This was just posted on the Yahoo Early Rail Group by Dave. Not sure if this is the best Trains.com forum for this posting. Hey, what is the best???? I love those questions.
It's my understanding that Sam Pees, who put together this reallyoutstanding collection, was in poor health and let his domainregistration lapse. I talked to some people about this, and they weregoing to get permission to rehost the site. Well, it's back up here:http://www.petroleumhistory.org/OilHistory/OHindex.html
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Interesting site. My job for the past two years had been to manage the plugging of old Quaker State oil wells in north western Pennsylvania in the original US commercial oil boom area - mainly McKean County near Bradford. Our contractor uses two Bucyrus Erie cable tool rigs to drill out and plug most of the oil wells which remain unplugged. I myself wander the woods to locate open wells for our drillers often. It is kind of like oil archiology! Just a month ago I got to see an old fashioned power house drive rod lines to pump a couple oil wells near a property we will start plugging in the next few weeks!
Until we had to let one of our contractors go for refusing to work safely and follow basic OSHA rules, we had a crew plugging in Vengango County too. I spent many a trip in 2005 driving back and forth to Oil City where Shell kept an office until they closed it down. I know exactly where Oil Creek is flowing through Rouseville on the north side of Oil City. That place has seen better days.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983