I need help designing a scene for my model railroad. The scene I envision is a Brewery complex designed along 27" of stright track. and the overall sceen being rougly 18" Deep. The complex I am planning is combination of Life-Like’s Fairhaven Brewery, Tyco Center Street Series School. some DPM Modular Wall sections. and some Walthers Grain Bins.
As I have it planed the Life-Like Fairhaven Brewery kit will be poisistioned next to the track in the lower left. To the right of that. I had envisioned a grouping of four Walthers Grain Bins placed in a square. (2 bins X 2 bins)Then further right is the Tyco School Building which is the main offices. Then across the tracks from the school Building in the upper right of the scene would be a building made from DPM Modular Wall sections. Moving Left would be 6 more Walthers Grain Bins placed rectagularly. (2 Bins x 3 Bins) Finally, in the upper left across from the Life-Like Kit would be another building consisting of DPM wall sections.
As I have looked at this. I figure that Life-Like kit is the Bottling plant. Where the beer is actually bottled. Then the Tyco School House is the main office building. What space is left along the front of the scene is reserved for employee parking.
Now I have the following questions.
Does my layout of buildings create a sence of a brewery complex, and if so, what building would the process start in most likely and how would the production process flow from where it is started to the bottling building.
If I need to make changes, what changes would be reccomended?
I know that beer is made from the fementation process of malted barely, hopps and rye. What proportion of these three ingredients are needed and do I have eneugh storage beens planned in the scene to hold it until needed.
Obviously the product would move between buildings via a pipeline network. However, would this network of pipes typically be above g
On that note, to answer your question, for shipping you could use container refers on chassis. Walthers and I think Proto West A-Line makes the chassis for the containers.
I seen a commercial on TV and I cant remember what brand of beer it was, but they said they were the only beer that was shipped in refers, all others are shipped at what ever outside temp was. food for thought. I have plenty of trains and beer stories, I just dont remember them.
nslakediv, that would be Coors. They make it a selling point that their brew stays cold from their warehouse to your frig. It reminds me of about 25 years ago, when I was pilot in the Navy. Coors wasn’t available nationwide because they limited distribution in order to ensure freshness of the product. So, anytime a plane flew west out of Norfolk, it was a requirement that the return trip be loaded with cold Coors. The P-3s and the transports flew a lot of westbound “training” flights in those days. I was in helicopters, so Colorado was a bit out of the way for me.
Overall I dont see anything wrong with your layout.
In regards to question #1. Process: Theres a big brewey in Irwindale here that has a rail service. It basicaly is served by a single branch off the secondary track on the mainline. this splits into a Y one leg along the track front to a open dock with an overhead crane and is used for equipment deliveries. the main storage fermentation tanks are parallel to this dock. the second leg goes to a small yard of about 5 tracks where the grain hoppers and boxcars are stored. I beleive that 3 tracks are for shipping 2 for holding and with one right next to the building for loading. The other two tracks (farthest away) are for grain deliveryand I beleive the grian unloading is farther back than the loading dock. In other words, grain comes in at the rear of the siding, mashed, then sent to the fermantation tanks at the front (assuming your mainline is the “front” and this is next to it) then to the loading area at the front of the siding. Dont forget there a lot of this being shipped by truck also but those docks are on the other side of the building.
Bear in mind that most of this operation can only be seen from the freeway.
Question #3: Beer is mostly Barley and Rye, for modeling purposes you can assume a 50/50 ratio these will be your main storage bins, Hops are surprisingly a very small part of the ingrediants but very important they give the beer its flavor. So they only need a small bin and might be inside the building itself.
#4: There are pipes and ducts EVERYWHERE outside of the main building, these pipes would never be buried because of maintainence and health dept issues.
This brewery has a road railer for moving cars around, I would have a dedicated company switcher like MDC’s new critter model.
I have lots of stories about Beer, but they dont include model trains…Good luck, Vic
One other thing I would suggest, find a regional brewery near you, most have a rail service. Go there and then study how the plant is layed out, might be worth a day trip.
Thanks for your input. A couple minor questions then.
Given the comparitivly small quantities of Hops Needed, I assume it would most likely be delivered by truck in that case?
Then since the quantities of Barely and Rye, are esentially 50/50 quantied, Would it behoove me to add two more bins to the group of 4 So I can clearly say that one set is for the Barely, and the other set is for the Rye?
I will have to think about the company switcher thing, as the way the scene is designed to fit into the overall town I am planning, there really isn’t any place to park the cars for pick up and delivery until you get to the railroad yard in town. So I will have to think on it.
Thanks again Vic. You have been of great help and told me several things I didn’t know. This will help me better execute this project when get going on it.
Thats Ok Chuck. The beer is being named after the model kit that sparked this project. Life-Like’s Fairhaven Brewery. I will call the ale “Fairhaven’s Best”
Hops on trucks? If its based on today, yes, truck delivery would be likely. If its based on mid-century then rail boxcar would be more likely. Remember that at the facility I’m describing you would have maybe 10 car loads of barley for each car loads of hops. I like the 2+2 storage idea if you have room for it. No Switcher? how about a road-railer parked next to the tracks? The Miller Brewey in Irwindale has its cars switched in by BNSF and spotted in the siding, from there they are moved by the road railer if needed.
For added interest, allow some % of inbound cars to be rejected for damage in transit. Even the animal feed could be bagged and shipped in boxcars. A big question come from the size of the grain bins, so that if 2 cars fill it with product, wouuld you have space to spot 1-2 cars a day for unloading, then get the empties out of the way to unload 2 more. The first connection comes from a pit under the track- or have the unloading area slightly elevated so that a crewman can make connections easier. Another option is to have a wheel loader nearby to pick up any spilled cargo. You will want to keep this area clean to keep any critters away!
I’d not worry about employee parking. Keep an area open for visitors. A truck for local delivery. Put a label on the grain bin. Have fun with your model !
Water, weights about eight pounds, per gallon, and so, who’s into your water? Hops, grains, malts, barley, 59,000 cans, per truckload…so many miles down the pike, a state trooper, and a motorist, going through the motions, with a fat man, jogging by, wasting time, 'cause Dr. Phil is on his *** about overweight conditions…and…so, acj.
Wow, what a cool subject! Actually, I’m planning a small brewery operation on my railroad, since I run it through the Sierra Nevada, which is known for it’s cool, clear water (at least back during the 1940’s). When I say small, I say LOCAL, because during WWII, the area I model was full of small local breweries that aimed their product just at the surrounding towns–similar to today’s “Microbrews” in America, or the local brews that have existed for eons in Germany (anyone ever try to get your local import store to acquire “Schlossquell” from Heidelberg? Can’t be done, but it’s the BEST darned beer you’ve ever tasted in your life!) For hauling, I’ve already got some older wooden reefers, and I think it can be done with only a short siding and a couple of small buildings. I know that way back when, IHC offered a small German brewery that could be adapted pretty well. Keep up the research, guys. I’m all ears (and plans).
Since I first dreamed up this little project. My era has shifted from more or less 1990s to the present day to 1969. I am wondering would there be any fundamental changes I should consider now that I have changed eras?
How good is the well water on your layout? Can the brewery use what comes out of the tap, or do they need a tank for water and maybe the occasional tank car to bring it in? Not every brewery has the advantage of being able to use what comes out of the ground (like Bear Whiz Beer - it’s in the water!)
Breweries often make several different brands, so you have the option of being able to select from a wide variety of beer reefers. This site is a lot of fun for that: