Looking for tips on scratchbuilding a grain elevator

Hello everyone,

I am about to build a modern concrete grain elevator from scratch and was looking for a few tips from those who may have already accomplished it. If you have any pictures or references to web pages (or articles), those would be helpful also.

I have looked at the Walther's kit (ADM) but I have not heard good things about it (i.e. does not fit together well, hard to build).

I want to use styrene for the main building and PVC pipe for the silos. I already have both. I have also heard that the silos are not just placed right next to each other but actually one silo becomes part of the next one (at least when viewed from the exterior). Any help here would also be appreciated.

I look forward to any replies to this topic.

Thanks,

 

Check your email

 

Mike:

The Walthers ADM grain elevator is not a good kit. The parts don't fit well together.

You should build your own grain elevators.

Use PVC piping for the silos. Use Walthers kit as a model for your own elevator.

 

Easy project.. You'll need the PVC and stryene. Corrugated stryene works well for the building on top of the silos. You'll need some windows for that. The main building should be 1/3 higher than the silos. Not sure how tall you want them. Stryene rod will work well for piping. The tops of the PVC silos can be covered with washers a little oversized. You can just attach the silos to each other with CA glue.

Gordon Odegard built one in MR about 20 years ago and that article will help alot. There was also one described not too long ago in MR as well, about 3-4 years ago.

Kel
MMW

 

When you think of height, think "TALL." Modern silos tower over the grain cars spotted at them, easily a 20:1 ratio.

The Walthers elevator, among its other noted problems, is way too short, perhaps only 8 times the height of a grain car. I have seen a few elevators that are as short as Walthers and have the small number of silos that Walthers offers (there is one in Stockton, Kalifornia) but they are the exception rather than the rule and do not warrant a lot of grain car service.

 

Foe scale, Colonel has the right idea. Pretty tall and sometimes very large complex. I saw one in Ft Worth, Texas that had over 360 silos, so you would probably scale that down. Here is a picture of mine with 54 silos in two rows. I consider the silos to be minimum height here; Colonel has better scale. His is a larger facility.



Here is a smaller concrete facility. The two large towers on the end are PVC. The rest is two combined Walthers kits. The piping and top detail is scratchbuilt to duplicate the Walthers iitems. Gold Metal Model ladders were used, too.

 

I know the walthers adm kit was a pain, but really not that hard, I just took my time. I am planning on using that as a secondary elevator, while the mother of all grain elevators will be able to hold 70 covered hoppers in it's tracks. I am using pvc pipe for the main structure, using a circle cutting jig, ( wal mart , craft dept )for cutting tops fer the silos. Adios fer now wyatt

 

Flash,
How tall and what diameter are your silos in the grain structure? That is about the look I'm going for so I am curious. I'm modeling that one you saw in Fort Worth!

 

did you do anything to try and fill in the cracks in between the pvc pipes to give it a more sculpted look? what diameter of pipe did you guys use? Thanks!!!

 

Mike, I echo what Kel has mentioned above. Mine was based on the article in MR for the Continental Grain structure used on the MR's MR&T layout and made of styrene sheet and PVC conduit cut to length. The caps were fitted as a single sheet and trimmed to suit and the silo-top structure scratchbuilt with many windows.

Since it was a small structure (comparatively) I went for two sets of 10 silos per side (in 2x5 configuration) at approx 8 times the height. The main building was fractionally taller but not to the 1/3 higher ratio. It is selectively compressed to suit a siding that was to hold approx 8 cars per track.

It's a balancing act. It's great to have the silos near scale height but you need to look at the siding space you have and the number of silos you can fit. The more you can, the higher you can go without it looking distorted.

 

Thanks for the input so far guys.

Like Beast5420, I am also wondering about filling the cracks between the pvc. I have read in the past that the silos actually intersect each other (not placed side by side). I was thinking about cutting off one edge of the pvc and joining it to the next pipe. Maybe that would make construction too complex?

My other problem is the size of the site I have to work with. It is about 12" x 4" with one spur track. The available space is also against the backdrop on the 4" side. I was thinking of incorporating a mirror into the scene to visually extend the length of the elevator.

Maybe a drawing will help.

 

The best way to connect them would be to build the silos on a base, then use putty and your finger to smooth it out.

The mirror will work, but you need to make sure that when installed. people will not see themselves in it when they view the scene. You can also include silos across the tracks as well, and use piping from the tower to send grain over.

Kel

 

I have also had good results with the Cornerstone kit. A little care and putty in assembly will make all the seams vanish.

Although I could use another big elevator, I've never cottoned to the idea of using PVC pipe or the like. As several people have noted, these large concrete structures are not a set of abutting silos. I have thought from time time to time tha you could assemble the silos from pipe, then fill between with something like hydrocal, using a template to shape the infill. Anyone ever tried this?

David

 

Welcome aboard David.

No, but I thought of the same thing as you using a template to spread the filler of choice.
Kel's idea of using a finger to contour the putty would work as well - preferably using something water-based to give a smoother finish (and easier to clean up afterwards!).

 

Guys...no putty to fill in between the silos. I have tried it. Just use 0.25 inch styrene strips acc'ed between the silos. Makes a perfect seam and no sanding. Strips should be thin... .010 inch or less. Really works great. (Just use larger than 0.25 inch if you want a larger seam.)

Now, all this is predicated on accing the silos together in a near perfect plane. I used the steel table of my table saw. Maybe a glass desk top.

If you look carefully at my concrete facility above, you can see the seam between the two larger right-hand silos. See it? I can get a better picture if I need to.

 

Doug:

8.00 inches high and 1.25 inches outside diameter. They were cut on the table saw with a new carbide tip blade, using the fence and the other thingy that makes sure they are all square. This is very important when you are putting so many together. Otherwise, you might get a "curve" if they are not all in the same plane. Also, the silos in the picture are in two sections. It is easier to handle that way.

BTW, this structure you see hides an access hatch behind it. All out of sight.

BTW #2... I did not use any seam fillers on this structure. Probably should have.

 

And further on seams.

You can see the quarter inch seams on these silos. These silos are 2.25 inch outside diameter.

Pioneer Flour...