This picture
shows the new Seaside tanks, built the year after the fire when Monterey
banned oil storage tanks from the city (Photo courtesy of The Pat Hathaway Collection). This picture
shows the new Seaside tanks, built the year after the fire when Monterey
banned oil storage tanks from the city (Photo courtesy of The Pat Hathaway Collection).
The Coalinga Oil and Transportation Co. started to build the pipeline in September of 1904. By October 1, 1904, they had built a mammoth tank in Monterey and were drilling a oil well in Coalinga. By October 12, 1904, They had finished the pipeline and were testing it with water at 1000 lbs. of pressure.
This is what
the pipe looks like today. Photo taken in Priest Valley on Mr. Mazzolo's
ranch.
The pipeline was 104 miles long and the pipes themselves were 6 inches in diameter. There were 3 pumping stations in the beginning but they were building a new one. The pipeline's highest elevation was 2568 feet above sea level, which at the time was the highest that oil had ever been pumped.
The project had cost about $750,000. An estimate of 1,500,000 barrels (63,000,000 gallons) of oil was believed to be handled by the pipeline each year. The oil was shipped from Monterey to Hawaii, and other places. At this time they had 2 vessels that could hold 40,000 barrels each (1,680,000 gallons). The company also had a private telephone line along the line. In Monterey, they had two storage tanks that could hold 55,000 barrels (2,310,000 gallons) each and they were planning to have more built.
On November 23,1904, oil steamers arrived at the wharf and a big celebration including fireworks. There was speeches by the mayor and other important citizens followed by more speeches by officials of the pipeline and the wharf.
A tanker loading
oil from the Monterey storage tanks in the 1920's. Photo from Monterey
Herald.
By August 2, 1905, the barge Santiago was making constant trips every three days from Monterey to San Francisco transporting liquid fuel. Construction on a third storage tank was underway in Monterey.
This is one of the original pipeline pumps, now in a museum in Coalinga.
In July 26, 1905, they were planning to build four more stations and to double the capacity of all the stations that existed at the time.
In June 28, 1906, they had received the steel for a new 55,000 barrel storage tank. Besides the pumping stations, there were heater stations along the line to heat the oil so that it would flow more freely.
Today, the pipeline
is used to carry fiber optic cable for Wiltel Corporation, and some sections
carry drinking water.