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The Transdimensional Gas Station

I find Google street view fun for that reason. It is like time travel as the pictures are real and quite detailed and, although it is not a long period of time, you look at the pictures and can jump times.

One of the street views of my place has my nephew working in my front yard. I jokingly tell him it's the only piece of proof that he works.

But it is also interesting that you can kind of get an idea of the economic times of a place. One picture will show a busy intersection, but a few years later you can see "for sale" signs and empty streets. Sometimes I find it a little eerie.
 
Mythopoeika said:
You can view a Google street view over the years.
There's a little control at the top left, next to where it says the date. Click on it and you can see a little window. If you click on the slider in this small window, you can see a street view that was recorded at different dates/times.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that very useful advice. I've been using it for 9 years and I never knew that. WHY do so many useful programs not display explicit, easily seen controls? I had a big problem with my word processor and when I contacted the help service I was told that to solve the problem I had to click on a tiny full stop somewhere on the right of the screen. Even then it took me some time to find it. User-friendly it isn't..
 
So I don't have to read twenty pages of text, can anyone recall how far from the base these people were working ?

As the average Diesel van is quite economic, I was wondering why they were so concerned about the fuel.

The only feasible explanation is the the tank must have been almost empty. An that the 'low fuel' warning light will have been on for some time.
 
It's in the OP's first post. Their day assignment was in a town / village circa 10 miles / 15 km from their Mjölby home base. This distance claim correlates with the most direct route between the two towns. There are other, longer, routes that could readily have been taken between the two places if they'd elected to take a "scenic route."

The minimum round trip would therefore have been circa 30 km (point-to-point; no additional driving during the day). The OP gave no clues indicating how much they'd driven around during the day at the remote location.

The other guy (not the OP / narrator) was driving and noticed they were low on fuel after traveling circa 5 - 7 km back from the remote location after they'd finished their assignment. He also states they were concerned about whether they could make it an additional 10 km (+/-) to reach home base.

There's no mention of a low fuel warning light. I'm not sure whether a pre-1993 Euro market T3 Transporter had one. The only reference to fuel level is to the fuel gauge and the indicator needle being pegged at its lowest position. This is why I questioned whether the gauge was working.

It may or may not have been a diesel van. I mentioned the existence of diesel T3 Transporters to note the possibility the fuel they'd contaminated wasn't gasoline.
 
INT21 said:
The only feasible explanation is the the tank must have been almost empty. An that the 'low fuel' warning light will have been on for some time.
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A good point. If a diesel runs out of fuel and stops, simply putting fuel in the tank won't be enough to get it started.
 
EnolaGaia,

I see where I got the Diesel reference from. Back on page 1. The OP thinking the guy may have put in Diesel instead of petrol.

There is another option. If petrol has been stood around a very long time, it loses it's volatility and is very hard to ignite.
 
Mythopoeika said:
A good point. If a diesel runs out of fuel and stops, simply putting fuel in the tank won't be enough to get it started.
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True, but ... They didn't run out of fuel - the van was still running when they pulled into the TGS.
 
INT21 said:
EnolaGaia,
I see where I got the Diesel reference from. Back on page 1. The OP thinking the guy may have put in Diesel instead of petrol.
There is another option. If petrol has been stood around a very long time, it loses it's volatility and is very hard to ignite.
Click to expand...

Yes - that's why there have been multiple suggestions it may have simply been very old gasoline they put in the tank, possibly adulterated with (e.g.) water from condensation in the TGS fuel reservoir.
 
Mythopoeika said:
You can view a Google street view over the years.
There's a little control at the top left, next to where it says the date. Click on it and you can see a little window. If you click on the slider in this small window, you can see a street view that was recorded at different dates/times.
Click to expand...
Ah yes but doesn't show different dimensions....
 
Don't know, I'm strictly XP with the occasional foray into Linux.
 
Reading the latest posts on here, a thought occurs that maybe this didn't happen to the OP. Maybe he was there, having finished his day's work, when the two lads got back with a cover story as to how they'd knackered-up the work's van.

Maybe it made an impression on the OP and years later, he writes about it on here, but makes it first person because a secondhand account of this event would not be nearly so powerful.

I only theorise this because so much of it rings true, clearly much of this story is based in reality, and yet... a vanishing gas station on a road they'd driven hundreds of times? I just don't buy it. Someone made that bit up for reasons known only to themselves. Maybe the OP believed the story for many years himself and that's why it's so compelling?
 
Scribbles, I think that aspect has already been considered, at least in part, elsewhere in the thread.
 
Well I'll be passing Mjölby again in a few weeks so I'm on track to break the world record for "The Highest number of journey deviations to look for an invisible place". In fact, thinking about it, I'm pretty sure that I am the World Record holder when it comes to "The highest number of journeys made looking for Transdimensional Gas Stations". Show me anybody on this planet who has looked for Transdimensional Gas Stations more than me. Somebody give me a certificate.
 
rev_dino said:
Possibly, I have a note to self about checking the database to see when the oldest post is.
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According to the post index, the oldest post on today's forum is post #1 in the Loch Ness Monster thread - dated 29 June 2001 - and recorded as post number 1 in the index.
 
Ringo said:
Well I'll be passing Mjölby again in a few weeks so I'm on track to break the world record for "The Highest number of journey deviations to look for an invisible place". In fact, thinking about it, I'm pretty sure that I am the World Record holder when it comes to "The highest number of journeys made looking for Transdimensional Gas Stations". Show me anybody on this planet who has looked for Transdimensional Gas Stations more than me. Somebody give me a certificate.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be a turn up if you found it..
 
Ringo said:
Show me anybody on this planet who has looked for Transdimensional Gas Stations more than me. Somebody give me a certificate.
Click to expand...
Here ya go!
Ringo Award.jpg
 
Ringo said:
Well I'll be passing Mjölby again in a few weeks so I'm on track to break the world record for "The Highest number of journey deviations to look for an invisible place". In fact, thinking about it, I'm pretty sure that I am the World Record holder when it comes to "The highest number of journeys made looking for Transdimensional Gas Stations". Show me anybody on this planet who has looked for Transdimensional Gas Stations more than me. Somebody give me a certificate.
Click to expand...

It might be more effective to stop by the Mjölby Kommun offices and see if it's possible to retrieve and review the motor pool (maintenance / repair) records and employee invoice / expense submissions for July 1993.
 
@IbisNibs LOL - Thank you so much. I have downloaded that and I will be printing it out and framing it. Honestly - thank you. That really made my day.
INT21 said:
There are probably people out there that say 'Yes, he should be certified'.
Click to expand...
Can I double like that post? Well yes I can, if I use all my personalities.
 
EnolaGaia said:
It might be more effective to stop by the Mjölby Kommun offices and see if it's possible to retrieve and review the motor pool (maintenance / repair) records and employee invoice / expense submissions for July 1993.
Click to expand...
Their records will probably be filed with the same degree of organization that the OP's receipt was filed . . .
 
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