# Prairie Grain Elevator



## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Last summer I was looking around at what remains of the prairie grain elevators with the intent of eventually building one. Well there's not much left I'm afraid. Earlier in the year I made a trip from Edmonton to Tribune Saskatchewan and photographed all that I came by. Many of those remaining have no rail access any longer and a few have been abandoned to the prairie winds. Of all the ones I looked at the one I liked the most was of all places closest to my home. 
With permission from the owner I photographed it and took some vital measurements. It's not one the giants being only 88 feet tall, but scaled down to 36 inch tall it will certainly be a sentinel in the backyard.
With the data I collected I made up a file for a future construction project as I'm just too busy at the moment. Well that didn't last long and at the beginning of November I started framing my elevator. Now because of its size I have to make it the priority to get it out of my work shop.
These are some of the progress photographs, I will add more as I proceed.










This is the elevator near my home. It's privately owned and was built in place rather than moved to its location as many were after they had severed out their usefulness on railway spurs.










This is the start of the framing using aspen wood and fir plywood for the sheet surfaces.










A little more progress.



















These are the column supports with the elephant feet supports on the scale house. I made the elephant feet supports from 1" dowel and as can be seen I did not install the bottom ones yet as I know I'll break them before I finish.










The scale house floor is made up from styrene strips glued to the floor and surrounded with floor boards made from a bamboo roller blind I got from the recycle store.










This photo shows the scale floor and the discharge chute. I was going to make the tilting section for the chute but decided against it. Later I realized how much can be seen with the end doors opened and wished now I had done it. I did decide to make and install the internal hopper and elevator and these will both be seen with the doors open.










Chain elevator. 










This is the elevator and chute installed.










This is the later framing assembly. I had to relocate one of the diagonals on the side building to accommodate the windows, that I had forgotten about.










This is the door frame being installed. As can be seen some of the ship lap is also installed. This is milled from 4"x 1" planks and ends up 0.300 high by 0.130 thick. I routed these first to a rough size then sanded them to the finished size.










This photo below shows the before and after routing. Then I split the planks on the saw.



















This is my sander set up!!!










One plank at the time, but it works.










When I started planking I think I got a little carried away and just started gluing them on then I realized I needed joints so now the planks go on with the joints cut at set locations with a 0.020 razor saw.

I'm not sure how long the planking will take but I hope to complete the wood work within a couple of months.
Cheers.


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## Kevin K (Nov 3, 2009)

That looks awesome. That flooring and siding look sweet. I've always wanted to do clapboard siding with individual boards but I seem to lose determination after ripping just a few planks. What color are you going to paint it after it"s done?


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

Brewer Plans has a grain elevator plan set. 

http://www.brewerplans.com/


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow, pretty serious work! NICE!


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

An excellent structure! Being from Kansas, those things are as necessary as freight depots! Heck, _every_ stop had one!! Nicely done and I am looking forward to the "completed" pics!


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## Robert (Jan 2, 2008)

Uhm, wow. Individual planks! You're a madman, eviable, but mad.


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I used to build with wood. loved it but it lasted about 7 years. I also vented them and primered the inside to keep from molding. 
Good luck.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice indeed. Lots of detail. Later RJD


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hi Kevin,
I plan to paint it Alberta Wheat Pool Green as the only other structure I have is red and that's the water tower.
Cheers.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello Dan,
Thanks for the information on the drawing availability. I think the next project will be a station so I need to keep this info for reference.
Thanks again.
Cheers.


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## up9018 (Jan 4, 2008)

Wow, that thing is going to be quite impressive!!!! 

Nice Job


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Believe it or not, there's still one of those elevators a couple miles from my house - still in it's original location on a live railroad spur! I can swing by and take some photos, if you'd like. The city is actually considering making it into a historical site, to preserve it. 

http://www.cityofthornton.net/Depar...tions/WebBulletins/Pages/HistoricElevator.asp 

Thanks! Robert


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello Robert,
We used to have a nice collection of elevators around here as well, but apparently they were in the way of "progress".
What I'm interested in seeing is a detail of the scales. On the one I'm modeling the owner did not allow me inside. While this has never usually stopped me before I felt I might need to come back for more details so I didn't push my luck.
There is a full sized mock up of one at the Reynolds Museum here in Alberta so I'm planning a visit there to see how it's arranged.
If you can get inside your local elevator I'm sure any photographs you could get would not only help me but also other modelers who are also planning on building one of these giants.
Thanks for your reply,
Cheers.


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## Kevin K (Nov 3, 2009)

It's nice to see someone building with wood again. Acrylic and PVC are much more durable, but they lack the character of real wood structures. However, I've been proven wrong with many structures on this site because many plastic ones look perfectly real. I prefer to stick with using wood for buildings though.


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Are you referring to truck scales, or perhaps railroad scales? I can see what I can do... 

Robert


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Excellent work and craftsmanship. 

That's fabulous..


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello Robert,
Both, if you are able. Also, before the use of cylindrical hoppers box cars were loaded through the side door with a flexible bucket type hose, do you know of any details on these??
Again I may find all this info when I visit the Reynolds Museum, but at the moment I can't even visit the end of my driveway without slipping on the ice.
Cheers.


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

This might help: 

http://www.hosecraftusa.com/application/Material_Handling_Hoses?gclid=CIG8i5yhjacCFRNSgwodTChIew 

http://www.emmsales.com/WALINGA_vacs.htm 

I usually go to primary source material, most model railroaders only repeat what they've "heard". 

Hoses and related equipment are still used to load trucks. 

Just for the fun of it, look up BN "Boppers." 

Robert


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By harvey on 15 Feb 2011 07:35 PM 
{snip...}[/i] There is a full sized mock up of one at the Reynolds Museum here in Alberta so I'm planning a visit there to see how it's arranged.
If you can get inside your local elevator I'm sure any photographs you could get would not only help me but also other modelers who are also planning on building one of these giants. {snip...}[/i]
Harvey

I don't know if the following will be of any help to you because this elevator is a bit larger, but hopefully it will be of help for ideas at least.

The link provided points to the drawings page, where you'll find six measured drawings.
[*] If clicked, each drawing thumbnail leads to a page where a larger image may be seen.
[*] At the bottom of this page two links to even larger reference images will be found (i.e. lower left).
[*] If you right-click either of the links you can choose to save a copy to your local system, and then open the file with your graphic editor.

[*] In the upper-left of the first page you'll see additional icons (i.e. b&w photos, data pages, and photo caption pages).
[*] Clicking any of these will take you to pages with the respective items may be viewed and copied as the drawings can be.
[/list] Library of Congress - American Memory - HABS-HAER Built In America - Hogan Grain Elevator[/b]


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## Doug C (Jan 14, 2008)

Harvey ; 

Looks like it shall be a awesome replica of a grain elevator ! 


Just chkd my pics from aug.14th when a bunch of us jumped on a bus to Stettler to ride the 6060 down to Big Valley where there is a older "AlbertaWheatPool, FarmerOwnedCo-operative, BigValley" stated 1960's elevator {colour more a faded redtuscanoxide . .. maybe 'cause it was a CN div. point  } I did stop inside, but ALAS did not seem to have taken any interior shots of the elevator ! Did take a couple exterior shots, along with the displayed rolling stock, and remains of the back brick wall of the roundhouse !


doug c 


p.s. As I don't see how i can post pics off my hdd on this forum. If you want a exterior shot or two, send me your email addy via pm.


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## DTI356 (Jan 3, 2008)

Harvey, 

First off.....Great prototype choice, excellent model , and excellent execution/detail ! 

I've always admired the Canadian Rail experience. Of course living just outside Detroit and making a lot of trips to Windsor, Ont. and many other Canadian destinations may have something to do with my interest. I also made a couple trips to Northern Ontario to railfan CP Rail back in the 80's and it was great to see so many 40' boxcars still in use at that time. Big old strings of them pulled by SD40-2's and M636's thru some beautiful unspoiled countryside. 

Ok, enough nostalia.... 

Find a copy of the book 'Wheat Kings (Vanishing Landmarks of the Canadian Prairies)' by Greg McDonnell . He saw the decline of the prairie grain elevators coming and went around Canada documenting as many as he could. The book is worth it for the beautiful (some very artistic) pictures. Including some inside and obscure detail pictures. 
Harvey, I think you'll really like this book and it may help answer some of your questions.


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## Richard Weatherby (Jan 3, 2008)

I agree, what a Great choice and excellent craftsmanship. This is a favorite subject of mine. I try to take photos where ever I find these. I also highly reccomend the book mentioned above. On the way back East from the Garden Railway Convention in Tacoma, WA, we drove across Canada to Regina.

The photos below are from one I found in Wilson, KS. It is clad in metal, but the door was hanging open so I took a couple of shots inside. One photo belongs on top of the other. I don't know what the components are.

As far as your construction... I can only assume you are not going to place this outside on a permanent basis. The reason I say this is because the individual strips will turn into snakes and warp causing a major heartache after all that wonderful work. I reccomend cutting it ouct of solid lumber using a dado blade tilted at 15 degrees. The is an old archive here which demonstrates this technique.


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## Kevin K (Nov 3, 2009)

Yeah, unfortunately I think all those planks will warp unless you completely dip them in sort of sealent or really coat them heavy with paint. That happened when I put my passenger station outside. The roof was a wood shingle roof I created using popsicle sticks. Unfortunately I didn't coat the bottoms good enough and many hours of work were destroyed in the first rainfall.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Here are a couple more photographs of some progress, I think.
Cheers.



















Before going any further I decided to install the internal hopper. Working through the wall frames made things interesting and challenging. My own fault...lack of planning.
The diagonal struts inside are temporary bracing.










It's not easy anymore to turn this thing on its side and now with the door runner frames i have to be careful not to break them off.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

This series of photographs show the roof installation for the scale house and the grain unloading area.

 








 








 
The roof material is 1/4" mahogany plywood. i would like to use a thinner material, but I'm not sure what would be acceptable. 
As can be seen I prime the wood before installing the shingles.
 








 








 
I find I need to install the shingles before proceeding up the wall. This way I can make sure I have a good seal between the roof and siding.
I draw pencil lines across the roof to keep the shingle strips straight (er).
The shingling I use are PermaStik sold in local hardware stores and used for step grips or other nonslip surfaces on skate boards etc.


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## general1861 (Jan 22, 2010)

Looks awesome. Keep thephots commin....


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello Brian,
I received a copy of the book 'Wheat Kings' today and have to agree this is an excellent publication.
I had spent quite a bit of my working career in various locations of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, so the book brought back many memories.
Another book which I have found to be of top quality on the coverage of elevators is 'Changing Horizons' by Joshua Soles. It covers mainly Alberta elevators, but is an excellent publication and a must have if anyone is about to build one of these giants.
Thanks again for your referral.
Cheers.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello again, here we have some more progress photo's.



















As you can see I cut half way through the width of the shingle and stagger the cut lines. I then place the shingle strip in place with a bout 50% overlap.



















I use a roller to seat the shingle tack side into the grit surface.
Cheers.


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## regan128 (Mar 5, 2011)

Hi..where did you buy the shingles? Your building is looking great!


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Outstanding craftsmanship. Beautiful!


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello Regan,
I purchase the shingle material from a local RONA (Canada) hardware store in one inch and two inch widths. I have looked in Home Depot, but couldn't find any there.
They are manufactured by RCR International under the name of PermaStik Textured Vinyl Safety Treads. Unfortunately they are limited on colours, black, grey and clear. It would be nice to have some yellow, then we could all build Pioneer elevators.
During installation they are quite hard on your finger tips, which make good fine sanding sticks after you've finished a roof, your fingers that is.
Cheers.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

This is my lazy Harvey I put together so I could spin the elevator for planking. I think it would work well for any project when working on all four sides at the same time.



















Cheers.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Man! Harvey, that is really coming along nicely!


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

These are some more photographs of a little progress. 
Although the elevator I'm copying doesn't have the external reinforcement boards as many of them do, or did towards their end of life, either due to fatigue or internal modifications to hoppers. I decided to add some to break up the plain side and also to add some character.
This photograph shows the inner boards and the outer ones which will have the plates and nuts attached.










I used the outer board as the drill jig and drilled through the sides and then glued each in place. I attached the brass plates and nuts as the glue was drying.










I'm pleased with the end result and glad I didn't go overboard as they seem to have done with the elevator that once stood at Arrowwood, Alberta. I think that one had more reinforcement boards than it had containment boards.










More later.
Cheers.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Here are some more progress pictures.










I had to take it off the lazy Harvey as I couldn't reach anymore.



















As I've moved up the elevator I've drilled holes through the floors to ventilate the building. Later I'll build some roof ventilators as I imagine it'll get quite warm in there during the summer sun. If we ever get any!
Cheers.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow....this is wonderful thread. Great job Harvey.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Yeah it is Mike, I can't belieive I don't remeber this, I must have missed it. 

Fantastic Job Harvey!!


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## dawinter (Jan 2, 2008)

As an elevator freak myself (I have three on the layout - the tallest one is 51 inches high) I very much appreciated your workmanship but I sure hope you keep that beauty inside where it will last for many years. Even in my semi desert environment my strongest and simplest buildings took quite a beating when the WVRR was outside in the yard.

I've saved the thread now so I can keep up with the progress. 

Thanks for sharing your work

Dave


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

That is truly museum quality workmanship! You're actually making it to scale!! I agree that leaving it outside would be hard on it but then the prototypes never looked pristine for very long!


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Ok, I am confused. The 1:1 building in the pictures, was that used to store grain or house the machinery to load it

JJ


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello John,
I'm not a Grain Farmer, but this is my understanding of grain elevators and their service to the grain industry.
They are not for storing grain, only for collecting, cleaning and sorting different types/grades and not all had cleaning facilities.
Across the Canadian prairies they were typically located about sixteen to twenty miles apart. This was in consideration of the horses that were required to haul loaded grain wagons to the elevators and the concentration of grain farms in the vicinity. More farms equated to more elevators. Today this is not an issue as trucks, many of them farmer owned, can haul the grain greater distances to the fewer rail terminals which have much higher throughput concrete elevators. 
The original grain cars (40' wooden boxcars) could hold approximately 40 tons of grain compared to the modern grain hopper which can load and discharge 100 tons of grain in maybe one third of the time . The new grain silos can also load multiple cars at the same time whereas the old wooden elevators only loaded one car at a time.
The private elevator which I've based my model on is electrical powered so there is no attached engine house. I'm building an engine house for mine as it is more typical of the older elevators. The engines were small gas powered units with a flywheel to drive a belt to the elevator, usually at ground level. The engine house also housed the office where grain loading and unloading was documented.
The few elevators I've visited that were in service seemed to me to be more of a social meeting place for grain farmers who all seemed to know each other and the quality of the grain by looking, touching and smelling the grain. I think these qualities are now a thing of the past.
Hope some of this helps.
Cheers.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

John, Harvey, et al;

You might try the following site and then enter a search value of "grain elevator" as a search value. Remember you can download free copies (i.e. PDF format etc.) of these books if you desire.

Internet Archive - Ebooks & Texts Archive[/b]


For example when I did the same the first entry in the results set was. FYI, just point to the right page and click to turn the page, left page and you go the other direction, text to small use the tools down in the right corner of your browser window.

The Cooperative Elevator Movement c.1922[/b]


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

Another way to make Clapboard siding which I have used quite a bit is with a Dado blade in my Table saw tilted at a small angle (5 degrees or so) Starting with a peice of exterior plywood, I carve a small groove which is about 1/4" wide and 1/32" deep on one side only. I index the fence by 1/4" and repeat the groove...over and over and over until I have a clapboard textured peice of plywood. 

I can use thin or thick plywood with exterior glue which is pretty duable when painted.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello Eric,
I did consider exterior grade plywood and milling the grooves but I don't want the dust from this stuff in the house. My workshop is in the basement. I do have dust collection, but I don't think it would get it all.
I've received some very good advise from many members during this build, as you can see and I certainly appreciate their comments, as well as yours.

Here are some other parts I've been working on instead of just watching glue dry.










I think most of the big parts are now attached so it will be complete the shingles and then on to staining next.










I have put the spout chute connection on but this photo doesn't show it.










The spout is made from 1/2" aluminum bar which I machined in 5/8" long taper sections 0.025" thick with a 3 degree angle. The chain is the standard issue from Michaels and the caps on the hinge pins are also from Michaels and soldered on to the ends. It's delicate but flexible.










This is the drive belt coffin with the cover. The lifting eyes are for show as I'll glue the cover to the coffin.










This photograph shows the engine house/office and the drive belt coffin in place. The other end will be attached to the elevator.
More later.
Cheers.


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## general1861 (Jan 22, 2010)

Awesome looking elevator. When I see it it reminds me of when I was a kid hauling grain to the elevator with my Grandpaw....Travis


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

How ever you did it it is fantastic! I can only imagine the real thing...they never have grown much grain in my part of Maine...lobster shacks and bait barrels. 

You have really given it the details needed to bring it to life!


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Hello Steve,
Thanks for posting these links. 
While many of use go out in the back yard during the summer to run our trains just for the fun of it, I think there are still quite a few of us who try to maintain a link to the history and development of our railways. In Canada, the Canadian Pacific joined the east to the west, just as the Union Pacific and Central Pacific did for the United States. Also in Canada, even only after sixteen years since the termination of the Crow Rate we have farmers who don't have a clue what it was. However, I don't think the Canadian Pacific or Canadian National will ever forget. This was the subsidized rate set in 1897 for hauling grain across Western Canada and was only abolished in 1995. Some say this is when Canadian Railways started to make a profit! 
Although the consolidation of grain elevators (Cooperatives) started long before this, the writing was on the wall for grain growers and the railways were not bashful about letting them know. Many spurs were shut down and the tracks torn up before many locals even knew what was happening. Regrettably many small country towns across the prairies also disappeared in to oblivion after their elevators had crashed to the ground. While I understand that this is progress and we have to adapt to these changes, I have spent many years traveling throughout the prairie provinces and have seen first hand the devastation caused to a community by the loss of their spur and ultimately their elevators.
My grain elevator represents an era in railways across Western Canada that I think was iconic and as my grandson gets older I hope to be able to explain to him what it is and what it represents.
The link you provided 'The Cooperative Elevator Movement c.1922', is a classic example of the history around the Cooperative Elevators and the need for farmers even today, to be politically astute.
Thanks for your reply and thanks for the links.
Cheers.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I little side note here. Canadian Prairies? I always picture Canada as all mountians cause that is all the pictures I have seen is of Mountians. As kid in early grade schoold I picuted the Soviet Union as being shades of gray cause that was all the pictures I saw. I forget Canada has Prairies.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

This is an update on the last couple of weeks.
I'm now working on the engine house/office and hope to have the shingles completed this coming weekend.




























The engine house now has the roof installed and staining completed. Still much to do, but spring is here and the garden is now the priority....so I'm told!










I must complement Stan Cedarleaf for the excellent decals he provided. I should also add that I followed his instructions (for the first time ever) and the results are much better than the photographs show. Well done Stan. (See Cedarleaf Custom Railroad Decals)










As can be seen at the loading dock, the door runners are not installed yet (that's because they're not made yet). The hanging chains will be attached above the hose connection when I finally fit the hose.










As predicted, the elephants feet on the scale house broke off the first time I moved it.
So after the engine house shingles, there is the chimney, the doors, windows, ramps and loading platform as well as many other details.
It might be a while before the next update.
Cheers.


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## GnTRailroad (Apr 3, 2009)

Harvey, 

That is one really nice building! Keep the pictures coming would love to see it all setup! Lot of hours into the building and it shows. 

George


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

VERY nice build so far! It's becoming a true masterpiece. 
I also really like the green color. Keep up the good work!


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Great! Really outstanding building. 

best, 
TJ


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for posting the finished work, Harvey. The work is excellent.... What a great addition to your RR...










Delighted the decals worked so well for you.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Brilliant! This is impressive. Great work Harvey.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Amazing Harvey, now I have to hide the one I made!


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## Greg Vocks (Jan 2, 2008)

Great job, Harvey. Really nice looking structure. I made a flexible loading chute by drilling the ends off really cheap sewing thimbles, and soldering then to a chain, but yours looks so much better. I used to have some really detailed pics of a smaller elevator in Illinois.


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

I put the elevator outside last week, but the weather forecast was for a storm that evening, so I put in the shed for the night. Good job I did as I was surprised the shed was there in the morning, just one heck of a storm.

So its outside again and today was a quite day down at Ellerslie.



















The doors on both ramps are made from plasticard and will be replaced as soon as I get the runners built. They have already warped, but the wooden doors on the loading bay are fine.
Still some small additions to make, but generally this will be it. Obviously the baseboard will need to be painted, but I know someone who is two feet closer to the ground who will love to do this for me.
Cheers.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

That really turned out great Harvey!


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## up9018 (Jan 4, 2008)

Wow, that is outstanding. Really nice job. 

Chris


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## DTI356 (Jan 3, 2008)

Harvey, 

Very inspirational work. Thanks again for sharing this with us. 

Brian


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Harvey

Boy does that look great, a really good job.


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Harvey, really nice!! I'm saving this thread  Thanks for the how to.


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