N Scale Fertilizer Plants

[Mike C]

biggest fertilizer manufacturer in the country:

Naw , pretty sure that CNN makes a lot more fertilizer .

[Curtis Kyger]

This is pretty close to the Blair Line structure.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8778239,-91.9470048,3a,63.3y,135.78h,92.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2KTMYTRKzBrBC123QXU-Yg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[aikorob]

Naw , pretty sure that CNN makes a lot more fertilizer .

maybe so, but it's fresh----the big white factory has it distilled down to the very essence..................they've been doing it over 225 years   


maybe we should let Ed have his thread back

[basementcalling]

I could SWEAR I remember there being two similar but different models out at the time the Blair Line Farmers Fertilizer kit came out.

http://www.blairline.com/farmersfertilizer/

Am I losing my mind, or was there a second option?

I'm contemplating one for a future TTRAK model (the idea of an Alco S2 trundling along with some high-capacity cars for it is amusing to me).

And while I'm asking questions, are there any good photo references for these things?

I've got that one. Nice kit. I don't remember a second option from BL, so my money is on you losing your mind. 

[Albert in N]

   Seems like N scale cattle would work in a pinch.  Most trucks could be modified as spreaders.  A logical next step would be a model feed yard with piles of repurposed used coffee grounds.

[jpec]

There was this one by Showcase Miniatures: https://www.walthers.com/phillips-feed-seed-fertilizer-building

I think that's a commercial offering of an old E. L. Moore structure...I have several of his articles here.

[squirrelhunter]

Ok, my examples are smaller and less elaborate than the Blair Line structure, but they fit in the same general size. Biggest difference is they don't have the extra office or exterior loading spout and don't use a grain elevator style leg but an auger that looks more like a pipe.

One that still exists at Taylor TX
https://goo.gl/maps/BXT2z6iXYLK2

Two that no longer exist at Bartlett and Hutto TX but were featured in the Sept/Oct 1987 Prototype Modeler (available online at Train Life). The Bartlett one had a grain elevator style leg but also had a big overhead hopper bin to load trucks and trainers. The Hutto one used an auger style leg.
 

[RRRover]

@C855B -

That hill could be smelled for miles - I'd get an occasional whiff 10 miles away at home in Montebello! I could see it with a good telescope from my back yard - but it was about a 10-mile drive. And the skiing did happen on beautiful Bandini Mountain! It was all corrugated sheds etc. I may have shot pix as a teen on a railfan outing. Down the street Blue Diamond processed and crushed walnut shells and loaded them into ACF 3-Bay CF Covered Hoppers. The crushed shells were used for everything from bean bags to stuffed animals to HO and N ballast (I bandini you not)!

[DKS]

maybe we should let Ed have his thread back

Yes. This OT branch is creeping very close to the edge of oblivion.

[squirrelhunter]

I'd love to keep the on topic part of this thread alive- in my part of Texas this is one of the few "loose car" industries left.

[coosvalley]

As far as the Blair Line building is concerned, I think they sold just the building, and then another kit with the building, and some auxiliary structures/pieces too. I think the main structure was the same.

[C855B]

That hill could be smelled for miles - I'd get an occasional whiff 10 miles away at home in Montebello! I could see it with a good telescope from my back yard - but it was about a 10-mile drive. And the skiing did happen on beautiful Bandini Mountain! It was all corrugated sheds etc. I may have shot pix as a teen on a railfan outing. Down the street Blue Diamond processed and crushed walnut shells and loaded them into ACF 3-Bay CF Covered Hoppers. The crushed shells were used for everything from bean bags to stuffed animals to HO and N ballast (I bandini you not)!

Sadly, I did not shoot any pictures of the operation. While it was a source of amusement especially after the commercial was aired [pun intended], it more or less faded into the background since I worked nearby and saw it every weekday. If you were to run across those old photos...

I'll also have to ask my railfan buds if they have any shots. It was on our regular weekend railfan route to see if there was anything interesting at Hobart or West Yards.

[OldEastRR]

I think Ed's referring to this model

https://www.barmillsmodels.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=44&category_id=18&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=999123&vmcchk=1&Itemid=999123&redirected=1&Itemid=999123

If you check out the whole page you can see the many variations people have made with it. I really would like to have one but there's no place for it to go on my layout.

Yeah I get Blair Line and Bar Mills mixed up all the time.

[JoeD]

I think they had a Feed and Seed that is very similar in construction you might be thinking about.  As for reference, depends on the era you are modeling.   Most of the modern ones look like simple pre fab structures some conveyors and loading facilities for trucks.  The Blair line kit confuses me a bit and I'm no expert of fertilizer, but they have rail unloading on one side and I wonder what they would need in quantity for that set up?  just askin.  Seems rail loading more practical with trucks providing the "secret" sauce  LOL .       On the bigger side but doesn't look like a converted general store most kits end up being.  A few packs of Pikestuff and put your own together...they make everything you need. 

Joe

I could SWEAR I remember there being two similar but different models out at the time the Blair Line Farmers Fertilizer kit came out.

http://www.blairline.com/farmersfertilizer/

Am I losing my mind, or was there a second option?

I'm contemplating one for a future TTRAK model (the idea of an Alco S2 trundling along with some high-capacity cars for it is amusing to me).

And while I'm asking questions, are there any good photo references for these things?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

It's not so much I want to do a real fertilizer plant. Although these are really nice to know about.

I'm shooting for something in the 70s, and that Blair Line kit will probably do the job.

However, I could've sworn that there were two kits that came out around the same time that were similar. I thought one might have been MTL's, actually.

I guess I was confused though.