Been working on my Ethanol plant.Wished I had more room but I am blessed to have what I have .I guess we allways want more land to build.Imperialistic attitude MR will make you.Still have much to do.Need to get some distilling tanks and add much piping and all the extras plus scenery.Thanks for looking.Bob.
Looking good!
Here is our Ethanol Plant. Red Trail Energy, in Richardton, North Dakota. The BNSF main Line is right next to the plant, the plant has three tracks and a total of four miles of track, they run two locomotives. One is red and painted for Red Trail Energy, the other is a rental unit in BNSF green. Actually, they are both rental units, I presume the rental company comes out to do inspections and such.
The plant was supposed to burn coal from local mines to the north of us, which was to be trucked in. But that coal was not of high enough quality so now the coal come in by rail. Incoming loads are coal, corn and gasoline used to denature the alcohol and keep people from drinking it, Thus E85 instead of E100.
Outbound loads include Ethanol and Brewer’s Yeast used for cattle feed. I do believe that the corn and the yeast must use different hoppers, corn flows nicely, Brewer’s Yeast does not. Leastwise corn and yeast certainly do us different trucks.
If you are going to model an ethanol plant it must be lit up like a Christmas tree. It is a refinery, and as such must have lighting on every ladder, walkway and other access contrivances. I would use optic fiber so that their would be a plethora of light points around the model. Maybe you did not see this in the instructions, but if you had an ethanol plant in your town, you would know all about it.
Here coal is being unloaded, you can see that this part of the operation was a later add on. 
LION: (& All)
Da Chad likes the site pix & your prowlin! (Nice Excavator shot too) Me Likey!!!
Many yummy varmints around them grain bins!! Thems got some BIG grain bins!!! Love those (like in IA)!
Thanks for the pix LION, I’ll share some vermin with ya over here! MEW…
Seriously though, I am including a Google Sat picture of an Ethanol plant I see on travels.
If you want to look it over Google “Mason City IA”, then look south of the populous, & zoom in. This sits on the UP South main line (as I call it) & I can view it from the Highway 18… Once I almost crashed as I saw a Red TrackMobile positioning cars there… Usually a few Dash 8’s & 9’s sitting near the main…
Great pics guys.Thanks for all the info.Sure a fun industry to model.Much to do.It will be a long time before I add lights to the layout.Thanks Bob
Well, you’re welcome!
I am almost afraid to map out an Ethanol plant cuz, I think it would grow like Mason City there, & my 6 footer would become 8’, & then ten to 12’!!!..
I give you ‘KUDOS’ for just going ahead & “do’in it” (opposed to me just over plannin’ it)
Good job!!
Great work on the Ethanol Plant Bob.
I’m also modeling one. I have not even started building it yet. Like you I’m limited on space for the area, so selective compression and using only some buildings from the Walthers Ethanol series.
I’ll have the Loading/Unloading Sheds, Silos, Processing Center, Energy Center, and Loading Racks.
I plan to light it up like a refinery.
The other thing I think you will find about Ethanol Plants is that they are built on flat prairies, and no where near the mountains. For selective compression, you paint the rest of your plant on the backdrop.
BNSF owns the mane lion, there are switches at either end of the plant. There are three parallel tracks in the plant (built by and owned by the plant) Two tracks are under 1 mile long, one of which passes through the corn scale for unloading corn. One passes the tank car load out spout, and the third is over two miles long for receiving and dispatching trains. It also serves the coal unloading facility which is easily omitted in most facilities, since the heat with gas or oil. One ethanol plant out here is built right next to a big coal fired electric plant, and just takes the waste heat from the steam generators.
Do not for get the derails at either end of the plant. Can’t have stray equipment fouling the mane lion, now can we. Red Trail seems to have locomotives on each end of their property so that they do not have to run around the consists to get the power where they want it.
The BNSF switch stands (With Big Loop handles) are very different from the Red Trail Switch stands, which have a shovel handle shaped lever. The BNSF stands also control the Derails, and are locked. The Red Trail switches are not locked.
BNSF tries to work the plant from the east end, which is out in the middle of nowhere. They can and do switch from the west end (usually out bound traffic) but this can foul Hwy ND 8 as the engine works back and forth. Normally a train arrives from the west, passes the plant, and backs the cars into the long siding from the east. If there are cars to go out they will be on the same long track, and so they run their locomotive back to the west, into town, and then throw the west switch, run across the highway to pick up the waiting cars. Only once have I seen them actually work the plant from the west, and to avoid this is why I presume the plant acquired
I’ve actually finished all of the individual structures but there’s no way the complex is going to fit where I was going to put it on the layout!! I’m going to have to switch it with something else (haven’t decided yet). This is the only photo I’ve taken so far, my plan is to have multiple sidings feed into it from different lines with corn coming in and Ethanol and DDG pellets going out. This is the Energy Center with my scratchbuilt DDG loader based on a prototype photo that I found online:
Very nice HO modern.Great detail.I see you move things around some.Good idea.Please post more when you can.Hope you can find room for all.I will post my latest progess later tonight I hope.Thanks Bob
Here is some new pics of todays progress.I added some new tanks and retaing walls and some piping.I use pringle cans for the silos’Quick Grits cans for tanks and Bread crums can for fermentation tanks.Spent $4 on them.Walthers would have cost close to a $100.Stll have to detail them with decals and ladders and pipes ect.Waiting on the wathers piping kit to add some over head racks and pipes.Plus many other items that would be found around a refinery.Also people or workers.I hinted to the wife I need cars trucks and people for xmas.So I think she is taking care of some of that.Suppose to be cold this weekin here in IN and have plenty of time to work some on the refinery,Will post some later.Thanks all Bob
I added lights sunday morning to the plant.Really looks cool.Also painted the retaing walls around the tanks and added gravel.Thanks Bob
