I'm looking for info/pics of fertilizer buildings (production/warehouse) and where they might be positioned in relation to other buildings.Any assistance appreciated. Happy new year.
Interesting questions. What era are you working in?
The best reading on the subject is Richard Wines, Fertlizer in America: From Waste Recycling to Resource Exploitation. Temple University press, 1985.
Not the best source if you are modeling the current era but a great resource for period modeling.
The Library of Congress American Memory Collection has some images of fertlizer posters but nothing contemporary.
If you fire up Google Earth, here are some latitudes and longitudes of contemporary fertilizer plants:
AMERICAN FERTILIZER & CHEM CO Dock 38.74916 -77.034878
W S CLARK (X NEW BERN OIL & FERTILIZER CO Dock 35.14675 -77.06788
Good Hunting!
Kevin
Not sure if you are looking for a manufacturing plant or dealer.
The small fertilizer dealer I used to visit about 30 years ago had a simple storage building, think the outside was just corregated, galvanized roofing. The roof had a few fiberglass pannels to let in light. Inside was a flat concrete floor and bins with wooden sides and back walls. Telephone pole type posts. There were seperate bins for the different types and strengths of the components (N, P & K). I think the material was augered into each bin from a pit under the rails. When the customer came in they backed under a large overhead bin. A skidsteer type loader was used to move the material from the bins to the scales, correct weight of each component dumped into the hopper. It moved into a mixer, similar to a cement truck, without a truck under it. When blended, it was augered to the large overhead bin and unloaded into the customers truck or the bin for bagging.
From the outside a very simple structure with a place for the customer to back in and a couple of overhead bins sticking out above the roof. The only windows I remember were in the office.
It had been there quite awhile and would still be prototype for a small dealer today.
Good luck,
Richard
I just visited my old reliable search friend, Google (images), I did searchs for "fertilizer plants" "fertilizer warehouse" and found tons of pictures to look at for ideas.
One thing that constantly came up was pictures on the fertilizer plant explosion in near Waco, TX, in April of last year.....wow.
A lot of companies store the finished product in huge bulk facilities, where it's loaded into railcars and trucks for delivery.
So any way, maybe check it, and see if you can find what your looking for. Once you find something interesting, and it tells you where it's located (like a town or state, or company name) you can usually use Google Maps and Earth to see a satilite view of the place.
Mike.
My You Tube
Here are some additional coordinates to plug into Google Earth. Most of these locations also have railroad connections.
MOSAIC FERTILIZER, RIVERVIEW TERMINAL, 27.857674, 82.39283
AGRIFOS FERTILIZER, PASADENA PLANT, 29.74167, 95.19583
CATOOSA FERTILIZER CO DOCKS, 36.24083, 95.73806
CF INDUSTRIES, ROSEMOUNT FERTILIZER WAREHOUSE DOCK NOS 1 & 2, 44.76324, 93.002897
I forgot to include the negative sign on the longitude. ignore previous message.
Here are some additional CORRECTED coordinates to plug into Google Earth. Most of these locations also have railroad connections.
MOSAIC FERTILIZER, RIVERVIEW TERMINAL, 27.857674, -82.39283
AGRIFOS FERTILIZER, PASADENA PLANT, 29.74167, -95.19583
CATOOSA FERTILIZER CO DOCKS, 36.24083, -95.73806
CF INDUSTRIES, ROSEMOUNT FERTILIZER WAREHOUSE DOCK NOS 1 & 2, 44.76324, -93.002897
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I'm interested in the early 1950's fertilizer industry. Does anyone know if bulk fertilizer dealers like the one described here by Richard were around in the early 1950's? Does anyone have pictures? I can't find pictures of old fertilizer facilities, only modern ones. I don't know if modelling a wood version of todays structures is prototypical. Also I am unsure when bulk fertilizer started to be shipped in 2 bay covered hoppers (which of course were around much earlier than the 1950's) .Any help would be much appreciated
thank you
Steve
Steve,Yes there was bulk fertilizer dealers back in the 50s..Fertilizer came in bags and bulk.Bags by 40' boxcars and bulk by 2 bay covered hoppers.
For general information..Even today bagged fertilizer is shipped in 50' boxcars.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Buildings with sheet metal walls and roof panels date back well before the 1950s. A quick Google glance found one (an electronic manufacturer) in California, with a bunch of 1950-era cars in the foreground. The building looked well used...
A short-lived post-WWII phenomenon was the use of surplus Quonset structures (military surplus) for a variety of purposes. They were half-cylinders in shape, fabricated from bent corrugated sheet steel, and looked, more than anything else, like hugely oversize culvert sections. Matching sections of corrugated plastic allowed light in. While the standard Quonset hut wasn't very wide, there were some that built up to much larger structures.
Ammonium nitrate needs placards if transported now. I'm not sure when the use of diamond placards began.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - without chemical fertilizers but using ANFO as a mining explosive)
I remember an article on a fertilizer plant with drawings in about 1968 in Model Railroader. I recently tried to contact MR unsuccessfully to see if a could get a reprint. I do know that mixed fertilizer plants were in existence in the mid-1960s as I toured one in Perry, Iowa that appeared to be at least ten years old at the time. I also visited a Swift & Co. location in the early 70's that was being torn down that had been a mixed fertilizer plant in the Cincinnati area. These plant had massive reinforced concrete storage bins for raw materials. This plant dated back to before 1950.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/p/216836/2385291.aspx#2385291
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
ericsp http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/p/216836/2385291.aspx#2385291
Your link doesn't work..
From my own index:
Agricultural Lime Co. corrug.shed 90x36 open 2 sides, proto pix & drawings _Mod RRer_ Aug88 p.66
Fertilizer plant for Bay Junction layout Model Railroader March2011 p.46
BRAKIE ericsp http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/p/216836/2385291.aspx#2385291 Your link doesn't work..
I am using the Insert/Edit Link button. I do not know why it is not working.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/p/216836/2385291.aspx