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BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES OF AMERICAN RAILROADS.

level of the floor to allow oil to be drawn from them. It is. therefore, customary to put thetanks in a basement, the floor of which is sunk below the general yard level, with an upperstory above it, from which the oils are dumped through holes in the floor into the tanksbelow. The barrels are either hoisted to the upper floor by suitable appliances, or rolledup an incline. This second floor is very useful to keep barrelled oil in excess of the tankagecapacity of the house, and is also employed to store waste, tallow, and other similar supplies.Where a second floor is not desired, the barrels are hauled up skids with ropes on to runwaysof old iron rails on top of the tanks, and the oil discharged. When the amount of -oil usedis small, and shipments are made into store only at long intervals, the erection of a two-storybuilding is not advisable, unless the additional storage space is desired.

Some oils, especially those required for lighting purposes and lubricating car-journals,where used in large amounts, are usually received in tank-cars, in which case large storage-tanks are placed in a cellar below or to one side of the building. The oil can thus be dis-charged from the tank-cars into the storage-tanks by gravity through a pipe with propergoose-neck, hose, and valve connections. It is then usually pumped, as required, into asmaller set of tanks, called supply-tanks, appropriately located in the main building with thetanks for barrelled oil. The tank-cars could be run up an incline and the oil dischargeddirectly into the regular supply-tanks; but the former method has the advantage of keepingthe bulk of the stock in a separate, closed compartment, and does not require unusually largesupply tanks inside the main building.

The location of an oil-storage house for dealing out the current supply of oil should bepreferably alongside a track leading to or from an engine-house, coaling or water system, orfacing any track that engines usually take when coming in from or preparing to start out ona run, so that they need not go out of their way to get their supply of oil. As a rule, thequestion of supplying oil promptly to engines will control the location, although in certaincases the wants of the car service or shop department will have preference.

Where the circumstances warrant, it is desirable to have a special attendant to look afterthe house and deal out the supplies, thus obviating many objectionable features, which wouldbe brought into prominence in case any one of the company's employes could enter and drawoil at will. Where a special attendant is employed, the men pass their cans over a railing orthrough a small window, and the oil, waste, tallow, and other supplies they may require ishanded to them. It is customary for the day man to draw the night supply into separate cansand set them in a small inclosure or on a shelf outside of the main building or immediatelyinside the entrance, unless the business is heavy enough to warrant a special night attendant.

In large yards or shop systems, small branch oil-shanties are established at differentpoints for the convenience of car-inspectors and shop-hands, the supply being sent from themain oil-house in large cans or drums. These buildings are usually small frame structures,sheathed and roofed with corrugated iron. The interior is fitted up with shelves or trestlesfor the oil-cans, bins for holding waste, and racks, pigeon-holes, and shelves for miscellaneoussupplies and car inspectors’ tools.

In cold weather the oils in a supply-house must be heated, to render them sufficientlyfluid to run properly in discharging from barrels into the supply-tanks, or in drawing oils.Where the stock carried in the house is very small, a stove is used, either in the same space,