Looking for ideas on kits which might easily be adapted for using my fleet of PS2 hoppers. As suggested elsewhere, commodities such as specialty sands, soda ash, potash, plaster, perlite, etc. Ideas? I am hoping for something which might be kept a compact. I do not have a huge area available to represent such a facility. Primarily wishing to illustrate the loading portion of any operation.
Walthers makes a nice Cement Plant. Medusa Cement Company # 933-3218. I have a string of PS2’s and ACF two bay covered hoppers to service the Plant. Look at the box cover, it’s designed to utilize my favorite hoppers.
Hmmm. I think this might just be what I can use! I see dimensions of 5&3/8, by 4&1/2. Is the 5&3/8 the depth? Includes the portion over tracks? If so, (going on a T-Trak module), it should fit where I need it to go.
The Medusa cement kit is basically just 8 storage towers with a shelter over a rail car unloading facility. There are drive thru doors at the bottom of the towers for trucks to be loaded. Cement comes in by rail that store cement unloaded from rail cars. Trucks distribute the cement to ready mix facilities to make concrete. I know of such an industry in my area but it has only 1 tower. I used to have one of these on an Ntrak module and I do believe it would fit on the back a T-Track module. Any kind of loading or unloading facility would be a good choice.
The shorter measurement is the width (including the loading/unloading shed). The redwing milling kit is more interesting in my opinion, but it is bigger in both directions and has a loading dock on each side. There's also a boiler room extension where the smokestack is. But you could leave that off, as well as the dock on that side if noone will view it from that side.
A simple "Transload Facility" would be a good option for those covered hoppers and other traffic. Just a spur track, with some anti-fall protection and a space for trucks to pull up to unload the hoppers pneumatically. It would provide for a maximum in flexibility for types of cars spotted there and minimal space is needed.
Vertical integration via horizontal expansion! Are the silos scratch-built or from another kit? What's the tank/tower behind the mill? BTW, the 2nd loading dock on the back side of Redwing, by the boiler room (not on the side usually shown with the cyclones over the railcar dock,) is a truck dock. I suppose if you removed the boiler room, it could be another railcar dock (sans cyclones) and even extended in length. According to the instruction sheet views, if the boiler room is removed, the main building wall behind it is complete.
Jake, I have no idea - is just a photo I saved a few years ago because I liked the simplicity of the customization and because Pillsbury was a customer of mine when I was doing OSHA Compliance/EHS. See plenty of coal and grain scenes but I don't remember seeing many flour mills in model trains, and had never seen anything Pillsbury before at all so kept it. Always thought it would be a fun add but I obviously went a different direction with my layout.
Rich S thanks for those pics, that will probably find a place on my layout, too. And Kiz, there's not too much Southern stuff on there!
On our way between Dallas/Fort Worth and Salt Lake City, we usually drive US287 between DFW & Amarillo, which runs alongside a BNSF (ex-ATSF) route, and there are LOTS of grain elevators along the way. Many are abandoned (or at least they look that way!), but some are still in business (typically the largest ones.) Been driving that route for the last 30+ years. Lots of wind farms now (none when we started.)