Pacific Creosoting Company photograph collection, circa 1900-1939

1a: Caption on page: In the foreground is the treating cylinder house, power plant and working tank. On the working dock are shown some charges of ties ready for the treating retorts, and a 20 ton locomotive crane loading creosoted 5” x 10” – 9’0” sleepers on barges which are towed alongside the ship shown at the deep water mooring. At the left is seen part of a parcel of 100,000 creosoted sleepers in storage awaiting shipment to India.

1b: Photo of creosoted railroad ties being loaded onto barges.

2a: Caption on page: S.S. West Hartland loading creosoted sleepers for India at the outer moorings of the plant.

2b: Photo of ship being loaded.

3a: Caption on page: Panoramic view of plant showing 100,000 pieces of 5” x 10” – 9’0” creosoted sleepers awaiting shipment to India. Also untreated piling in seasoning yard. To the right is the working dock, also booming ground. In foreground is retort house, power plant and working tank, and to the left is shown part of the top of the million gallon creosote oil storage tank. The retort house is equipped with two steel treating retorts or cylinders 7’0” in diameter by 133 feet long, pressure and vacuum pumps, air compressor, electric generator set, measuring tanks, and recording instruments, which graphically indicate pressures, temperatures, vacuums, etc, for each minute of the treating period.

3b: Panoramic photo of plant and creosoted ties, Vancouver Creosoting Co. Ltd, Vancouver, B.C.

4a: Caption on page: View showing measuring tanks at right, from which exact quantities of creosote oil as specified by customer are pumped into the piling, ties, paving blocks, bridge timbers, etc, by means of the pumps, shown just beyond the tanks. To the left is part of the outside of one of the battery of eight creosoting retorts with which this plant is equipped; and beyond an end view of the instrument board which is shown in detail in another print.

4b: Photo of interior of operating room, Pacific Creosoting Co., Seattle, Washington.

5a: Caption on page: Recording instrument board: These delicate instruments precisely record temperatures, air pressures, creosote oil pressures and inches of vacuum in each of the eight retorts for each minute of the day and night.

5b: Photo of panel of recording gauges.

6a: Caption on page: In the storage yard shown here freshly cut piling is stacked for air seasoning. Extreme care is taken to prevent growth of fungi and to permit uniform seasoning, which later provides a better structural member and ensures a more uniformly deep penetration of the preservative.

6b: Photo of stacks of log pilings in yard.

7a: Caption on page: View of the door end of the eight treating retorts or cylinders with which this plant is equipped, giving it the largest treating capacity of any plant on the North American continent. Three men are seen using a huge wrench to tighten the bolts of the doors.

7b: Photo of 8 large treating cylinders.

8a: Caption on page: Another view of the seasoning yard showing a 20 ton locomotive crane at work. To the right is shown a creosoted skid or grid laid ready to receive a stack of green piling. This prevents growth of fungi and dry rot. Creosoted ties are used in all tracks.

8b: Photo of crane moving log piling.

9a: Caption on page: Panoramic view of entire plant property. Employees’ cottages at right. Huge creosote oil storage and working tanks (painted white) at right center with treating cylinder house and power plant just to the left. In the center is the working dock where timber and piling is loaded for treating and handled for inspection and shipment after creosoting. A paving block mill and a perforating and boring and adzing plant are shown in the exact center of the photograph. Ties and constructional timbers are perforated or incised before treatment to permit of a more uniform penetration of the preservative. Ties are bored before creosoting for rail spikes as a means to give further protection against exposure of untreated wood to dry rot and vegetable growths. Further to the left are shown creosoted ties stacked in slip sling-loads awaiting shipment to India. In the foreground is the seasoning yard for piling.

9b: Panoramic photo of Pacific Creosoting Company plant.

10a: Caption on page: Panoramic view of plant showing more clearly two of the five large creosote storage and working tanks, retort house, power plant and fuel storage at right, with car transfer slip in center foreground.

10b: Panoramic photo of Pacific Creosoting Company plant viewed from waterfront.

11a: Caption on page: Working dock: Steel cages on retort trams awaiting loading with paving blocks for treatment. Each of the eight treating cylinders is long enough to take the entire string of trams shown on the transfer table which moves to connect dock tracks with the treating cylinders. To the right are shown several charges of filing, construction timbers, ties and paving blocks.

11b: Panoramic photo of dock.

12a: Caption on page: This panorama shows the entire treating plant. On the left is the pump room with two working tanks in the rear. Between the transfer track, on the left, and the pump room the forms for a new boiler can be seen. This boiler room will be of fire-proof construction throughout and rests on reinforced concrete piers extending to bed rock. In the left foreground is shown the transfer table tracks and farther back the table with a charge of piling on it. In the middle background can be seen a string of cars loaded with treated ties: this shipment contains over 4,000 ties. On the right is seen the loading dock with its derricks and the perforating and boring machines. Back on the right is the Columbia County Lumber Company’s mill. One of the many such mills that supply our plant with ties and timbers.

12b: Panoramic photo of St. Helens Creosoting Company plant, Portland, Oregon.

13a: Caption on page: Figure #1 shows the method of handling ties received at the plant on barges. Here the ties are picked up in sling loads and placed on the skids preparatory to passing through the perforating and boring machine. On the center of the picture men can be seen taking ties from the sling loads to the feed rolls of the perforating machine.

13b: Photo of railroad ties being unloaded from barge, St. Helens Creosoting Co., Portland, Oregon.

14a: Caption on page: Picture #2 gives a more detailed view of the perforating and boring machines. Douglas fir is one of the many woods that are difficult to penetrate uniformly with preservatives. By making small perforations on the surface of the tie it is possible to obtain a uniform penetration to practically any required depth. Here the perforating machine is shown on the left. The ties passing from the left to the right through the machine. The ties next pass at right angles through a boring machine that bores the holes for spikes. This feature greatly improves the tie in that it affords a better distribution of oil around the rail bearing and also affords better holding power for the spike. After passing through the boring machine, ties drop onto skids and thence onto trucks ready to be treated.

14b: Photo of railroad ties on perforating and boring machines next to train tracks.

15a: Caption on page: Picture #3 shows a charge of green ties which have just passed through the perforating and boring machines and are ready to be switched onto the transfer table which shows in the foreground. This transfer table, which is 150 feet long and has a capacity for carrying 156 tons, moves to the left. Placing the charge of ties in front of the treating cylinders.

15b: Photo of railroad ties just out of perforating and boring machines.

16a: Caption on page: Picture #4 shows the treating cylinders. The transfer table with its load of green ties is aligned so that one empty track is in front of a retort. The doors are unbolted and swung open and the treated charge is then pulled out onto transfer table. The table now moves over and the untreated charge is pushed into the retort just emptied. When the door has been closed and bolted tight, the retort is filled with hot oil and the ties are given a seasoning bath which effectively prepares the wood for the injection of the oil.

16b: Photo of cylinders used to treat railroad ties.

17a: Caption on page: Picture #5 shows the pump or operating room. After the seasoning process, just mentioned, is completed, the pumps shown in the foreground are used to force the oil into the ties. A complete set of recording thermometers, pressure gauges and vacuum gauges gives a record of each step of the treating process. These gauges can be seen to right of the post shown in the foreground.

17b: Photo of interior of operating or pump room.

18a: Caption on page: Picture #6 shows another view of the pump room with the air compression in the foreground and measuring tanks just beyond the air compressor. These measuring tanks are equipped with gauge boards which afford the operator a means for determining when the required amount of oil has been pumped into the ties. With the equipment shown in pictures 5 and 6 a complete record of the treatment is had and each step in the treating operation can be inspected and checked, thereby making it possible for the control of the minutest detail.

18b: Photo of pump room air compressors and measuring tanks.

19a: Caption on page: Picture #7 shows the dock for storing and unloading some of the treated material. Along the right hand side of the picture can be seen treated ties which have been unloaded from the trucks, inspected and ready to load onto cars. To the left of these ties are other charges of treated material. In the center of the picture the arrow indicates the experimental plant where this company maintains a miniature treating plant in which experiments are almost continuously being carried on to try out new ideas, to refine existing processes or to be of service at any time to our customers.

19b: Photo of treated material stored on dock.

20a: Caption on page: Picture #8 shows the locomotive crane loading treated ties from the trams onto cars. From here these ties are switched alongside vessels for shipment. Even in this operation the ties are inspected and handled with the greatest care in order to insure the customer getting the best. On the ties in the foreground can be seen the perforations and the holes that are bored for spikes.

20b: Photo of crane loading treated railroad ties onto rail cars.

21a: Caption on page: Picture #9 shows several cars loaded with treated ties ready to be switched to the vessels for shipment. On the right is the main storage tank with a capacity of a million and a quarter gallons. This tank connects by pipe line to a dock where tank steamers can discharge. Only the best grade of creosote is used in our plant, one that conforms with the specifications of the American Railway Engineering Association or the American Wood Preservers’ Association, grade one calling for straight coal tar distillate oil.

21b: Photo of train loaded with treated railroad ties with storage tank on right.

22a: Caption on page: Picture #10 shows our terminal dock on deep water where all classes of material are loaded. Here are shown treated ties on scow, cars, and piled on the dock ready for loading on boats.

22b: Photo of dock, ships, and treated railroad ties.

23a: Caption on page: Picture #11 shows another view of the terminal dock with one of our own vessels tied up to load treated material.

23b: Photo of ship at dock.

24a: Caption on page: Picture #12 shows still another view of the dock with our vessels ready to load treated ties. Note that these ties are all in sling loads which means that they are be placed aboard the boat with the minimum damage to the ties.

24b: Photo of rail car loaded with railroad ties next to ship.

25a: Caption on page: Picture #13 shows a view of the loading dock at the treating plant where piling are handled with the derrick. Note that the long, uniformly tapering pile is being handled with a double sling in order to keep from injuring it. As this picture shows on the left, we have ample fresh water storage space for our piling where they may be kept free from any attacks from marine life.

25b: Photo of dock and piling.

26a: Caption on page: Picture #14 shows one of our vessels loading creosoted piling for delivery at points along the California coast and as far east as New York City. Great care is exercised in loading these long piling in order to keep them from being injured.

26b: Photo of ship being loaded with creosoted piling.

27a: Caption on page: Picture #15 shows still another view of one of our vessels loading piling at the terminal dock. These piling are rafted in the water and towed to the vessel. One of these rafts can be seen alongside the boat.

27b: Photo of ship being loaded with creosoted piling.

28a: Caption on page: Picture #16 shows a barge load of treated timbers, all framed and bored before treatment, for a large saw mill. These timbers were erected on the job without additional cutting or fitting, thereby obtaining the fullest benefit from the preservative treatment.

28b: Photo of barge loaded with treated timbers.

Cropped copy photo.