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Former Manufactured Gas Plants in the United States
Comprehensive records of the numbers and actual location of former manufactured gas plants of this country do not exist. The author keeps an expanding tally based on his discoveries of such sites in the vast literature of manufactured gas. The known and estimated numbers of these plant sites in major cities are presented below, current through March 2011.
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Estimated Numbers of Former Manufactured Gas Plants & Other Coal Tar Sites of the United States
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Category of Site
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Number
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Remarks
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Browns Directory of North American Gas Plants (From 1887)
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1500
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Based on a 1985 USEPA contract snapshot assessment of numbers as reported and differentiated as single plants, in ten-year, even-decade tallies.
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FMGPs not reported to Browns Directory (From 1887)
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1000
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Non-detection by virtue of non-membership in gas associations or non-participation in voluntary reporting to publishers of the directory.
Non-reporting of multiple or replacement plants by some gas-making entities.
Not detected by the level-of-effort USEPA survey (1985) of Browns Directory by the decade only.
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District Gas Holders built as below-ground components (to about 1910)
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500
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Common to larger cities with distribution holders and gas compressors used to extend the radius of distribution beyond the original area. Below-grade holders subject to out-leakage of residual tars accumulated from purified gas.
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Pintsch plants at rail yards (1873-1960)
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100-150
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Produced compressed illuminating gas for use in all manner of human-occupied rail cars; not reported in any single journal or listing.
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Gas plants at military posts, yards and stations (1849-1945) Gas plants and gas producers at arsenals and munitions plants
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100-150
50-100
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Virtually any post in operation prior to 1910; as a result of general isolation from commercial sources, particularly of the WW I era.
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Institutional gas machines (1850-1950)
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5000-10000
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Hotels, resorts, hospitals, colleges and schools, estates and mansions, and asylums.
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Kerosene refiners (from soft coal);1850-1870
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100-150
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Distilled lamp oil from boghead coal; mainly located in New England and generally operating with Scottish coal or oil shale.
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Domestic/Residential gas machines (1890-1950)
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10000- 15000
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Large homes, mansions and country estates; Examples are the intact mansions of railroad magnates James J. Hill (Minneapolis) and Edward Harriman (Arden Estate, rural New York).
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Gas producer plants (1880-1950)
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11000- 15000
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Fuel supply units for industrial plants incorporating furnaces or kilns; factories, smelters, iron and steel plants, brick, terra cotta and cement plants.
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Bottled manufactured gas plants (1912-1940
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100
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Manufactured oil-enriched water gas or solvent-vapor gas; Compressed to liquid state into small, portable cylinders.
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Compressed fuel briquette plants (1910-1940)
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100
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Blended and fine-crushed anthracite and bituminous coal; also coke breeze roasted to recover gas and tar residuals; then bound by-product tar and compressed into 2X2-inch briquettes.
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Beehive coke works (1800-1930)
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2000-4000
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Produced coke without recovery of by-products.
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Merchant and utility coke works (1890-1996)
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250-300
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Produced coal gas and coke with recovery of coal-tar by-products.
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Tar distilleries (1900-1960)
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200-400
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Converted gasworks tar residues to industrial chemicals and useful by-products.
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| Coal-Tar-Based Dyestuff Plants |
150-200 |
Product of WW I embargoes; seven such plants known to U.S. Bur. Commerce in 1914; ca. 150 known in 1917. |
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Wood preservation plants
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800-1000
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Pressure and non-pressure impregnation of timber with dominantly coal-tar products, mainly creosote; many lumber yards also participated.
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Experimental Coal Gasification Plants. U.S. Bureau of Mines (1947-1990)
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5-15
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Pilot plants funded to universities, petroleum companies and various research institutes and firms, operating mainly on WW II German technologies (1938-1945)
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Coal & Oil Shale Gasification & Synthetic Fuel Pilot Plants; U.S. Department of Energy and predecessors (1970-1985)
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63-75
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Widespread in many States; operations typically lacked acceptable management of tar residuals.
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Totals
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33,010 - 50,308
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Individual sites at which substantial amounts of coal-tar residuals can be expected to be countered.
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Compiled by Allen W. Hatheway, on various lines of evidence; rev. Oct 2008
| Relative Numbers of Former Manufactured Gas Plants in Major American Cities |
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City
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FMGPs
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Other Coal-Tar Sites
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Special Situations
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Atlanta
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9
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Estimated 50
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Atlanta Gas Light Company name has been retained through several holding-company changes in ownership. Along with the Washington (D.C.) Gas Light Co. and Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. (Chicago), believed unique in the U.S. for this particular situation of name retention.
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Baltimore
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44
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Estimated 200
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Gas holders of Baltimore were largely demolished, from 1996 through 2000.
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Boston
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52
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Estimated 100
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Pre-1911: Consolidated by Boston Consolidated Gas Co.; now Boston Gas Company.
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Chicago
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116
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Estimated 400
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1897-1898: Consolidation begun by Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co., and completed in 1907, with ownership control held by Samuel Insull.
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Denver
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30
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Estimated 35
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1891: Consolidated by Denver Consolidated Gas Co.1893: reconsolidated by Denver Gas & Electric Co.1910: reconsolidated by Henry L. Doherty as Pubic Service Co. of Colorado
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Detroit
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50
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Estimated 350
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Unknown date: Consolidated by Detroit City Gas Co., a private utility; later American Light & Traction Company.
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Kansas City, MO
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13
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Estimated 50
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Ca. 1895: Consolidated by UGI, Philadelphia; then Cities Service Co., ca. 1912.
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Kansas City, KS
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9
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Estimated 20
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Single-firm monopoly; Various owners; Eventually Cities Service Co.
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Long Beach, CA
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9
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Estimated 20
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1895: Colonized by UGI, of Philadelphia, PA
1914: Consolidated by Southern Counties Gas Co.
ca. 1925: municipal take-over of gas services.
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Los Angeles, CA
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32
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Estimated 50
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Eventual takeover by UGI spin-off Pacific Gas Improvement Co., formed in 1882; grew Into todays Pacific Enterprises.
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New Orleans, LA
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16
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Estimated 30
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New York City
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99
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Approximately 1000 throughout the five boroughs
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1884: Partial consolidation of 7 gas companies into Consolidated Gas Co. 1891: Gas war between the 16 companies in place post-1891: continued consolidation1936: consolidation into Consolidated Edison Co. of New York City.
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| Brooklyn |
30 |
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Oakland, CA
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6
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Undetermined
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1905: consolidated by Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
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Philadelphia City and its near Suburbs
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17
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Many more than 7
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First gas plant (1834) a municipal venture; plagued for decades by scandal; City contracts with UGI for long term operation, urban and suburban systems strong and operated apart but all owned, after 1882 by UGI, operating with J.P. Morgan financing.
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Phoenix, AZ
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3
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Undetermined
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1882: originated by UGI; passed to Pacific Gas Improvement Co., then to PG&E.
1920: Arizona Public Service Company formed.
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Pittsburgh, PA
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9
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Many more than 9
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Topographic irregularity of terrain suggests original need for relatively greater number of gas plants.
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Portland, OR
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15
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More than 3
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Never any competition; growth of original 1852 firm, Portland Gas Light & Coke Co.; owned by EBASCO
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Providence, RI
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5
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Undetermined
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Remained in perpetual control by Providence Gas Co.
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St. Louis, MO
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54
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26 known; 150 expected
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1890: Consolidated by Laclede Gas Light Co., third historic gas company of the City, with 1909 control by the American Light & Traction Co. of NYC, NY.
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Sacramento, CA
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7
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Undetermined
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1912: Consolidated by Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
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Salt Lake City, UT
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5
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More than 6
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1920s: Consolidated by Utah Power & Light Co.
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San Antonio, TX
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2
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More than 2
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ca. 1894: Municipal take-over.
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San Diego, CA
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Unknown
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Undetermined
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Pre-1906: Consolidated by H.M. Byllesby & Co., of Chicago.
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San Francisco, CA
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31
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Undetermined
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ca. 1912: Consolidated by Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
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San Jose, CA
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5
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Undetermined
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ca. 1912: Consolidated by Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
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Seattle, WA
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10
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Undetermined
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Pre-1913: Consolidated by Pacific Northwest Public Service Company
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Washington, D.C.
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10
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Undetermined
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Post-1906: Consolidated by Washington Gas Light Co., the original manufactured gas company
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Compiled by Allen W. Hatheway, as presently known to or suspected by the author. Note that district stations are counted in FMGP column, when known as such and as potential locations of tar residuals.
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