Last Men Standing

I came across these interesting old petrol (gas) pumps looking a bit forlorn in a hedge at the side of a back road near St. Boswells in Scottish Borders while out for a run.

Interestingly, the one on the left seems to have been upgraded for use with modern unleaded fuel at some point, see the green nozzle. When I ran a service station for ESSO in the 80s the pumps were serviced by a company called Gilbarco. A man with a van would come around and dismantle and service the pumps one at a time. Seems they’ve been around a mite longer than that.

The nearest building was probably the local garage. It certainly looks as if it started life as an industrial-type building and seems to have been converted into a dwelling house at some point. Why the pumps weren’t removed at the same time is anybody’s guess.