Grain elevators, anyone?

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

This is my flour mill.  It wraps around a corner of the model train room to the left of the building.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Below is a photo of my kitbashed grain elevator complex in my fictional town of Prairie View.

[doctorwayne]

It's nice to see the varieties of elevators in the prototype photos and then the various interpretations by different modellers.  There's probably a prototype to match just about anything you might come up with.   Thanks to those who commented favourably on my GERN complex, too.  The facility, situated on the north shore of Lake Erie, mines flux from beneath the lakebed, then processes it for various industrial and pharmaceutical uses.  The Walthers kits were assembled with all of the sides facing the viewer, with backs made from .060" sheet styrene.  Most of the rest is built from more .060" sheet, although the walls of the warehouse, near the water, are Evergreen corrugated styrene, and the roof Campbell corrugated sheets.  The rooftop water tower and the vertical storage tanks are cardboard tubes with .010" styrene wrappers, while the horizontal tanks are plastic tubes from Telescript paper.  This plant is a great source of traffic for the railroad.

Wayne   

[pastorbob]

My three deck ATSF in Oklahoma in 1989 contains a total of 13 grain elevators of various types.  A good part of the layout is built around the elevator complexes that have been a part of the Enid Oklahoma scene for many years.  I don't have any photos to upload, but you can see most of the elevators on my website, www.atsfmodelrailroads.com

Bob

 

[wedudler]

Like you see Walther's Grain elevator and Flour mill:

The foreground belongs to a museum.

Wolfgang 

[railroadyoshi]

doctorwayne...all I can say is wow. Really, wow.

BB4005, I'm not sure whether you're still active here as I haven't seen any recent posts, but I'm an annual visitor to the Twin Cities and loved the Hiawatha district. I guess that sorta makes me Minnesotan? (who am I kidding?). We regularly used the Hiawatha route coming from the airport to get to my relatives' home in New Brighton, and I always enjoyed watching the elevators go by. It's even more incredible from the air, as the mass of suburbia is spread around you, and a strip strung in the middle of towering grain elevators. Your photos make me want to modelg grain ops in the Twin Cities even more.

[jfallon]

Here is one that I scratched built in a rush before our modualr club set up for a display.  All in all, I was pretty happy considering it is made from a 10 foot peice of drain pipe.

I still need to work on details, such loading or unloading equipment...  but that is on the list.

I have a loading track and a holding track that can hold 4 cars each...a 5th on a squeeze..

Wow, that's very good for a rush job. I have a similar one, made from a scrap piece of PVC and a cardboard box cut to shape for now.

 

 

I plan on scratch-building a new loading area and adding more detail for the silos. Just need to get a round Tuit!

[canazar]

Wayne,

  That is impressive.  I love the complex.  Great detail and weathering.   Wow..

[doctorwayne]

wranglerhuck

Hello,

    I recently purchased 2 Walthers ADM grain elevators to combine. Did you get yours finished? If so do you have pictures of them? I would like to see photos of these also from fellow modelers..Thanks!!

This isn't a grain elevator, but I started with the Walthers ADM kit, some add-on silos, and a Red Wing Milling kit.  The rest is scratchbuilt.

 

Wayne

[canazar]

Here is one that I scratched built in a rush before our modualr club set up for a display.  All in all, I was pretty happy considering it is made from a 10 foot peice of drain pipe.

I still need to work on details, such loading or unloading equipment...  but that is on the list.

I have a loading track and a holding track that can hold 4 cars each...a 5th on a squeeze..

[tatans]

google:Grain Elevators Saskatchewan-----look under: Saskatchewan Elevators from the UofS archives, there are hundreds of pictures of wooden grain(we mean wheat) elevators, good luck

[wranglerhuck]

Hello,

    I recently purchased 2 Walthers ADM grain elevators to combine. Did you get yours finished? If so do you have pictures of them? What would be the best way to weather them?..I'm not crazy about the white elevators even though they was painted that way to keep the heat from causing combustion..I would like a natural aged concrete look..I prefer to spray it on..I would like to see photos of these also from fellow modelers..Thanks!!

[PennsyHoosier]

These are great pics and links. Thanks all!

I love grain elevators, too. I grew up in corn country and a place where the grain elevator is the tallest building for miles is "home."

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ericsp

QUOTE: Originally posted by RDLkrbyvllRR

Hey guys, love all the pics. I also love grain elevators. Gonna model some on my layout, when I get one. Have anything about elevators at ports.[?] I'm interested in modeling one, where grain is unloaded from RR hoppers, then, loaded onto ships. Also, there's an abandoned elevator about 4 mi. south of where I live. With a track connection. It's not that big, but, I think it would be a perfect fit on any layout. I don't have any photos of it, yet. Anyone interested.[?]

Guys, I mean those pics are[8D].

Erdle, RDL, or Robert

http://www.portofsacramento.com/f_facilities.html
http://www.portoftacoma.com/aboutus.cfm?sub=128&photosection=7
http://www.portoftacoma.com/shipping.cfm?sub=52
http://www.portseattle.org/seaport/cargo/grainfacility.shtml
http://www.portoflewiston.com/index1.html

and www.tulsaport.com
Bet yall didn't know there was one in Oklahoma[;)]

[XG01X]

What are those yellow poles outside the elevator?

[Anonymous]

Dito on the thanks eric for those links. We were talking at the hobby shop
the other day on how to model the plant itself, also on how to handle the
waste corn.[:D]

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RDLkrbyvllRR

Hey guys, love all the pics. I also love grain elevators. Gonna model some on my layout, when I get one. Have anything about elevators at ports. I'm interested in modeling one, where grain is unloaded from RR hoppers, then, loaded onto ships. Also, there's an abandoned elevator about 4 mi. south of where I live. With a track connection. It's not that big, but, I think it would be a perfect fit on any layout. I don't have any photos of it, yet. Anyone interested.

Guys, I mean those pics are.

Erdle, RDL, or Robert

http://www.portofsacramento.com/f_facilities.html
http://www.portoftacoma.com/aboutus.cfm?sub=128&photosection=7
http://www.portoftacoma.com/shipping.cfm?sub=52
http://www.portseattle.org/seaport/cargo/grainfacility.shtml
http://www.portoflewiston.com/index1.html

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jamison1

Wow, what helpful replies!
Thanks Eric for those links. I have a new ethanol plant near me and was thnking about tackling the project of modeling it.

You are welcomed. This thread also is about ethanol plants.
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=25299

[Anonymous]

Wow, what helpful replies!
Thanks Eric for those links. I have a new ethanol plant near me and was thnking about tackling the project of modeling it.

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, love all the pics. I also love grain elevators. Gonna model some on my layout, when I get one. Have anything about elevators at ports.[?] I'm interested in modeling one, where grain is unloaded from RR hoppers, then, loaded onto ships. Also, there's an abandoned elevator about 4 mi. south of where I live. With a track connection. It's not that big, but, I think it would be a perfect fit on any layout. I don't have any photos of it, yet. Anyone interested.[?]

Guys, I mean those pics are[8D].

Erdle, RDL, or Robert

[Anonymous]

any elevators in urban northeast areas, still? all i see up here are cement, gravel & sand silos. funny thing is, there must be, since i see covered hoppers with coop names parked on sidings in the boston area, but i cant identify any elevators or food storage silos. maybe they hide them underground?...

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by danny t

Man theres a lot of great ideas out there. Im doing something a litle different,
I plan to use two ADM elevators and make one, with a brewing plant behind it for my
ethanol plant.

With ethanol coming into widespread use as a fuel additive the demand has increased considerably recently. Therefore most of the ethanol plants are probably relatively new. When you say a "brewing plant" is that what you are calling the ethanol plant or do you mean that you plan on buying a model of a brewery and use it? None of the ethanol plant I have seen look like the breweries listed in the Walthers catalog (although that does not mean there are not any). Here is an ethanol company's website that includes pictures of the plant (including it being built).

http://www.badgerstateethanol.com/
http://www.badgerstateethanol.com/photo_album.htm
http://www.wsorrailroad.com/monroe/ethanol1a.html

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Hawks05


of course i recognize those. some of them i had to try and figure out what angle you were shooting from. the one with the train coming at you was that taken from down across from that trucking place? or where were you on that one.

i should get out and take some pictures soon before it gets to cold.

Well Jim, those were taken on a Friday night last summer. We parked at the crossing 2 blocks east of the highway, then walked the tracks back to the highway waiting for the train. I think by the time the train got there, I had already walked all the way back, and was actually east of where we parked, closer to the ballfields. I used the zoom on the camera.

If you want pictures this time of year, you'll want to take them on a day when there's no school, so you have some light. Those structures have so much character, I love small town America.[;)][8D]

[Hawks05]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005
of course i recognize those. some of them i had to try and figure out what angle you were shooting from. the one with the train coming at you was that taken from down across from that trucking place? or where were you on that one.

i should get out and take some pictures soon before it gets to cold.

[Anonymous]

Man theres a lot of great ideas out there. Im doing something a litle different,
I plan to use two ADM elevators and make one, with a brewing plant behind it for my
ethanol plant.

[steveblackledge]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Noah Hofrichter

Roger, Heartland and Ckape, you al have some nice models there! Keep up the good work!

Steve, you have to first have the image hosted on a website. Then you put the URL between the tags of [ img][/img ] without the spaces.

Noah

[:)] thanks,, not got a web site with any of my pics on,, i'll have to get my finger out and get it sorted
steve

[ckape]

The bins are made by Rix, and I just added some styrene channel strips to simulate the external bracing on my prototype.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Jim, I think that bottom picture in the group above is ADM. Here's one taken from the Hiawatha side.



Recognize any of these Jim?[swg]









I told you guys I liked grain elevators. [swg]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Heartland, Roger and Ckape, nice models!!

Jamison, by saying "grain elevator", it was like putting out bait for the midwestern crowd. Just look at all of the Minnesotans coming out of the woodwork. I love it!! [^][8D] I kind of figured your being from Iowa, you might have gotten up this way.

By the way, the invitation I gave Gary is open to everyone, just let me know if you are coming to town. I designed the layout with visitors in mind. When complete, the visitor's entrance is going to be in the lower left corner of the plan above. The first thing people will see is the milling district, all the way down.[8D]

Thanks for the invite Bigboy. I promise if I get in your neck of the woods, Ill take you up on that!! I hear ya on the Midwestern crowd. Thats exactly what I thought when posting this!

Beutiful work ckape on your elevator and bins, I love it. Very nice work there.[:D]
What did you use to model those steel bins? I can almost hear the grain filling them!