Grain Elevators in the Transition Era

That would be Jeff Wilson’s Industries Along The Track Side in his first book (there are four). That section/chapter also covered feed mill and flour mill.

Jeff now has a new coming out (very soon) in Model Railroaders Guide To Industries series about the grain industry entittled The Model Railroader’s Guide to Grain. I plan to get this book, although I still need to get Jeffs first industry book. I highly recommend getting all of the Industries Along the Tracks books, they are great source books and even if the book has some industries that don’t partain to your particular modeling tastes, the information inside still worth having.

You’re welcome for the name drop I guess Jeff/MR/Kalmbach, haha.

Most of the replies here correspond with my memories growing up in rural Iowa (1962-1980ish) and living in the that area most of my life. I did want to emphasis that you have the sequence of construction materials wrong. Wood sided first, followed by wood framed but steel sided, then concrete for medium to large facilities until the 1990s when the big courragated steel bins (much larger than earlier farm storage steel bins) took over for new construction. The smooth sided steel structures found on farms since the early 1960s are for forage (silage) rather than grain storage.

I just got the Guide to Grain and agree it’s an excellent resource.

I just noticed, if you flip the mouse over the SHOP button the Modelers Guide to Grain is the first book to show up.