Pumpherston Oil Company Tank Wagons - where & when?

[Alex TM]

Hi everyone,

 

I was given a Hornby R6855, Pumpherston Oil Company, tanker as a Christmas present; unfortunately it's from an era of which I know little (and doesn't fit in with my current modelling interests).  I have the book on the shale oil industry that includes a b&w pic of the prototype of the model; unfortunately it's undated.

 

Can anyone tell me:

 

what this tanker carried (crude? paraffin? other product?),

where it ran, and

when it would have been in service?

 

I have read that Pumpherston Oil Company became a part of Scottish Oils soon after the end of WWI but I have no idea when the livery disappeared or whether it was kept on by the new owners.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[scottishlocos]

Alex

 

 

Pumpherston and the whole area of West Lothian was famous for shale oil I am sure oil was extracted from the shale there is a BBC documentary about this subject

 

I am not sure what kind of oils would be in the tanks but at a guess I would say it would lighter oils rather than the heavy duty heating type oils

 

Dave

[Alex TM]

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks for that.

 

From the books I have it would look to be the lighter end of the oils (as you suggest), however as the tank isn't in a class A livery scheme that may help narrow down the load.

 

I have written references to crude being brought on site for processing to lighter distillates.  I also have references to paraffin and detergents being produced.  Strangely, nothing I have found says much beyond that.

 

Again, thanks for the input.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[hmrspaul]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scotlands-First-Oil-Boom-1851-1914/dp/190656650X

 

Shale Oil: A history of the industry in the Lothians Paperback – 30 Jun 2010
by Guthrie Hutton (Author)

 

Shale Oil: A history of the industry in the Lothians Paperback – 30 Jun 2010
by Guthrie Hutton (Author)

Edited December 26, 2018 by hmrspaul

[JeremyC]

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks for that.

 

From the books I have it would look to be the lighter end of the oils (as you suggest), however as the tank isn't in a class A livery scheme that may help narrow down the load.

 

I have written references to crude being brought on site for processing to lighter distillates.  I also have references to paraffin and detergents being produced.  Strangely, nothing I have found says much beyond that.

 

Again, thanks for the input.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

Tourret's book on rail tank wagons mentions the livery on the Hornby wagon, but suggests it was actually an undercoat for a black wagon

 

Many of the oil works only retorted the shale to produce crude oil with it being taken elsewhere for refining. One of the refineries was at Pumpherston to the east of Livingston near Edinburgh.

Products were paraffin wax, naptha (one use of which was to produce oil gas used for railway carrige lighting), lamp oil, gas oil, lubricating oil and petrol among others.

A major product was sulphate of ammonia used in fertiliser and this apparently was one of the most profitable products. During WW1 large quantities of Ammoniac liquor were produced for use in explosives.

 

Harry Knox wrote a comprehensive history of the industry

http://lightmoor.co.uk/books/the-scottish-shale-oil-industry-mineral-railways/l9730

 

There is a museum of the industry in Livingston

http://www.scottishshale.co.uk/index.html

Edited December 27, 2018 by JeremyC

[Alex TM]

Hi Jeremy,

 

Thanks for that.

 

I have the Knox volume, but other than some images it was vague on the other information I was curious about.

 

I saw a reference on here to the Tourret book; it seems interesting, and appears to be available from the publishers so I may just order a copy.

 

As for the museum, it seems easy enough to get to by public transport so I may pop along sometime in the next couple of months.

 

Again, thanks for the information and leads.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.