Ford Dealer & Sohio Service Station – Ohio circa 1936

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

We’re not sure the year of the Fords in the photo but it appears to be about 1935-1936. The place is the Sohio Service Station in Cumberland, Ohio. Cumberland was and still is a small, quiet village in Southeastern Ohio. To have both a service station and a full blown Ford dealer in such a small village was most certainly an oddity. The Ford truck cab and chassis waits for a new owner while the latest Ford sedan is being serviced. There could be no doubt in any travelers mind that Fords, Sohio gasoline and oils were sold here. The sign collection even at that time was quite impressive, from curb mounted neon signs to canopy roof signs. The advertising was even extended to the roof of the building behind the service station where

“Ford Garage” was written on the slates. The five visible pumps all carried glass globes stating the various Sohio brands available. Alas, advertising alone does not guarantee profits and of course the operation is one with the past. Remarkably, the buildings are still in existence although the canopy and signs have long ago been removed. Today it is used as a township garage.

Posted in Gasoline Alley, History Lane | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Standard Oil filling station in 1924

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

The Standard Oil filling station on Rte 22 in Derwent, Ohio in 1924. Derwent is south of Byesville, Ohio and was on the way to Caldwell and Marietta. The building was a crude affair with the basic amenities for both attendants and customers. The pump on the left appears to be a Bowser Chief Sentry. The “Havoline Oil” sign is located in a prominent position for all to see. A basic filling station offering gasoline service to the motoring public. Notice the attire of the gentlemen in the photo. In this photo the same filling station takes on a whole new appearance!

Posted in Gasoline Alley | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Double Covered Bridge – Cambridge, Ohio circa 1900

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

Destroyed in the flood of 1913

This photograph shows the double covered bridge located in Cambridge, Ohio at the turn of the century. Unusual is the fact that it had two portals, an almost unheard of and extravagant feature in bridge construction at the time. In 1798 the crossing at Wills Creek had indeed been formidable and a ferry was established. This was replaced in 1801 by a log toll bridge which lasted until its replacement in 1828, shown here. The bridge was actually built in an adjacent field and the water was rerouted under it. The area in front of the bridge between the railroad tracks and the bridge entrance was once the stream bed. Alas, the floods of 1913 were too much for the structure and it washed away. As you view the photograph, keep in mind that a preponderance of citizens from the East over Zanes Trace and the National Road on their way to other parts of the country came across this meager stream and through this bridge. Some like to think that the double portal construction allowed two way traffic but some think the extravagance shown in its construction was somewhat of a salute to those that had made it as far as Cambridge, Ohio.

Posted in History Lane | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Chesters garage, a Pure Oil Company station about 1920

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

Chesters Garage a Pure Oil Company station. As with most of our service station photos this one was taken in Cambridge, Ohio. We feel that this area was representative of the early motoring and gasoline marketing in Ohio as it was a major junction of several state highways. Chesters garage sold Purol gasoline and products and the Purol lettering can be seen on the pump on the right. We believe the pumps to be Bowsers. Unfortunately the lettering on the pump globes can not be read in this photo. The station was located on Woodlawn Ave in Cambridge and this street also was old Rt.#21 that went to Marietta, Ohio and Parkersburg, W.Va. Chesters garage survived until the middle 1970s when it was destroyed in a fire.

Posted in Gasoline Alley | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Koolmotor

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

Cities Service Koolmotor cloverleaf globe

This is a Cities Service ”Koolmotor” cloverleaf shaped globe. These globes hold an attraction for collectors because of their unique and attractive shape and design. This particular globe is a 3-piece glass globe. Earlier Cities Service cloverleaf globes were one piece and are extremely hard to find I would imagine. This globe was purchased off the shelf in a tire store in Barnesville, Ohio where it had resided for many years. Given that globes are breakable assets it always amazes me that they survive!

Posted in Gasoline Alley | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Quick, take the picture!

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

A doubleheader coal train at Birds Run, Ohio in the 1920s.

Not a very good picture you say? Out of focus and blurred? Shouldn’t be on a Web site?

Place yourself at trackside on the C&M branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 1920s. You’re waiting with your Kodak box camera for the Northbound coal drag out of Cambridge, Ohio. Perhaps a whistle in the distance and a smudge of smoke on the horizon, and then a whistle for the crossing. Thousands of tons of machinery and material are suddenly on top of you and they are on the move! This is serious railroad business! Two freight engines are coupled to the head end and sharing drawbar traction while out of sight a similar engine pushes from the rear. The adrenaline causes you to snap a picture and step aside quickly! This coal drag is making a run for the Post Boy Hill gradient and the Post Boy tunnel and speed means the difference between making the hill or stalling in the tunnel. Look closely at the photo, it captures in its own crude way the essence of railroading. We wish we could do so well today! Compare this photo with the first photo on our page. It’s the same location with a few years seniority!

Posted in Railroading | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bowser Chief Sentry pump

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

I had ridden one of my motorcycles past this pump for five years before I realized what it was. It was located on a very beautiful back road in Southeastern Ohio where it had been used since 1927. The first time that I tried to buy it I was unsuccessful and finally after several attempts I was able to haul it home. With my son standing beside the pump, you can see that it is quite tall (11 ft. extended). The amazing part was that the pump was still hooked up to the tank and when removing it we had a small vapor flash while cutting the connection.

This pump was first made in 1913 by the S.F. Bowser Co. of Fort Wayne, Indiana. These pumps were popular and were used for many years. Eventually they were replaced by the visible style gasoline pump and were then relegated to garages or farms for dispensing purposes. The sides of the pump slide up and down to reveal the hand crane pump mechanism. See the “Gas Pump Collectors Guide” (Scott Benjamin and Wayne Henderson) for additional information.

Posted in Gasoline Alley | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cleveland & Marietta #8 – Circa 1885

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

Cleveland and Marietta Railroad engine #8 and crew with oil train at Macksburg, Ohio, 1885.

Its circa 1885 and Engine #8 of the Ceveland and Marietta Railroad is filling its oil tank cars with crude oil from the Macksburg, Ohio, Noble County oil fields. The oil boom in this area was early and did not last long but the C&M reaped some revenue dollars from it. At Macksburg was a wye that lead into a valley and this is where we believe that the oil was loaded. The wye at Macksburg lasted till the last days of the railroad although it saw little use. The C&M ran from Marietta, Ohio to Cambridge, Ohio then to Dover, Ohio. The C&M Railroad became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad but always retained its down home quality. Engine #8 was a 4-6-0 built by Baldwin in 1873 for the predecessor Marietta and Pittsburgh Railroad and was named the “Blackband”.

Posted in Railroading | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The bakery wagon’s horse gets filled up!

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

The photo shows the Cambridge Bakery Company horse and wagon at the Peoples Oil Co. service station, located at the foot of the Viaduct bridge on Dewey Ave in Cambridge, Ohio. The Cambridge Bakery Co. made and sold “Sunburst” bread to local homes and businesses.

The service station sold Mobiloil products and one can see the Mobiloil can racks beside the two, ten-gallon visible style pumps. The pump in the middle is a more rare five-gallon visible model with a “Metro” globe on top. The service was later purchased by Gail Marks and operated as a Mobil Oil station for several years. It now houses an upholstery business.

Posted in History Lane | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

BZ&C to the OR&W

Posted on January 6, 2012 by thepumpman

The BZ&C later became the Ohio River and Western, one of two narrow gauge railroads owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Its tracks never reached Cincinnati but it was one small “jewel” of a railroad. It ran through some of the most rugged terrain in Southeastern Ohio known as the “Switzerland of Ohio.” The locomotive was built by Brooks Locomotive works in 1879, shop number 348. It was originally lettered for the B&SRy Railway (BZ&C) and was named the “Bealsville.” It was scrapped about 1900. The caboose looks to be a homemade affair as it was the practice of the railroad to build its own small rolling stock. This railroad has become somewhat of a legend over the years and its artifacts and photos are much sought after.

Posted in Railroading | Tagged , | Leave a comment