Electric Equipment for the War Emergency Pipe-Line Projects

In the field of transportation of petroleum and its products by pipe line, the 24-inch and 20-inch lines, built by War Emergency Pipelines, Inc., from Texas to the Middle Atlantic Coast as emergency war projects, rank as world record breakers. The 24-inch line for crude oil is the largest ever built, and pipe-liners have picturesquely named it the Big Inch. The 20-inch products line is the largest for refined products and the longest line in existence, and is called the Little Big Inch. All pumping stations on both of these lines are operated by electric power, and in its application a number of interesting engineering problems developed. Results of the consideration given to these problems to meet successfully the anticipated operating conditions are given in this paper, and may be grouped as covering 1. Adequate protection of main pump motors and their circuits when supplied with power through transformers having various connections. 2. Use of capacitors for maintaining voltage on ``soft´´ power systems, and their proper switching for optimum effect. 3. Power-utilization-equipment performance obtained as the result of emergency engineering under war conditions.