Refineries

[DocDan]

I am modeling a large refinery complex on my layout. Unfortunately, because of the spatial arrangement, the yard and loading platforms are located on the other side of the double track mainline from the refinery complex. I plan to have tanks for crude next to the main refinery complex and at least some of the refined fuel tanks next to the loadinng platform.

Questions:
1. Does this arrangement stray too far from prototype arrangements (I would think not entirely)?

and

2. Do the pipeline run under or over (ie bridged) the mainline tracks to the other side.

Anyone with any knowledge or info on this one would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Dan

[thirdrail1]

The KCS mainline runs right through the middle of the Exxon refinery in Baton Rouge, LA. There were pipes visible crossing the main line, but there may have been more under as well. Trust this helps some.

[Anonymous]

When Standard Oil Co. was still in Cleveland Ohio, the refinery wasn,t really that clsoe to anything. it was just kinda stuck in an excessable valley just outside of downtown. The RR's did have easy acsess to it with a main line running basically on a shelf betwwe Downtown and the refinery. But pipelines also ran over bridges and viaduct setups yo the river for loading of the ships. I would be willing to sat that almost anything goes with were the main line was and were the pipes ran whether they were for docks or justdisappering underground to feed pipelines or to run to huge storage tanks. That is all run under ground. Hope I helped................Jamie

[DocDan]

Thanks for the replies. For those interested - Last nite, I tracked down a relative who used to work oil fields and refineries in the Southwest (also happens to be a fellow model railroader. He said that back in the early seventies, he recalls both arragements - pipes bridged over the mainline and pipes going underground to get to the other side of the main.

Dan