Walther's Valley Growers Grain Elevator

kingpeta May 11, 2010

  1. kingpeta

    kingpeta TrainBoard Member

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    I bought & built this kit recently. It all went together great and I'm quite pleased with the paint & weathering job I did. I set it on my layout and a funny question hit me. The kit includes a grain storage bin and I noticed there are no doors, windows, hatches, chutes, etc into or out of the bin! How the heck does the grain get into or out of this storage bin?

    I'm hoping someone out there can enlighten me on the prototypical operation of such a building. Would there be piping underground or something? Thanks in advance for answering one of those questions that will nag me until I get an answer!
     
  2. wheelsqueal

    wheelsqueal TrainBoard Member

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    Walthers' promo image for this kit shows a grain loading door high on the visible end of the wood bin. Logic would expect a similar loading door on the opposite end. http://www.walthers.com/prodimage/0933/09330000003251.gif

    Not on a wooden bin that old. One would expect to find a sectional door, large enough when fully opened, to allow entrance by workers. Referencing the same image: The unloading door would be midpoint at the bottom of the long wall on the side opposite the railcar.
     
  3. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    I recently built this kit too and have been wondering the same thing. Just hadn't got around to asking yet. Hopefully someone can clue us in. :) :) :)
     
  4. bigford

    bigford TrainBoard Member

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    look at the Walther's blast furnace, the elevator takes you from
    the top of the 3 ovens to the bell of the furnace. no way to ground level
     
  5. wheelsqueal

    wheelsqueal TrainBoard Member

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    Do either of you have scans or photos of bin's four sides?
     
  6. wheelsqueal

    wheelsqueal TrainBoard Member

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    Website's confusing interface---

    I inadvertently quoted the wrong poster. I can't figure out how to delete my post and correct my mistake, nor can I edit it manually. My question, addressed to the original poster and to Richard T., remains: Do either of you have scans or photos of the four sides of the grain bin?
     
  7. oldrk

    oldrk TrainBoard Supporter

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    corn majic

    Given the age of the truck in the picture the corn would be ear as opposed to shelled corn held in a metal or concrete bin used today. Ear corn was kept in cribbs. The boards ran verticle with spaces for air to circulate. That appears to be whats in the picture. Most cribbs have a door of some sort to access the corn.

    http://www.gallagher.com/photos/35mm/corn_crib_central_illinois.jpg

    As a boy we had a crib and I would have to get in the top of the pile of the corn and kick the ears down so dad could shovel them. I thought it was fun but it was work too. We also had a metal crib.
    http://www.rideforalzheimers.com/2001/july1913.jpg

    notice the slats at the center front. Those were boards to hold the corn in. You would remove the slats to access the corn. Then we would use this gadget to load corn in a wagon.
    http://www.abcgroff.com/ag/pics/zimmer1.jpg

    Once again it was my job to kick the corn down into the slats . Corn was also loaded into cribs with that machine. Dad claimed he had to shovel it in during his youth.
     
  8. kingpeta

    kingpeta TrainBoard Member

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    Here's a few photos I took tonight. The grain loading door you see in the Walther's ad is really more like a ventilation grill and it appears on both ends of the bin. Shown are the 4 sides and an isometric shot. Hope the photos turn out OK!
     

    Attached Files:

  9. MRLdave

    MRLdave TrainBoard Member

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    I agree with Oldrk........I grew up in Iowa and corn cribs were common sites, frequently on individual farms where the farmers would store ear corn to dry. He gives a good explaination.
     
  10. MRL

    MRL TrainBoard Member

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    So maybe if you wanted to have it "modernized" put a pipe in the top. or make a door for a front end loader to haul corn on the cob in and out or a fork lift to get bags of feed etc in and out? Well nevermind you would probably need a seperate storage building for that. Good question about the grain elevator, tired typing need to sleep...:tb-hissyfit:
     
  11. wheelsqueal

    wheelsqueal TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks to kingpeta for posting those images. Yes, it's definitely a corn crib not a grain bin. The omission of a doorway/unloading door is a glaring lack of research by whomever created the masters for this kit.

    What puzzles me is, Why would an elevator have a corn crib trackside? Surely corn on the cob wouldn't be transported by rail no matter what the era. If this kit actually had a prototype, I can only guess that this was a receiving area for a <missing from the kit> feed mill. Corn and cereal grains delivered by truck; other nutrients and grains delivered by rail...?

    oldrk, MRL & MRLdave all have more experience than I in regard to corn cribs. Shouldn't the vents/ loading doors be larger? much larger? They would have to accomodate an elevated conveyor similar to the one shown by oldrk's image of straw bales being dumped into a shed.

    Going back to the early 1960s, all our corn was chopped in the field intended as silage for the dairy herd. Weren't corn cribs simply temporary storage for corn on the cob waiting to be feed to cattle or hogs?
     
  12. kingpeta

    kingpeta TrainBoard Member

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    Yeah, I didn't think about altering the building. I'll have to give that some thought!
     
  13. wheelsqueal

    wheelsqueal TrainBoard Member

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    Isn't this a somewhat popular kit? ..been available for years? Yet no one to date has ever made this observation or publicly questioned the authenticity to prototype.

    That makes you the most astute modeler to ever assemble this kit. I suggest you contact "Amy" customerservice@walthers.com at Walthers, point out this kit's shortcomings, and ask for a reward - maybe another Cornerstone kit to critique.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 13, 2010
  14. wheelsqueal

    wheelsqueal TrainBoard Member

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    [​IMG]
    UGG elevator - Frobisher, SK, Canada

    Not used for corn. Probably used for Winter wheat, Hard Red Spring wheat or Durum.

     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 13, 2010
  15. kingpeta

    kingpeta TrainBoard Member

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    Heh heh...thanks for the compliment. All I need right now is another kit to build (NOT). lol
     
  16. kingpeta

    kingpeta TrainBoard Member

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    Now THAT picture makes more sense. I could build a cupola on the top and run a pipe to it. Either that or I'll stick it somewhere else on the layout. Thanks for the great pic!
     
  17. Dick Lemke

    Dick Lemke New Member

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    Just had a conversation today (5/22/2017) regarding the storage shed.Even my 6 year old grandson caught the issue of no doors into the storage shed.Kind of a late followup, but according to Walthers....." Corn delivered to the storage shed was sent and retrieved by underground pipe." No mention if shelled or ear corn. Also plastic sheeting for shed is provided but appears to have an exterior finish to resemble galvanized steel sheet siding. I suggested since they include two sliding doors for the truck delivery shed attached to building,two additional doors would have kept me happy as well as grandson. I Think I need to pick up one of their elevator kits and add to the storage shed.....

    Anyway - that's the response I got today when I asked about the shed. The shed is now weathered to look like steel - so much for wooden slat siding.

    Cheers, Dick
     

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