I would like to model a sand plant in the late 1940’s into the 1950’s. This plant is far too modern, and I’m having a hard time finding photos that could help me plan it out. Has anyone out there modeled a sand plant for that era?
Coud I back date this structure somehow?
In cape may New Jersey recently storms released a bit of sunset point history. Namely the sand quarry. Ended early 1900’s. So looking for that might be of help.
shane
Here’s an interesting article, and pictures about the Hough “Payloader”, and the inventor, Frank G. Hough ( pronounced “huff”).
https://contractormag.co.nz/classic-machines/hough/
He pretty much revolutionized the material handling industry with front end loader, in 1947.
I would think steam shovels could still be in use.
Here’s another interesting article I found with lots of pictures, of an operation in Helena MT.
http://www.helenahistory.org/helena_sand_and_Gravel.htm
You might be able to gather some information from this, and peice together an interesting facility.
The bucket conveyor hoist was ( and still is) a popular method of lifting aggregates into bins
The article gives you an idea of what some equipment looked like, back in the 40’s and 50’s.
Google is your friend, you’ll have to search around and see what you can find.
Please show us your results.
Mike.
Not sure what you are calling a sand plant. What your picture shows is just an aggregate elevator and related equipment that could be used for sand or many other materials.
It would likely be part of a larger facility like a cement plant or distribution location.
I am very familiar with the sand mines (quarries, plants) near Labelle, Florida. I probably have some pictures of them from the 1980s which would be very similar to how they looked in the 1950s.
At these sites, which are specific to the production of sand, large floating diesel powered dredges were used with centrifugal pumps to get the sand from the quarries to the shore. From there, the sand was dried, screened, sifted, and shaken to produce a very high quality refined product.
It would be loaded into special covered hoppers (mostly SCL), and shipped to customers. At the receivers site it would be unloaded by an aggregate elevator like your picture shows.
These are the current satellite images of a couple of sites in Ortona, Florida. The railroad tracks are gone now.
-Kevin
Thanks for this info gents! Much appreciated. What I have in mind is a mythical sand/gravel transfer station really. The sand is dredged from a lake, cleaned/graded there. Then loaded into hoppers and barged on a float, then offloaded from float and switched to my mythical transfer station. So I would be unloading railcars into a storage, then that stored aggregate is loaded onto trucks and hauled all over the valley for construction projects, etc. (I’m not really modeling the truck part of that. There will be a few loaded trucks parked to add ambiance.)
I really like the construction on the wood storage building. Concrete wall piers and timber holding storage bin. This is going the opposite direction I would be going (they are loading rail cars, I would be off loading rail cars) but the construction method looks great for my era.
This steel framed and sheet steel structure also looks good to my eye too. Are the vertical steel enclosed structures some way to vertically lift the aggregate? This could work for me really well. I unload railcars from underneath the storage bin, the vertical lifting mechanism stores it in the upper bins. That stored aggregate is then loaded onto trucks (mostly out of sight on my layout).
This is fantastic!
Saved to my idea file.
-Kevin
Looks like the Walthers HO Scale Ready-Mix Concrete Plant would fill your need
Terry
DSchmitt, dying to see your photos. I just get a “no entry” type icon rather than the photos. Is it just me?
I also cannot see the pictures any longer.
-Kevin
Sorry . The photos are on my PC I uploaded them to Google photos then inserted them from there, which appeared work for awhile. I can see them in my post. Don’t know what happened.
Inserted again in different order.
I now see them in both Chrome and Microsoft Edge
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