Would I find this in 1968?

[Anonymous]

Rick
thanks for that web site its good.
also for the record at Cargill we called the silos, bins, I just used the word silo to help newbies understand what the tanks where.

[RedGrey62]

dingoix, here's a good picture archive. Use the search an look for ADM. The pictures are pretty modern but you can see some of their facilities in the background.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/default.aspx

Rick

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dingoix

The ADM logo on the blue hopper will work for 1968! Check ADM history to learn more. It says the logo came out in 1962.

Cool. Your photo shows a blue car, but the early ones may have been white, with the logo centered on the car side.

I spent a little time looking up ACF. I had no idea that they had been around since 1899. I never did find a date for their rounded side hopper design though.

[Anonymous]

The ADM logo on the blue hopper will work for 1968! Check ADM history to learn more. It says the logo came out in 1962.

[Anonymous]

I'm gonna research ADM logos today.

QUOTE: My guess is that both structures in that photo were in service at the same time. The tall concrete silos are for storage. The small square building may be a feed mill.

That's quite possible too.

QUOTE: The decision on which to use should be based more on the size of the town you are modeling and the amount of grain the surrounding area produces.

Well, it's a very small town but the area I'm modeling produces a LOT of grain.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dingoix

Texas Zepher, I like the pic but I got one question. Are both elevators in service or is the old one abandoned?

My guess is that both structures in that photo were in service at the same time. The tall concrete silos are for storage. The small square building may be a feed mill.

Back to the original question about what was around in 1968. Both types of structure have been around for over 100 years, with the smaller square style being the earlier of the two. Neither is a problem for 1968. The decision on which to use should be based more on the size of the town you are modeling and the amount of grain the surrounding area produces.

The cars are much more modern than the structures. I believe the PS2 (the square sideed one) is the earlier design. It could date back to the 50's or early 60's. The ACF model is the newest of all, and is very close to the 1968 cutoff.

There is another style of grain hopper that was definately in use in 1968. The cylindrical hopper pre-dates the ACF, and they are still in service today.

Here is a model of the cylindrical style.



The next 4 photos are of the small farming community of Baldwin, WI. The surrounding area is covered with dairy farms and also produces corn and soy beans. None of these businesses are served by rail anymore, but they all were at one time.









As for the ADM logo, it may go back to 1968. They have introduced a new one recently.

[Anonymous]

While interesting to model, I'm not going to have the space to model an abbandoned elevator.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dingoix
Texas Zepher, I like the pic but I got one question. Are both elevators in service or is the old one abandoned?

In this case I am not certain. I would say it is a pretty good guess the old one is either totally abandon, or used for something other than loading grain into rail cars.

In the photo you can see where another building used to be to the right of the old tower. The "print" of the old roof peak is still showing.

Oh yeah, another interesting thing about the elevator in this photo. Most of the time the grain bins (cylinders) are parallel to the track not perpendicular. That just shows there are all shapes and sizes.

Bazine is another potential place for my "final" layout...

[tomkat-13]

My CB&Q & NP 40' Grain Loading box cars by Athearn....I know this car was also made in GN, ATSF, SOO & UP.

[Anonymous]

Texas Zepher, I like the pic but I got one question. Are both elevators in service or is the old one abandoned?

[Anonymous]

For the sake of other I would use both and do a little kitbashing for what you want and yes ADM elevators would work and wathlers does have add on silo's

[Texas Zepher]

I knew I had a good recent photo. I couldn't find it because I had filed it incorrectly.
I came across it today....

Bazine Kansas, August 2005, old meets new.

Click to the Photo to Enlarge

[RedGrey62]

ADM has been around awhile. However, like most companies, they have changed their logo over the years to keep it looking modern. As someone posted in this thread, most grain was hauled in RR owned covered hoppers and boxcars vice company owned rolling stock. That's not to say they didn;t have their own cars in 1968, but you may need to do a bit more research.

Rick

[Anonymous]

So it sounds like the elevator would be found in 1968 but would it have that logo? and the ADM hopper was built in 1967 but it wouldn't have that logo would it?

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RedGrey62
I am modelling one of the older style that is pictured on the BNSF site as it is along a former CB&Q route. I also have the ADM (ConAgra on mine) and plan to add some homemade graneries (silos) to it.

I finally got the picture working in my prior post. The elevator makes a great background, hence I only modeled the front half of it (it is also only about 1/2 the proper height. The older one will sit in the front just sort of "rotting" away, now unused. It is made out of cardboard from plans in Easy to Build Model Railroad Structures. The aluminum still gleams too much, and the flash from the camera didn't help.

I plan to cover from Denver to Kansas City next summer trying to get images of all the places the two types (or sometimes three) are sitting together.

[tomkat-13]

I think the ADM logo on the car & the elevator are too modern for 1968.....go with grain boxcars and Pullman Standard Covered Hopper.

[tatans]

HEY, Try this, go to google, type "prairie grain elevator" then to: Now!-model prairie grain elevator. there are printable sheets on building a wooden elevator, this is to build a paper model but the plans can be used for wood or plastic, the plans are fantastic and the price is right, I've been looking for plans like these for years. have fun

[RedGrey62]

Sorry Texas Zepher, it is what you said [bow]. I am modelling one of the older style that is pictured on the BNSF site as it is along a former CB&Q route. I also have the ADM (ConAgra on mine) and plan to add some homemade graneries (silos) to it.

Rick

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much Bryan. I couldn't find them on the Walthers site. I'll be watching eBay.

[bryanbell]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dingoix

Can you post a link for those add-on silos? I've never seen them, but I definitly need them.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3023
There's the link but ebay is about your only option at this point as they have been discontinued for serveral years. If you google the product number (933-3023) you may be able to find a shop somewhere that has one laying around still.
Good Luck.

Bryan

[Anonymous]

reklein, you're right about silos being used to store silage. (chopped hay or corn)
I actually DID make my own grain elevator once. It has 4" ? (I cant remeber) carboard tubes as silos. i may use them as a extension to the ADM, but I still want to buy at least 2 ADM's to combine the silos and have twice as many. (or thrice as many if i get three)
I want a decent size elevator. when I put an elevator on my layout, the layout will be 4x20

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dingoix
Great, now i'm going to end up modeling BNSF again

Don't confuse the example with the thing. Just because the example was given in BNSF doesn't mean it doesn't apply to all the other railroads as well. I doubt any of they ones listed on the site have been built since BNSF. They are all originally SF, CB&Q, NP, GN, MP, RI, CNW, etc.

QUOTE: Originally posted by swdave
Cargill's elevator in Milwaukee Wi, size each silo was 100 ft. high and the headhouse towered above the silos, coming in at 225ft. high. Has you can see even in HO scale building this to scale would end up being larger then a small layout.

Yes, when I was making my first paper towel tube grain elevator in N-scale I measured the silos on the ones in the photo in the post above to be 110' tall. The elevator part was about 165' tall. But they come in all shapes and sizes. The one in Hutchison Kansas is over 1/2 mile long. I understand they are building a larger one south of Wichita near Wellington.

QUOTE: Originally posted by jimrice4449
You want a "proper" sized grain elevator? Make a rectangular box about 18 to 24 inches high and get some 3" PVC sewer pipe ... Cut the PVC pipe in appropriate lengths and line them up 2 deep on either side of the "box". Presto! You've scratch built a really impressive industrial building w/o "compression" for the sake of the 4X8ers.

I agree, this is exactly what I am doing for the modular layout - where I want cheap things because good ones get broken all the time. These are some of the easiest things to model using junk from around the house.

QUOTE: Originally posted by RedGrey62
Its not uncommon to have the ADM style next to a beat up Valley Growers style.

Isn't that what I said? [;)]

[reklein]

just to pick a nit. Technically the tall cylindrical structures are called granaries wether they are concrete or courrogated steel. Silos are found on farms and feedlots usually near the barn and are used to store silage. Which is partly fermented chopped corn stalks. Cattle love this stuff. I was raised on a Montana farm and still go back to help harvest on the family farm near the GN main line.

[GN-Rick]

Rick is absolutely right. Not me, him! Well, maybe me too.

[RedGrey62]

I think the Kadee one is the smaller 2 bay. I don't think these are very common in grain service. They were used more for the dense commodities like sand and such.

Rick

[jimrice4449]

You want a "proper" sized grain elevator? Make a rectangular box about 18 to 24 inches high and get some 3" PVC sewer pipe (don't try to save money by salvaging used pipe unless you've got REALLY good ventilation in the train room). Cut the PVC pipe in appropriate lengths and line them up 2 deep on either side of the "box". Presto! You've scratch built a really impressive industrial building w/o "compression" for the sake of the 4X8ers. You can use foam board or whatever for the "box" and add windows to suit your abilities/ambition. Total cost about 1/3 of the Walthers kits. Satisfaction...priceless.

[GN-Rick]

The Kadee PS2s are not really a grain car. They were used more for other bulk
commodities like cement, Zinc ore. and such. What you need are cars like
Athearn's-or Accurail's-or Intermountain's ACF "Center Flow" covereds. The 4650
cu ft cars. The 3-bay PS2CDs are also good. Athearn, P2K, and Intermountain
make these as well. Basically, it boils down to grain covered hoppers are
usually the larger ones-50 footers or larger.

[Anonymous]

Kadee makes a Chicago Great Western covered hopper but it's $40

[GN-Rick]

Another thing to keep in mind about the 60s era, is that most new covered hoppers
were railroad owned-hence CB&Q, NP, SP, SSW, GN etc. reporting marks
would be much more common than privately (corporately) owned ones. The
huge influx of private companies owning or leasing (grain) cars happened later.
I agree with keeping old 40 foot boxcars for the service-that is a prototypical
operation in the 60s-sort of a transition era of it's own, from Boxes to covered
hoppers.