# Farm Silo



## DoctorZ (Jul 26, 2013)

Does anyone make a G-scale Silo like the kind you find on a mid-western Farm? I'm not much at scratch building, and was hoping to find a kit or something.


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## catherine yronwode (Oct 9, 2013)

Good question, and i have not seen a cement one. I have seen them in HO, back when i had HO ... but not G. And there is this in G:


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## Homo Habilis (Jul 29, 2011)

Found > this <, not too pretty, but it's all I could find with a quick search.


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Piko makes a grain silo kit (actually a few kits to comprise all the buildings.)

It will be a few hundred dollars to get all the kits, and these are some of the easiest structures to scratch build - they are just tubes with some detail.


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## DoctorZ (Jul 26, 2013)

BigRedOne said:


> Piko makes a grain silo kit (actually a few kits to comprise all the buildings.)
> 
> It will be a few hundred dollars to get all the kits, and these are some of the easiest structures to scratch build - they are just tubes with some detail.


Yea, I did see someone who scratch built one from PCV and it looked good, but I don't know where he got the ladder he put going up the side, or some of the other finer detailing parts, and it is in O-gauge not G.


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## oceansidean (Dec 27, 2010)

You might try www.coloradomodel.com or www.brewerplans.com. I built the one from Brewer Plans, you need to specify the scale that you drawings to fit; 1:29 or 1:32. Hope it helps


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Also, scratch building is not an all-or-nothing proposition.

For example, you could make the towers from plastic pipe, empty paint cans, rolled sheet metal, whatever is handy and results in the right size for your railway.

Then use off the shelf hobby components to make stairs, hand rails, etc.

The great thing about large scale is it's usually practical to simply replicate prototypical construction practices. So, in effect you wouldn't really be scratch building, but constructing a small silo.


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## Dick Friedman (Aug 19, 2008)

I don't know of a kit, but a 3 or 4 inch PVC pipe would be a good start. Silos appear to be whatever size is needd, so who's to say YOURS is out of scale.

The amount of detail you add can depend on where it is on your layout (up front, way in back) and what era. A really old abandoned one will have lost most of its details.


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## DoctorZ (Jul 26, 2013)

Dick Friedman said:


> I don't know of a kit, but a 3 or 4 inch PVC pipe would be a good start. Silos appear to be whatever size is needd, so who's to say YOURS is out of scale.
> 
> The amount of detail you add can depend on where it is on your layout (up front, way in back) and what era. A really old abandoned one will have lost most of its details.


Actually I do have somewhat of a size consideration since the silo is to go with a Piko Barn kit. The barn is 16" high, so the Silo should be around 18" to 20" to look appropriate with it.










I think it was kinda stupid of Piko to make a barn kit that didn't include a Silo!


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## Dick Friedman (Aug 19, 2008)

In half inch to the foot scale, a five inch pipe would be ten feet in diameter. Six inches would be 12 feet. Cut a section about 12 - 15 inches and that'll give you a good size silo.

Actually if you cut it tw 20 inches, then you could bury a part of it in the dirt to be more stable.


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## DoctorZ (Jul 26, 2013)

At 15" the silo would be shorter than the top of the barn. Can't have that! 20" sounds about right.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

I just went googling for silo heights..they are all over the map! 
30 to 70 feet generally..50 to 60 foot seems typical.

But for modeling purposes, most people want that classic small-town early to mid 20th century US farm look..with a small barn, and the silo just slightly taller than the barn..photos:

http://tinyurl.com/ktcop8s

Here is an N-scale model with dimensions:

http://www.laserkit.com/new2.htm

That scales out to:

Prototype barn height: 43 feet.
Prototype silo height: 60 feet.

1/20.3 scale:
barn: 25"
silo: 35"

1/24 scale:
Barn: 22"
Silo: 30"


1/29 scale:
Barn: 18"
Silo: 25"

Scot


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## Icequeen (May 11, 2013)

*silo*

I made a pretty good one from PVC pipe and a toilet flange...


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