Endless Cable System

Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 10, 2021

1. Endless Cable System Marker

During the summer of 1972, “Old Buckeye,” the oil-pumping machinery of the West Oil Co. near Volcano, West Virginia, was still operating after nearly 70 years of service.

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The incongruity of its Rube Goldberg construction and its sylvan location in the hill country east of Parkersburg was sufficient to inspire curiosity in the most casual observer. From its central powerhouse in an old frame shed, continuous loops of wire cable, the “endless wires,” ran off into the woods from well to well for three-fourths of a mile. At each well, a series of three wheels transformed the linear motion of the cable to a vertical pumping motion by means of a crank and a walking beam. Until 1971, “Old Buckeye” had been run by George West, the 87-year-old son of the man who had built it.



One of the most striking aspects of the whole operation was its similarity to the small and middle-sized farming typical of the surrounding area. Like these farms, the West Oil Company was isolated and quite self-sufficient as both a working and a living unit. With few exceptions, parts for Old Buckeye had been manufactured on the site from local materials These included two band wheels, one of over 17 feet and the other of 12 feet diameter, made of solid oak segments and spokes. The three smaller wheels at each well were of similar construction, made in West’s “machine shop” from timber cut on the site. The machine shop itself was not unlike those found on small farms and included an assortment of general-purpose woodworking machines, such as a table saw, lathe, planer, jigsaw, drill press and wheel lathe. These tools and a small blacksmith's forge made the West Oil Company virtually self-sufficient in terms of replacement and repair of its equipment.

A rare example of a technology which was once considered to be the best available means of long distance power transmission.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 10, 2021

2. Endless Cable System Marker

The endless-wire cable method was introduced and advanced in the United States by John Roebling and his sons as a likely market for the products of their cable factory. Its use here was a result of the decline of flowing wells and the increased necessity of pumping the oil out of the ground. The technique was adapted to local conditions by William C. Stiles. This particular installation dates to about 1895 when Michael West first leased the oil rights to this land from the Volcanic Oil and Coal Company.

March 1923 The Rig & Reel Magazine via Library of Congress

3. How the endless cable runs from well to well in the Volcano field

Located, interpreted, and collected by Dennis M. Zembala, the Historic American Engineering Record of the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service.

March 1923 The Rig & Reel Magazine via Library of Congress

4. Typical Well Hook-Up

The cable runs over the guide wheel and down under the lower circumference of the operating wheel whose axle imparts motion to the walking beam. Thence the cable runs over the third wheel which guides the cable in the direction of the next well. The walking beam moves slowly up and down but seems to have energy enough to operate the sucker rod and pump the well’s daily production. Located, interpreted, and collected by Dennis M. Zembala, the Historic American Engineering Record of the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service.