Anyone know what to call the old gas pumps that had to have the gas hand pumped into a bowl at the top before it gravity fed into the car's tanks?
Anyone know if these have ever been made in S gauge?
Jock Ellis Cumming, GA US of A Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers
LastSpike actually hit upon the correct name: "Visible Gas Pump"
The early gravity fed gas pumps with a clear cylinder were called visible gas pumps. This style gasoline dispenser used a hand operated pump to move gasoline from the storage tank into the visible cylinder at the top of the pump. ... A valve on the pump would then be opened to allow gravity to fed gasoline into the tank.
Back in the day there were people that would and could short change customers and the clear tops were ment to prevent this. I remember pumping gas on these and that was in the early 70's on a farm.
There were often problems with early gas as to purity etc. That was a lot of the reason for the clear globes on the visible pumps. As for finding one in S that looks a little hard. I searched Shapeways and nothing. I know recently I have see Greenlight Collectables diecast that include some of the globe topped later style Wayne metered gas pumps (In some but not all of of the "Hobby Shop" series. http://greenlighttoys.com/index.php?id=474 ) I know I have seen these in Hobby Lobby. Perhaps you could do a kitbash on a pump- the wayne pump would produce the globe- which is the hard part with the logo- and the nozzle. A piece of clear rod with a strip of styrene and then painting the bottom. The visible pumps varied a lot- some were straight up and down, some tapered, others more curved (Mae West pumps) so however you do the bottom is within the realm of possibility. (And you would get a 1/64 vehicle out of it too) You might look at their "Mechanic's Corner" too as they have some gas stations with that Wayne Pump.
Flow measurement devices in the early 20th were not very accurate. Filling the top reservoir to a specific mark was the best way to ensure the correct amount of gas was being delivered to the customer.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
For some reason I think they may have been called "fish bowl" pumps
dbduckFor some reason I think they may have been called "fish bowl" pumps
That is what my dad called them.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Tichy offers "visible" gas pumps in HO scale, but they've also recently begun producing some S scale detail parts. I suggest that you contact them, as they may increase their S scale line if interest is sufficient.
I ordered a bunch of HO stuff from them yesterday...tell 'em I sent you.
Wayne
Can you get regular pumps in S scale for the company you're interested in?
The glass topped pumps are pretty simple to model. The base is just a tall vertical cylinder. The glass bowl can be modeled with a piece of clear styrene rod. Then, cut the circular top piece off an existing ordinary model and glue it on top of the bowl. Likewise, remove the existing hose and attach it to your new pump. A bit of cleanup, some paint and you're done.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
There was a reason for the visible bowls. The way they worked was that they hand pumpd the amount of gas you were purchasing into the glass container, which was marked in gallons. Gravity then caused it to flow into the vehicle gas tank. Ordering from the attendent went something like "give me 5 gallons of regular" or just "5 gallons of regular please".
Most gas was pumped by the attendent who also checked your oil and washed your windows.
Thank, Wayne, I willcheck with Tichy. I went to the family farm and measured my grandfather's country store. I'd like to put it on my small layout. One of the barred rear windows was cracked and I could smell Grandaddy's cigars as strongly as the day in early 1959 that they closed the store.
These are a pair of pictures made in HO scale using JL Innovative pumps. I have both the 50s style pumps and the older pumps. I have a pump island for each, which I change out depending on which era I'm running in.