Grain Elevator

[faraway]

Can I use this quite modern Walthers grain elevator in the time frame 1930 - 1935?



I have it still on storage from an older layout and think about reusing it.
My first concern is if elevators made of concrete have been common in 1930 already?
My second concern is if they would fit in a small town just to collect the local farmers harvest. The photo belongs to an older layout where the elevator was part of an industrial complex (gray building) etc..

[Gary S]

Don't know about the era, but that thing is prime GERN material!

[Charlie B]

This should answer your question...it sure wasn't new in this picture.
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Charlie

[steinjr]

My first concern is if elevators made of concrete have been common in 1930 already?

There were essentially three types of elevators:
- country elevators (small elevators out in the small towns, where farmers delivered their grain and the RR picked it up)
- receiving elevators (like for flour mills or breweries - where they stored grain they were going to process - like the Pillsbury elevators)
- terminal elevators (where grain merchants stored grain before selling it and shipping it out)

Concrete elevators were constructed from around 1900 or so, and quickly became popular for receiving and terminal elevators. Here is e.g. a 1910 photo of a concrete elevator from Minneapolis: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresour...geid=75687

There are lots and lots of pictures of such concrete elevators prior to 1930.

My second concern is if they would fit in a small town just to collect the local farmers harvest.

For a small town, maybe a wooden elevator would look more typical - maybe something like these elevators on "elevator row" in Clara, MN, ca 1910: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresour...eid=195950

But no rule without exception

Grin,
Stein

[faraway]

Thanks a lot for the quick answers.

It is always amazing how old concrete is. Here in Germany concrete buildings have the touch of modern buildings. However, as I learned with roads also building have been build from concrete very early in the US.
But it will be a country elevator only. I agree an older wood construction is a better choice. I have wood elevators on order and the concrete elevators will go back on storage. That huge building does not match the atmosphere of a small town. It dominates the entire layout. That is not what I want.

[FCIN]

Speaking of grain elevators - ran across this video showing the operations of a "typical" Canadian grain elevator. This shows the older wooden type elevator and loading of a 40 foot box car no less!
http://www.nfb.ca/film/grain_elevator/