The 933-3022 walthers grain elevator kit i got back in 2000 i started building now after 10 years heard a lot of stories about the silos being a pain, so i tried and everybody was right i king kong the darn things so i was wondering if the newer 933-2942 modern grain silos were any better because it is a newer kit,need help because the building next to the smashed silos looks useless thanks.[:'(]
Not to burst your bubble, but my layout, Santa Fe in Oklahoma 1989, features a total of 31 grain elevators on three decks. Most of the silos came from the Walthers kit, and after building two of them, I got the hand of putting the silos together without problems.
As for the newer elevator, silos go together the same as the older ADM elevator, so same amount of care needs to be exercised in building them. your alternatives are PCV pipe (a bear to cut straight across to make silos) and that is about it.
Bob
Thanks Bob what i thought.
Yep, they are the same. I have put 3 together in the last month and each time I put the silos together a little different. None of which was better than the last and it is frustrating. Here is a time lap You Tube video that might help you out.
You can take a peek at my website which is included in my signature to see how I have done some of them. The PCV pipe is exceedingly hard to get a straight cut across and to get a string of silos, say 20 of them for an elevator all at the exact same height is almost impossible at least for me. So I learned to “love” the Walthers silos and make them work. One advantage on my layout is only one side of the elevators is visible from the aisles, so I can have a glitz on a silo and simply rotate it so it doesn’t show.
As an aside, a gentleman from Texas once stopped at my layout to visit while heading north for the summer. He showed me photos of some silos he had turned on a wood lath and they looked quite good. Some of the elvators in the area I am modeling had elevators with the hex silos, so I asked if I could pay him to do some for me. Six months later, I received a string all assembled into an elevator of these wood hex silos and they are terrific. They make a real contrast sitting among the Walthers elevators.
Another project I finished with the elevators in the past few months is a facility at my Enid OK yard which measures just over six foot long with three head houses/loading facilities interspersed. It is four silos deep. Makes a real conversation piece when I am on tour or having visitors.
So don’t give up, I have five thumbs on each hand and came out okay, you can too.
Bob
Thanks i found a modern grain 933-2942 at MB Clines at a good price, will the silos on the modern grain work on the elevator of the 933-3022 Thanks.
I’ve got a Walthers Elevator/Sunrise Feeds combined and Rix metal Silo’s more of a small town setup. The corn silo from the Ethanol series was a pain btw.
Getting a nice clean repeatative cut on PVC is as easy as cutting it in a chopsaw. I do it all the time for plumbing parts in the 1-1/2" and up range. I imagine a tablesaw would be just as effective if you use the miter guage with it.
As for putting halves of tubes together, I prefer to use 3/4" blue painters tape. I have several strips long enough to go all the way around standing by, and after glueing the halves and putting it roughly together I use start the tape in the center of the half and then stretch it as I wrap it around. This does great at aligning the halves and pinching them tight.
Why not just run 'em through a table saw?
John
As I said before, yes they will work with the older style and I have some of them mixed together, using the modern as add-ons to an older elevator. However the newer elevators have a different roof piece that is made to hold the “plumbing” on the roof and eleminate the head house. Just be aware.
As for table saw cutting, my comment was it was very difficult to get them all cut at exactly the same length with PCV because it requires precise marking on the pcv for the cut. Several of us tried it here, and when we stood the cut silos on a plate glass, there would be just enough variance at the top to be noticable when the roof part was added on. I suppose to you could take them to a professional machine shop and get a good cut.
Bob
I thought the fence on a table saw was designed to not only make precise cuts but also repetitive cuts. If you use a stop to make repetitive cuts, the chop saw idea sounds like a better solution because it would be easier to control.
Ray
I didn’t find difficult to build the Walthers silos. The top cover comes with inscribed guides to cut in case of adding more silos in a string, which proved to be really easy. Special care must be taken at the joints of the lateral pieces though, but some putty and sand paper is all you need. Using PVC tubing is a very sound option and I have used them too. With the apropiate tools a straight cut isn’t impossible. Here are two examples of both used on the layout I’m building.
