Industry choice opinions: Cement plant questions
- Thread starter Yannis
- Start date
While waiting for a relevant MR book to arrive i got some questions about the plants themselves and specifically the silos and the loading to hopper cars.
I have noticed that in the walthers kit, the hoppers are loaded via a side structure made of corrugated metal. I have also seen situations where the silos themselves have a "hole/portal" for the hoppers to go through and after seeing several pictures/plans i got the following questions.
Questions.
1. Is the side loading via the metal buildings (ala walthers kit) more frequently found in the US in comparison to hoppers going through the silos?
2. Silos dimensions and arrangements are standardized or i could lets say scratchbuild any variation? (ie 25ft diameter, 7 in a row or 2 rows of 7 each etc...)
3. If the hopper car is loaded through the silos (and not like the walthers kit), that would mean that there is actually a tunnel formed where the hopper cars go through (ie 6 silos forming the loading tunnel) OR there is a separate single silo that has the loading portal next to the stacked silos connected via a conveyor/piping? (similar Pelle's cement plant). I have seen variations of the above but i cannot understand whats more common.
Many thanks again
Yannis
I have noticed that in the walthers kit, the hoppers are loaded via a side structure made of corrugated metal. I have also seen situations where the silos themselves have a "hole/portal" for the hoppers to go through and after seeing several pictures/plans i got the following questions.
Questions.
1. Is the side loading via the metal buildings (ala walthers kit) more frequently found in the US in comparison to hoppers going through the silos?
2. Silos dimensions and arrangements are standardized or i could lets say scratchbuild any variation? (ie 25ft diameter, 7 in a row or 2 rows of 7 each etc...)
3. If the hopper car is loaded through the silos (and not like the walthers kit), that would mean that there is actually a tunnel formed where the hopper cars go through (ie 6 silos forming the loading tunnel) OR there is a separate single silo that has the loading portal next to the stacked silos connected via a conveyor/piping? (similar Pelle's cement plant). I have seen variations of the above but i cannot understand whats more common.
Many thanks again
Yannis
Last edited by a moderator:
Jwb: Thank you for the reply. I have in mind the walthers valley cement kit where they use the metal side-shed for loading hoppers and if i understand correctly you add another kit (the canning business building for example) that represents the bagging facility/loading to boxcars. So in this case the metal shed is used for hopper loading?
If i have lets say 6-7 silos in a row, the "tunnel" would go through all 7 or that would be uncommon and "tunnels" would be present only in situations where 1-2 silos are grouped together?
The number of silos in this situation is independent to the number of hoppers that can be loaded simultaneously? In other words, i could have 10 silos / tunnel and only 1 hopper loading pad inside the tunnel?
Cajon: I was referring to the model railroader's book (but should have said MR instead of MRR, thank you for spotting my typo), on industries along the track where it has info about cement plants.
If i have lets say 6-7 silos in a row, the "tunnel" would go through all 7 or that would be uncommon and "tunnels" would be present only in situations where 1-2 silos are grouped together?
The number of silos in this situation is independent to the number of hoppers that can be loaded simultaneously? In other words, i could have 10 silos / tunnel and only 1 hopper loading pad inside the tunnel?
Cajon: I was referring to the model railroader's book (but should have said MR instead of MRR, thank you for spotting my typo), on industries along the track where it has info about cement plants.
Last edited by a moderator:
OK, here's a picture of Valley Cement from the Walthers site, so I know what you're talking about. The two metal buildings in the center are the kiln-related equipment. The coal hoppers visible show this is meant to be a coal-fired facility.
I think the tan colored building on the right is for handling bagged cement into boxcars, although the doors aren't really set up for this, so someone may be able to correct me. The cylinders on the left are for loading hoppers. Here's another shot of the Monolith, CA plant:
The cylinders here appear to be for storing finished cement and can direct their product either to the bag shed in front or to a loader farther to the left and out of the photo, but the loader is cylindrical with a "tunnel:. It looks to me as if the Walthers Valley Cement is combining the cylinders as both storage and loading.
Someone else may be able to clarify this, too.
I think the tan colored building on the right is for handling bagged cement into boxcars, although the doors aren't really set up for this, so someone may be able to correct me. The cylinders on the left are for loading hoppers. Here's another shot of the Monolith, CA plant:
The cylinders here appear to be for storing finished cement and can direct their product either to the bag shed in front or to a loader farther to the left and out of the photo, but the loader is cylindrical with a "tunnel:. It looks to me as if the Walthers Valley Cement is combining the cylinders as both storage and loading.
Someone else may be able to clarify this, too.
John many thanks for the help and clarifications.
On the walthers valley cement, the building on the right is for aggregates and not for bagged cement from what i have read (some people add a building for bagged cement extra to the plant). If you look at the yellow hopper car on the left it is coming out of a metal shed adjacent to the silo complex of the plant where the cement is kept. So from what i gather, the hoppers are loaded via this side/adjacent metal shed in the valley cement kit.
On the monolith, from the pictures i have seen i see exactly what you described and many thanks for the clarifications/info. Meaning that the hoppers are loaded through two silos (with rail-through tunnel loading) which are as you say outside the picture to the left. If i understand correctly, cement is sent from the main storage silos via belt (or something) to the bagging building which is adjacent and then the belt continues to the twin hopper loading silos that are outside the picture (to the left).
On the victorville plant from what i understand, the hoppers are loaded via some method while they are on the side of the grouped silos (like on the walthers kit).
What i havent seen (and was one of my questions) is a situation where the hoppers go through the grouped silos which are both for storage and loading. In other words, like kitbashing the walthers silos so that the hoppers go through them (like the loading doors for trucks as seen in the medusa cement kit).
On the walthers valley cement, the building on the right is for aggregates and not for bagged cement from what i have read (some people add a building for bagged cement extra to the plant). If you look at the yellow hopper car on the left it is coming out of a metal shed adjacent to the silo complex of the plant where the cement is kept. So from what i gather, the hoppers are loaded via this side/adjacent metal shed in the valley cement kit.
On the monolith, from the pictures i have seen i see exactly what you described and many thanks for the clarifications/info. Meaning that the hoppers are loaded through two silos (with rail-through tunnel loading) which are as you say outside the picture to the left. If i understand correctly, cement is sent from the main storage silos via belt (or something) to the bagging building which is adjacent and then the belt continues to the twin hopper loading silos that are outside the picture (to the left).
On the victorville plant from what i understand, the hoppers are loaded via some method while they are on the side of the grouped silos (like on the walthers kit).
What i havent seen (and was one of my questions) is a situation where the hoppers go through the grouped silos which are both for storage and loading. In other words, like kitbashing the walthers silos so that the hoppers go through them (like the loading doors for trucks as seen in the medusa cement kit).
OK, the metal shed to the left of the cylinders on the Walthers Valley Cement isn't for side loading. A covered hopper can only be loaded from the top. What is actually in the shed is an outlet hose that loads the hopper from above. However, this is adapted from the Walthers grain elevator and Medusa Cement (both use the same parts) and isn't necessarily accurate for a cement plant loader. But it definitely isn't for side loading.
Aggregates are something different from cement. They are a product made from gravel and not necessarily used in connection with cement. They can be a wall covering or a pavement underlay or other things, but wouldn't be produced at a pure cement plant. I would say that the tan building is closest to a bagging shed, but again, the doors aren't at the right height for boxcar loading. If I were doing a Valley Cement, I'd change the doors at minimum, but I'd use the building for bagging and boxcar loading.
We mean the same thing essentially about the walthers plant. I meant the hopper goes on the side of the silos, into the metal shed and gets loaded from above via pipes.
About the aggregates building (most probably bad terminology on my part): I mean a building with raw materials which are used to make the cement in the kiln/metal buildings. Hypothetically these are brought in by rail/truck but more usually by conveyor belts.
From what i gather i ll either go for the victorville or monolith examples by displaying a compressed version of the loading and/or storage silos and the bagging buildings.
Many thanks again!
About the aggregates building (most probably bad terminology on my part): I mean a building with raw materials which are used to make the cement in the kiln/metal buildings. Hypothetically these are brought in by rail/truck but more usually by conveyor belts.
From what i gather i ll either go for the victorville or monolith examples by displaying a compressed version of the loading and/or storage silos and the bagging buildings.
Many thanks again!
