BUILDING OF TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE TO OAK RIDGE GARDNER DENVER CO. NATURAL GAS 90644

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This film "As the Crow Flies" was made by the Gardner-Denver Co., a leading global provider of compressors, blowers, and vacuum pumps, (:09) shows the installation of part of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline. The pipeline was constructed by Oman Construction Co., RH Fulton & Co., and Brodie Construction Company (:30). The film opens with a car riding up a highway (:54). This part of the pipeline costs 10 million dollars (:57) and carries natural gas from the Tennessee Gas Transmission Company’s mainline in Tennessee to Oak Ridge (1:04). Due to the atomic bomb plant in Oak Ridge, the town had grown rapidly from a small one of the 5th largest city in the state (1:13). Covering a distance of 172 miles, the pipeline cuts through the Cumberland Mountains (1:48). The 22-inch pipe required a trench 3 feet wide with a minimum depth of 4 and ½ feet (2:28). A conveyor belt is seen pulling dirt out in ridges as bulldozers would then back fill the trench after the pipe had been laid (2:44). Contractors are at work using drilling equipment to break through rock (3:20). The Gardner-Denver model RMT 99 Twin Drill is pictured (3:46) and these twin drills were replacing hand held drills (3:53). The title of the film is given a nod as the narrator mentions that "while highways could mold to the mountains and terrain, a pipeline must be laid straight as how a crow must fly" (4:32). Each set of drills was receiving its air supply from the Gardner-Denver 500 cubic foot air compressor (4:55). As the sandstone was so abrasive, it was often used as a cutting tool itself in the marble mills of Knoxville (5:20). Oil bath cleaners removed dust from nearby drills (5:34). A drill equipped with an automatic blow valve sent blasts of cleaning air through the steel and through the bottom of the line (6:18). A helper is seen following behind plugging the holes with brush to protect them (6:21). Other workers are pictured lowering and turning on a blower (6:58). Each hole was spaced about three feet apart (7:25) and operators are seen steading a drill to begin drilling again (7:28). Diesel tractors haul the drills and compressors up and down steep slopes (8:54). A Gulf Oil Products supply truck (10:26) is being pushed through the mud by a bulldozer. As the Trackson Tractor becomes stuck in the mud (11:55), another tractor sits on more solid ground to pull it to safety. Powder men use dynamite sticks to blow through the terrain (13:54) and electric detonators are used in water entrenched areas (14:15). The powder men then move through lighting the fuses which smoke instantly and then blow down the line (15:49). Afterwards, the cleanup crew moves through to unearth the trench (16:59). Next the stringing crew will move in to lay pipe (17:03). Clam shells and back hoes are clearing the trench and after hand shovel men will take over (17:42). Viewers can see the Gardner-Denver 55lb hand held drills (18:05) at use. All the while, the pipe is being laid (18:25). As the pipe had already been tag welded, welders move in to add a full bead to each joint (18:41). Tractors raise a long string of welded pipe (19:44) while a towing machine cleans the pipe (19:50). The wrapping machine is up to bat (20:32) and connections are made for local distributing lines (21:25). The completed line is to deliver 600 million cubic feet of natural gas to the Atomic Energy Commissions Oak Ridge plant as well as communities along its route (21:48). The film nears the end as the pipe took 165 days to complete (22:35). Just before the end screen, bulldozers are seen moving dirt back over the pipe and trench (22:56).
Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGPL) is a set of natural gas pipelines that run from the Texas and Louisiana coast through Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to deliver natural gas in West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, and New England. The 11,900-mile (19,200 km) long system is operated by the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan. It is one of the largest pipeline systems in the United States. Its FERC code is 9. TGP's PHMSA pipeline operator i.d. is 19160. The first pipeline was constructed by Tennessee Gas Transmission Company (TGT) beginning in 1943.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFi...

[@aaronbaird3533]

Holy silicosis Batman!

[@joshuagibson2520]

I am tellin ya, if nothing else gets you out here, the terrain can check your ticket at any time. No matter, I love these mountains.

[@ryanv3751]

Safety man would have a heart attack between the noise, silica, asbestos wrap, and especially the blaster with a cigarette!

[@DrEvil814]

"Great care is taken to protect the engines and air compressors from the the highly abrasive silica dust with double oil bath air filters and spares always available." Mean while the drill operators stand in a cloud of dust. .. I was doing the same thing only 40 years ago.

[@marcuswyatt2849]

Paved the way for my generation.

[@SB-hy9iq]

Had me thinking about mesothelioma

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Lucky to still be with us Dr. Evil.

[@AugustusTitus]

The helper in the ditch no doubt died of silicosis. Not even a handkerchief.

[@stephenmitchell-we8wi]

They cared more about the intake filters than they did the men breathing that rock

[@donmcintosh4125]

All those men probably died from silicosis. Sad 😢

[@ghostmantagshome-er6pb]

My Grandad worked for the TVA and breathed asbestos for 30 years.

[@davidwarm6799]

They used the filters on their cigarettes for that

[@jhonsiders6077]

I wonder if they even knew about how dangerous silica was back then. Just like asbestos was never given a thought .

[@carlachambers3771]

Exahst fumes killed most people on the hoover dam project.

[@joshuagibson2520]

Out here in Morgan county Tn a lot of us have our own natural gas wells and pipe. Quite a few oil wells out here to. They have pretty much priced anyone out of doing such things these days though.

[@joshuagibson2520]

Well, priced and regulated actually.

[@joshuagibson2520]

Back when men were men and worked hard.

[@bobbyinalaska.4186]

And when women knew to behave or off to the nut house they went. And they did!

[@laserbeam002]

Absolutely....Try getting a young person to do this work today. They would turn their nose up and go back home to mommie and daddy.

[@SB-hy9iq]

And died young lol

[@jhonsiders6077]

Could you just see the top knot tattooed gym boys doing this ? They would fall over of exhaustion!

[@skipd9164]

I actually did markouts for a utility that fed off Tennico line in MASS. I didn't have responsibility for that line butt kept my eye on it

[@joemonroe3811]

They did a heck of a job they could probably not do what they did back then today like they did

[@skipd9164]

Actually today they can do it faster and better than back then. The new mains will also be able too have monitor equipment that measures wall thickness. It will also have more cathotic protection

[@staneckhart6648]

I’ve traveled 30 years all over the USA and Mexico laying pipelines. It’s cool to see these old films.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Curious to know the biggest differences you see in how it was done back then vs. now?

[@staneckhart6648]

@@PeriscopeFilm it’s pretty much the same but now days they have rock saws for ditching but they still blast some. They don’t use dope and tape for coating the pipe they now use epoxy. And a lot of big inch pipe they weld the pipe with automatics. And they also do a lot directional drilling. Today the pipeline integrity is most important.

[@carldorsey2604]

⁠@@staneckhart6648cool to see those old school side booms. I’ve had to put two part epoxy I believe on a few pipelines when I worked on them. Interesting tho I’ve had to work on an older pipeline they coated with asbestos we had to call AMPOL to come and bust the coating off.

[@robostyle9773]

Awesome video thanks

[@michaelhowell2541]

Ever watch a crow fly? Never a straight line!🤔😂🤣

[@joebufford2972]

I worked in a subdivision and severe county that had a pipeline going through it and anytime we disturb the soil there was an airplane in the air circling because there is a pipeline in the neighborhood

[@bobbyinalaska.4186]

Security company

[@steveblanco8812]

@demolitiondavedrillandblast think you'll enjoy this if you haven't seen it mate especially the drilling and blasting lighting fuses by hand

[@jimeditorial]

No safety glasses, boots or hard hats. No hearing protection either. I wonder how many of those men made it to 65?

[@derekbryant6137]

When men were men and safety people didn't have their way safety was up to the individual you worked as safe as you felt and that was get it done anyway that was the safety do it anyway because most of those men were there because of their families and nothing else

[@joshuagibson2520]

10mil wouldnt even get you 10 miles of pipline these days.

[@curtislowe4577]

I wonder how many of these men died young due to the double whammy of smoking and stone dust. There has always been so much resistance to even common-sense relatively inexpensive safety equipment on both the personal and corporate levels. 200 psi normal operational pressure but tested to 720 psi. 3.6 is an odd multiple. Was that an old API requirement?

[@mmal7982]

I think 720 psig is the MAOP as that matches a lot of other pipe of that vintage (so hydro'd to 1.5 times that?). Probably only need 200 at the terminus but who knows. The narration may be a little off on the details.

[@jhonsiders6077]

They had no idea how dangerous it was just like asbestos is.

[@skipd9164]

Actually I think it ran at 600 to 700 psi

[@joshuagibson2520]

There is no rock in Tn. Lol. So I have heard people say. I build fence and auger lots of holes. Im convinced we have the largest amount of sandstone anywhere in the world.

[@carlachambers3771]

This was before the Mexican know it alls started moving in.

[@stephenmulholland4868]

The video was a gas

[@BR-bj3ot]

I wonder if they ran into any Bigfoot?