Back a number of years ago I decided on adding some beverage services to my thirsty layout occupants. Ended up with building a brewery, and a distillery and winery. At the time I was contemplating Nn3 so I had a copy of an Nn3 publication with some structure plans. The Helgan brewery became the basis for my winery/distillery which was heavily modified, and I had previously cut down an ice house kit by half that was too big for my needs. The remaining half of the ice house kit became my barrel and aging house. For the brewery I turned to the plans in the Nn3 publication for the Virginia City, Montana brewery or the Gilbert Brewery, a small facility that served the local area back in the 1800s. It turned out a medium sized structure that was easy to fit in almost anywhere. And with it's wood construction and many different roof lines an interesting structure visually. A stone grain storage structure is attached to one end and I also built a round stone grain storage structure. I could not tell whether the facility ever had rail service but I simply added some freight doors to the back to allow for that. Virgini City Brewery by John Moore posted Nov 6, 2006 at 5:18 PM Since it is a small facility a few boxcars of grain delivered once or twice a week and either a reefer or insulated boxcar of hops once a week. Boxcar loads of beer bottles, and empty barrels are also loads in along with occasional replacement equipment. Out going are insulated boxcars or reefers of beer, and the occasional covered special purpose gondola that hauls the solids from the brewing process out to be used as animal feed. Small footprint facility that meets my needs that is ancient, but still in operation as a local facility, that is profitable in my modeling era of the 1940s and 50s. Modified Helgan facility that could also double as a brewery. Front of completed distillery building. by John Moore posted Aug 20, 2006 at 9:07 PM The cut down half of the ice house now a barrel and aging house for the winery and distillery. Has a elevator to get barrels to the top and a cellar underneath. End downspouts and brass hinges on wine cellar doors. by John Moore posted Aug 5, 2006 at 10:30 PM And the two wood craftsman structures that are part of the current layout for online grain supply and hops. The one on the right side would also make a small brewery with some added grain bins. 100_4576-4 by John Moore posted Jul 23, 2015 at 1:32 PM
My club decided they wanted a brewery in one corner heading to our main yard. I started out with a smaller model, but everyone kept saying bigger so this is what I ended up with. Scratchbuilt and roughly based on the old Jackson Street brewery in SF
My only visit to Eden, Va., was done while I was making deliveries for a textile company I worked for back in the mid-90s. I remember how huge the facility actually was and have never forgotten this, even with so many years passing since. The track between Eden and Danville looked as good as any mainline track you can find on the Norfolk Southern and the power on the line were newer hi-ad locomotives, both four- and six-axle. One thing that really stuck in my mind is that there were a huge number of CNW green covered hoppers (mostly ACF center-flows) gathered in the yard which really surprised me... I just never imagined that it would be that big of a presence in Virginia but they were. The sad thing is that last month they announced that the brewery was closing in 2016... that will definitely put a dent in the traffic that travels over the old Danville & Western. I would guess if it weren't for the power plant the line probably would be embargoed once the brewery is closed.
