applying

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another generous coat of asphalt and in the same operation completely covering the line with a

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specially prepared asbestos belt wrapping. Thus many years were added to the life of the line

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through the prevention of corrosion.

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In every phase of construction, nothing was left to chance. To check the completeness of

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the wrapping machine's work, a device known as a holiday detector or Jeep as the workmen call it,

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was drawn over every foot of wrapping.

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Where defects in coating were found, they were repaired by hand.

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Because settling rock in the ditches could possibly bring great pressure to bear on the

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ordinary wrapping where it crossed through rocky ditches, a second protective coating was used.

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Called a rock shield, it was applied by hand, bound with steel straps,

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once again doped, this time by hand.

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At intervals dictated by the engineering staff,

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electrolysis test connections were installed with thermal welds.

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To complete the control of electrolysis, rectifying units were installed at proper locations.

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Dry washes and creeks, which were known to have a history of flooding,

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were treated as though they flowed year-round. Huge concrete river weights, weighing more than

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half a ton each, were placed in calculated intervals throughout the actual crossing area.

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This was done because flash floods have a way of deepening channels, and the additional weight

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provides negative buoyancy to keep the line from floating and washing out.

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While the pipeline crews were busy, tank construction crews were also building working

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tanks at the pumping stations. There were electric plate handling machines that moved

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one ton plates about like playing cards, hydraulic plate alignment devices that did the work of five

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men, automatic welding machines that seemed to crawl around the surface of the rising

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tanks like huge spiders. One inside, another outside. They're operators connected by intercom

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systems. These and many other construction models all combined at Marino Station to produce three

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huge working tanks, each with a capacity of over five million gallons of crude oil.

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The middle of September saw some of the spreads or crews completing their sections,

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joining them and lowering in as they progressed.

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The early part of October saw temporary pipe bridges built for the blasting crews.

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With the dynamite charges in place clear across the stream, the crew cleaned up and brought wires

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to shore. The pipe ridge was towed to safety, the whereabouts of all personnel checked,

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and the order given to fire.

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Drag lines removed the mud and rock from the blasted underwater ditch.

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Then with half ton river weights already installed and a half dozen cats urging it on,

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another section of the Arapaho joined the category of finished.

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When other pipelines cut across the path of the Arapaho, the line was installed at least

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two feet below the existing carrier. In the case of other obstacles such as irrigation ditches,

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overhead crossings were made if the span did not exceed 60 feet in length.

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A chill of fall was felt when the final backfilling took place.

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Crews installing new fence had to face sharp winds.

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The chilly hand of Jack Frost was seen in the fields of eastern Kansas,

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where but a few short weeks ago both men and machines had been.

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Snow had already fallen on the high plains of Colorado,

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when the first crude started to flow eastward from the Marino station early in December.

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The Arapaho today represents an up-to-the-minute example of engineering skill,

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design, and construction in modern pipeline practice.

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This project, conceived by the officials of the Sinclair Pipeline Company and the Pure Oil Company,

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to keep America on wheels was given the designation Defense Department Project

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by the United States government. It stands ready and available should needs of war arise.

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It makes available to the refining centers vast quantities of crude oil.

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How fitting then that it should be named after a brave group of Native Americans, the Arapaho.

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you