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The house expert was unaware of it. I was, too. So, it's a pretty good possibility that you are unaware of the connection between the old Spur gas stations and the railroads, also. In my last ride report, Back Street Riding, I took a picture of this old gas station next to the tracks. A reader in Amite wrote and said this: The fuel station/distributorship brings to mind the old Spur gas stations. I'm also interested in old filling/service stations and a couple years ago did some internet research on them. Apparently, most places were right by a railroad spur where a tank car or 2 could be spotted and drained into the station's tanks. Hence the "Spur" name. They also carried bulk oil, kerosene, etc.
On my first attempt at searching for more information on Spur Stations, I hit THIS LINK. The important part on the page was this: Why does Murphy market under the Spur brand? When Murphy Corporation entered the marketplace in 1959 by acquiring the well established Spur Oil Company, a logo was the first thing needed to distinguish the company's unique marketing techniques -- while continuing to identify with the Spur brand. The Spur Distributing Company was formed in 1928 (re-organized as the Spur Oil Company in February, 1959) by J. Mason Houghland, and the Company was head-quartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Spur located its stations on right-of-way land it inexpensively leased from the railroad for 30 days to one year with the obligation to receive product by railroad tank car. At each location the Company erected a small building with a gravel driveway and three or four pumps. Only gasoline and motor oil were sold. The marketing system had less overhead than other marketers because of the relatively cheap transportation of the tank cars and the advantage of having the product shipped directly from the refinery and unloaded into the service station's tanks from a spur track, of side track, of the railroad. Before Murphy purchased Spur, motorists knew the (still) registered trademark as a representation of one of the railroad tank cars which unloaded product to the stations. The words "SPUR GAS" were printed on the silhouetted tank car, and "SPUR GASOLINE" was printed in a circle around the edges of the glass globe atop the pump. The distinguishing sign was the only such trademark motorists saw from the road. Murphy employed the New York advertising agency Lippincott & Margulies to originate a new logo that would be a blend of the well known Spur name and its new owner. The agency originally wanted to associate the Spur brand with the spur on a cowboy's boot, but a compromise produced the rowel, or spiked disc of the spur. Just as the spur track was an extension of the railroad's main line, the rowel is an extension of the cowboy spur. Appropriately, the Spur brand remains an extension of Murphy Oil. Me: I'm seeing conflicting dates. One account goes back to 1907. I've seen a station dated 1925. Here are a few Spur treasures. That can is being auctioned for 100 bucks.
And here's what I'll bet was one in Ville Platte.
If you know where an old Louisiana Spur Station is next to the rails
or where the rails were, please let me know. Could be a road trip.
More later.