Modeling a Grain Elevator - Part 1

Let me be upfront and start this blog entry by saying that I really like the grain industry, especially grain elevators. The grain industry includes a large amount of processes and allows for many modeling possibilities.  I find that switching an elevator, whether large or small, as well as other agricultural businesses is a lot of fun and certainly keeps operators very busy. 

An elevators function is to sort and store grain, and can easily be grown by adding supplemental elevators and other storage containers, drying equipment, piping, etc.  Grain elevators are unique since there are many physical ways that they can be altered yet still perform the same general function.   In essence no two are alike. OK yes I know that probably is not totally true given the hundreds of them that have been built. They can be a very simplistic structure as well as a complicated one. Elevators have a tall conveyor to bring the grain from just below floor level to the very top of the elevator, where it is conveyed into numerous vertical bins. Many current elevators have additional storage bins that were added to accommodate the storage of more grain. In some cases, newer, more modern elevators were built immediately to the side of a smaller grain elevator.  Anytime I'm traveling, I'm always looking through my reference books to see if an elevator may be nearby. 

If you are interested in modeling elevators and related farm structures, check out Tom Johnson's posts on the Model Railroad Hobbyist and the October 2022 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. Tom has a fantastic bedroom sized layout that depicts a one town area within the mid-west. Beautiful scenery and fantastic detail all centered around agriculture. You look at his scenes and can't imagine the amount of color and detail he has fit into a relatively small space.  Kalmbach Books also published a very good reference book for the grain industry.

While I used to limit my searches and photos to older, wooden or metal sheathed elevators, I've come to appreciate both the small and concrete behemoths you can find. I think my interest in elevators goes back to my childhood and touring one of the few elevators in Ontario, the now abandoned Shur-Gain elevator in Pontypool, ON. 

My layout has a total of 4 elevators of varying shape, size and function.  Pontypool was an elevator within an easy drive to our summer cottage, and my first experience with an elevator.  I would come to find out it was very typical from a railway perspective, with a single siding built to accommodate 40-ft boxcars and along CP's main line.  It also had a store attached to it.  I would find out later that what set it apart from western province elevators was it's concrete base. It will come as no surprise that this was the first elevator I built, using a Campbell kit as my base. I was moderately pleased with the results, and learned that casting plaster walls was difficult when it came time to join them together as well as join them to a wooden structure. I also did not have the skill to properly create weather, wooden shingles, so I improvised and used a commercially available roofing shingle product as a substitute. The elevator no longer resides on the layout, since I could not find sufficient detailed photos which would allow to build the adjacent store.

Original construction including the store; date unknown

Current condition of the Pontypool elevator

Pontypool Elevator looking east

My next elevator is part of a Freemo module that I purchased from a gentlemen's estate in Michigan. The module consisted of a gas station, residential house, and small country elevator. A lot of items compressed into a 2ftx4ft area. The elevator was a Walthers Farmers Co-Op elevator kit, which I added details to and changed some of the scenery elements.  

I then built a 2ft by 4ft Freemo module to hold the fictional town of Teulonlie, Ontario. The town consists primarily of a small elevator and feed store, as well as a number of small wooden structures that I have built from various kits. It also houses my scratch built train station.  The elevator will accommodate two 40-ft boxcars or one modern cylindrical or 4750 cu ft hopper.

Part 2 of this series will discuss my recent projects, both of which are under construction and be a major scene on the layout.

   

Pontypool / Cargill Construction

When I decided to change the layout to install a new yard, I ripped out a previous corner that was basically finished with scenery, which is always difficult to do. However, I rationalized that it was basically a corner that was doing nothing for the revenue stream for the railroad and it might actually enough space to add two rural industries.  The first spur was set aside to hold an elevator that I had built years before to mimic the elevator at Pontypool, ON.  The elevator is located along the CP Rail line and is about 25 miles SW of Peterborough. The Pontypool elevator was constructed in 1918, and was unique as the base was constructed from cement while the upper portion was the typical wood construction.  It was also unique in that the sides of the elevator were covered by cedar shakes.  A store and office, which disappeared in the 70's or maybe even before, had historically been present.  You can still see the outline of the building roof where it attached to the elevator if you look hard enough.  Remnants of the foundation can also be found if you take a closer look through the grass and weeds.  The current structure, which has not seen any signs of life for 40+ years actually replaced the original elevator built in 1894.  The original purpose for the Pontypool elevator was to store barley, wheat and oats in the days of horse and buggy. These products where shipped to Toronto and Montreal by CPR train. As the elevator expanded its services, the first power line to Pontypool came to the elevator and later the first diesel generator in the area was added to grind crops for the farmers. As farms expanded and the transportation system improved, farmers were able to store their own grain and have it trucked to larger elevators.  From what I have researched, it was a Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd elevator.

1977, Kawartha Lakes Public Library

While no longer in service since the 70's, this elevator has always a fascination for me due to its construction. I hope someday that some group will restore it before the termites find it.  Several years ago I decided to scratch build the elevator using the plans from Campbell as a general guide.  The hardest part of the build was fabricating molds for each of the cement walls. Some day I'll detail that process.  I also need to change the cedar siding as I used a commercial product and was not thrilled with the results.  Unfortunately after the structure was built, I really didn't have a good place for it on the layout and it was boxed up. So it has been moved many times and sustained some damage since I didn't pack it well enough.

The former trackage and elevator were fit into the corner and at some point in the future I will paint the track into the backdrop.  But for now the modeled area will serve as storage for cars or simply sit empty.

The second addition to this area is a fertilizer supply business.  This was modeled after the Cargill facility in Mount Elgin, Ontario (Mile 7.7 Port Burwell Sub).  While I don't know much about the former operation (Cargill stopped using this building roughly 6-8 years ago), I came across it while railfanning the Ontario Southland and thought it would be interesting to model some day.  I have modified the structure and placed it up in the clay belt of Ontario so the that the ONR can service it.  While I would have liked to model it as is, once I started to draw up plans I realized that I would have to significantly compress it.  So I have ended up with two buildings, but only support one conveyor tower instead of the two the prototype has.   

Conveyor partially completed

Bldg #2 with completed conveyor set in place

My buildings are primarily scratch built, although some of the components have come from the Walthers Saw Mill buildings and a Rix grain system. Building 1 came from a different part of the layout and was repainted to match the Mount Elgin facility. The 2nd building was scratch built, although I had to compress part of it and omit the 2nd elevator. I hope to add the 2nd conveyor in the future, especially since it has the very prominent Cargill logo painted towards the top and I have the conveyor parts.  The roof was the toughest part of the build, as I had to add more supports that I originally thought were necessary and forgot to take into account that the styrene roofing that was purchased had no real strength and buckled and warped enough to make installation difficult.

Completed building (sort of). Amazing how the photo shows me a few errors and omissions that I have yet to address

The Cargill facility is now open for business, as new track has been laid and the building has been set into the scene.  While many details still need to be added to the building and the scene, I'm pleased with the outcome and it's time for this part of the layout to start receiving cars.