I am wondering if anyone could post pictures of the grain elevators on your layout?
Thanks, J1
I second the motion! I see the real thing every day here in Minnesota, but I don’t see the models all that often.
Are you referring to small wooden grain elevators found in every small town which are disappearing fast, or large concrete silos called terminals, which have replaced most elevators and are fewer in number and farther apart. I can’t distinguish between grain handling facilities or chemical sites on these newer silos.
i would but thats the only building i have up and it looks like crap along with the rest of what i call my layout. just track on top of particle board. nothing special. maybe i’ll get a pick up sometime.
Heres some new pics of my Walthers Cornerstone Series Grain Elevator
http://community.webshots.com/photo/220799474/224163587GjbkIM
http://community.webshots.com/photo/220799474/224163677SbMwqr
I love grain elevators so much, that I am devoting 40’ of layout to the Hiawatha milling district in South Minneapolis. All of the mills and elevators are going to be scratch done using cardboard tubes and PVC pipe as a base structure. I have a lot of photos of the area, but nothing built yet.
I am working on the benchwork for this section, and as soon as it is finished, I plan to dig right in. To hell with the mainline and the rest of the railroad. I WANT TO DO SOME SWITCHING. [swg]
Anything and everything.
Nice pics Heartland.
Big Boy, that sounds awesome! Id love to see that.
I am thinking of having silo’s on my layout as well. We have them at work except we use them to store plastic pellets. They are 86’ tall and 14’ in diameter, so i am thinking 2’ PVC pipe is about right for the diameter and just cut it to length of 12" and it’s a done deal. To cap it off will fill it with foam peanuts and then top it with plaster, or something else to finish it off. Of course it will have to have pipes and, a ladder, and all the other goodies but i think i have the basics covered.
Thanks Jamison. In real life the milling district is about a block wide, and a mile and a half long. It forms a virtual canyon, with the tracks running down the middle. There are 7 or 8 different mills or elevators along this stretch, some rather large. A few are still active today.
At the north end there is a small storage yard which holds cars waiting to be spotted and empties waiting to be reasigned.
When I get a chance I’ll upload some photos, and post them here.[:)]
Are you modeling the Minnesota Commercial or the Milwaukee Road?
I drive around this area every day, so I’m familiar with it. I’ve corresponded with someone who modelled it in N, but HO…WOW! Can I come see?
Gary
Hey, that would be slick. I have family that used to work at the A Mill and down on that district.
Gary, not HO, but O (3 rail). You are welcome to come over, I’m even looking for help with my monster project.
As far as the Milwaukee or the Commercial goes, it’s a toss up. Even with 40 feet there will be some compresssion. My plan is to preserve the flavor of the area, while making it a good switching puzzle.
I just scanned in some old photos to show Jamison and the gang here. On the track plan the area is the detailed section at the bottom of the drawing.
Big Boy–
Sure, it sounds like fun–I’d love to help; E-mail me and we’ll see if we can find time that would work. I live in the Midway. I have an odd work schedule, though.
Do you know Dave Zuhn? He knows this area.
Gary
BB4005, Thanks for those pics. What an interesting and challenging layout idea. I too have been by that area, although it seems like forever ago. Good luck on your project, Id love to see it when you are completed!
Under construction on the HO ECI, here is an old elevator being updated with new bins and soon to follow, a modern Feed Store.
Well, I’ve been working off and on to model the steel grain elevator from my hometown. I’ve got most of the main structure done, but I’ve still got the larger bins, the office and some outbuildings left, plus all of the piping to do, but I might as well show off some of what I’ve got.
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]
Good pics for me to use BIG-BOY 4005, i am building a BN empire set in the 80’s in my Garage, one wall has a concrete block section of wall sticking out 6" and about 16" above rail level so an elevator built from 2" pvc tubing is going to be built around it, i have built a couple by this method before , i use an electric cross cut saw !!! WITH CAUTION and EYE PROTECTION i must add to cut the tube square. the trouble with most kit elevators is they tend to be a bit on the small size and don’t reflect the size of the “real thing”, you can kitbash and combine several kits to make a big one but if like me you aren’t on $$$$$$$$$ scratchbuilding is the way to go, you can build the basic structure, and for just a few dollars more you can add some quallity detail parts like lamps, ladders, etc, etc
How do you put a picture in here ???
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
heartland i have that same building, and it looks exactly the same. no detailing done to it. as a matter of fact my layout looks almost exactly like yours.
BB4005- those pictures are awesome. i wish i could get up there sometime and see those elevators in action. i want to get out and take some pictures of the elevators in town here and maybe model those.
next time i’m down at my grandparents i’m hoping my dad and i will be able to drive down to the ADM elevator down there. thats my primary focus really, ADM.
i don’t really need to post pictures now, heartland posted my elevator.