Nice job on the grain elevator!

An elevator built of battleship armor should be around for a while (or maybe it just LOOKS like armor!)   You did a great job of capturing the look of the real scene!

Unique elevator

Good work on a unique elevator.  It should be a conversation starter in your layout room.  One question, every elevator I've seen has two doors for the truck dump so it's a drive through; does this prototype only have one?

Drive thru

This one also has a drive thru dump building. I didn't plan enough scenery around it to support the opposite ramp. I may redo the siding by lengthening it and add the other door and ramp. Of course, the track is already ballasted... 

Thanks

Thanks for clearing that up for me.  Again, it's a neat looking elevator.

interesting

It's funny, the prototype looks like a really poorly executed model, with crude detail and heavy seams on the silos, and overdone weathering.  Even the prototype can make poor structures...

Seams

The prototype seams look heavy because they are!  Each panel has about a 1" raised edge around it and the edges are either welded or bolted together (I looked once but failed to note how they were connected).  

It would be complicated to scratch build the metal panel siding and even more complicated to paint and weather it properly.  Thus I chose to use photos for the siding.

Grain elevator

Hi George,

  I see where you used PVC pipe for the silo cores.I'm wondering if I missed how you attached the photo of the siding (Neat idea by the way) to the PVC.

Bird's Elevator

I hope to have the same Elevator on My GW layout someday! Fine Looking Model George!

Nice job!

Great looking model George.  I always enjoy seeing prototype/model comparisons, and I think you've done a nice job capture the look of this elevator.

Good looking switcher too!  You don't often see big plows on SWs, but that was an interesting feature of your prototype, so I'm glad you modeled it.

Securing photos

I don't know how George did it, but if you secure a photo to anything, make sure your adhesive is acid free.  The spray adhesive usually works the best.  I have used an acid free Loctite spray with good results.

Great job George.  That really is a unique elevator.  I have seen metal ones in the upper Midwest, but nothing that large.  The large ones tend to be your typical corrugated metal and/or concrete.

Greg

Gluing the Photos

Sorry, I didn't notice the last question about gluing the metal siding photos to the PVC.  I've been using "permanent" glue sticks for this kind of thing.  I think glue sticks are easier to control than spray adhesive and the results seem to be permanent enough for modeling purposes.