CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Pipeline

type of overhead or underground lines using pressure pipelines to transport liquid material over a long distance

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ25471856
Source-derived summary

A pipeline is a system of pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. Industry datasets indicate the length of the global trunk/transmission pipeline network is on the order of ~2.19 million km by 2025, with North America accounting for ~44%. The United States had 65%, Russia had 8%, and Canada had 3%, thus 76% of all pipeline were in these three countries. The main attribute to pollution from pipelines is caused by corrosion and leakage.

Pipeline and Gas Journal's worldwide survey figures indicate that 118,623 miles (190,905 km) of pipelines are planned and under construction. Of these, 88,976 miles (143,193 km) represent projects in the planning and design phase; 29,647 miles (47,712 km) reflect pipelines in various stages of construction. Liquids and gases are transported in pipelines, and any chemically stable substance can be sent through a pipeline.

Pipelines exist for the transport of crude and refined petroleum, fuels—such as oil, natural gas and biofuels—and other fluids including sewage, slurry, water, beer, hot water or steam for shorter distances and even pneumatic systems which allow for the generation of suction pressure for useful work and in transporting solid objects. Pipelines are useful for transporting water for drinking or irrigation over long distances when it needs to move over hills, or where canals or channels are poor choices due to considerations of evaporation, pollution, or environmental impact. Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes which are usually buried.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pipeline” as type of overhead or underground lines using pressure pipelines to transport liquid material over a long distance. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2025—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Pipeline, type and overhead can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as type of overhead or underground lines using pressure pipelines to transport liquid material over a long distance. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q25471856. The Library of Congress control number is sh85102372. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2025.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Pipeline”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Pipeline primary sources, Pipeline archive and Pipeline research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pipeline”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Pipeline” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.