GREAT WORK!!!

Wow-

That's a fantastic looking set of structures that gives the industry the look of something much bigger.  Really well done on that front.  As a whole it also just looks plain believeable to me. 

As you mentioned you have a protoype to work from but how close did you stick to it?  The arrangement of buildings and especially the roof details "look" right to the uneducated viewer like myself.  A really well done kit bash that gives you a substantial industry in a tight space.

One question:  how are the cars worked at the plant?  Are they pulled through the unloading shed by a loco or is there going to be a winch at the plant?

Thanks for sharing your work!

Looks great

After looking at your photographs I wished I had room for such a large industry. I know nothing about cement plants and don't know if your model is prototypical, but I am certainly convinced. I look forward to seeing what else you do regarding the additional building and the background.

Re: Rich

"As a whole it also just looks plain believeable to me."

Thanks - believeability was a big part of the goal.  I wanted to avoid something that looked random or generic.

"As you mentioned you have a protoype to work from but how close did you stick to it?  The arrangement of buildings and especially the roof details "look" right to the uneducated viewer like myself."

I didn't stick very closely to one specific prototype.  I worked from photos of several plants, including a couple in CA (Victorville and Oro Grande) plus others I found doing some net searches here and there.  There seemed to be a lot of arrangements of such things as dust collectors, as well as variations in locations of bins, bunkers and conveyors.  So far the only parts I used from the Walthers Medusa kit were the dust collectors, and I connected them with sprue material.  That style of collector seems to be universal on cement plants in the US.  Another similarity was the monochromatic paint schemes, often with an almond/tan color on the non-concrete portions, accented by the "safety yellow" railings.  Color probably will go a long way in convincing viewers what this industry's about.

"One question:  how are the cars worked at the plant?  Are they pulled through the unloading shed by a loco or is there going to be a winch at the plant?"

I'm planning on a winch arrangement, or perhaps another sort of critter like a front-end loader with a coupler.  The local freight will only drop its block of cars at the plant and will not move them individually for loading.

Re: Bob

"I look forward to seeing what else you do regarding the additional building and the background."

The unloading structure for the coal hoppers is slated to be a plain corrugated metal building, mostly presenting a blank wall toward the track where the covered hoppers will be spotted.  I plan to paint it the same almond color as the existing metal parts of the complex.  The backdrop is likely to be a series of vague hints at the remaining structures, maybe including a representation of a terraced hillside where the limestone is being excavated.  Instead I may have some more conveyors headed off toward a quarry modeled over the staging helix to the left of the plant someplace.  I'm still thinking that over.

Cement Facility

 Really great; gives me an idea for a grain mill complex for my upcoming layout. I see that you will put some "buildings" behind the industry to give the illusion of depth. I like the length and noted that you have also made allowances for a storage and runaround track for the mill. 

Dave C.

Fantastic!

This is so much more belieavable than if you had used each of those kits by themselves. Now at least the industry is approaching the size it would be in real life (compression still applies of course) making it dwarf the trains and looking like it could actually receive the car loads that it does.

And none of it looks like a standard Walthers kit, which have a sameness to them. Helped also by the addition of some finer details.

This gives me some inspiration to kitbash the Walthers kits I have into a cement plant like this one. And to scratchbuild a believable grain elevator rather than combing a few of the Walthers kits which are rather too small for this.

Re: cthart

Thanks for the comments.  I'd like to see how your kitbashes turn out as well.

Resources?

Could I bother you to share what resources you used when designing and building your cement factory? I've got one I'm trying to design right now and I'm hungry for information.

Impressive.....

.....most impressive!

 

Ideal Cement Plant

That looks great to me - what a beautiful and imposing kitbash - this DEFINITELY looks like it could generate an entire train of cement - a major customer if there ever was one.  Are you planning to have any sound effects or tracks playing from within the plant?  I know zero about the cement industry, but the very size of the installation seems to imply that there are lots of conveyors and other noisy machinery involved.

Nice work!

Roger

I like it

I like it a lot. Really has a big industry feel about it. I think you've accomplished your goal nicely here. Are you planning anything on the backdrop behind the model Rob?

Replies to new posts

This blog entry came back outta nowhere! Thanks for the kind words guys.  Since the initial post, I've done a lot of work to the area, and all the track in and around the plant is done.

@Kevin "Are you planning anything on the backdrop behind the model Rob?"

Yes - as of right now, very little of the backdrop even has a base coat of blue, a situation that I hope to change sooner rather than later.  The backdrop is planned to have some structures extending the plant into the distance, possibly including a hillside with terraced excavations for the limestone quarry.  I'm still mulling the final plan over for that.

Edit - And I thought I should add I got much inspiration for moving forward with this project looking over your Raven Pulp & Paper complex, so a tip of the hat to you, sir.

@Matt: "Could I bother you to share what resources you used when designing and building your cement factory?"

See my response to Rich on the first page.  I basically started Googling photos, and had some images a friend took of a local plant.  Since I built the model, I've turned up a few cement plant articles in old issues of the out-of-print magazines at TrainLife.  Here's the Inkom, ID plant: http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/231/17001/september-2001-page-19 and one at Santa Cruz, CA: http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/441/32210/may-1995-page-16  Those are pretty good articles for inspiration.

@TTX101: "Are you planning to have any sound effects or tracks playing from within the plant?"

That hadn't crossed my mind.  I'm not a big sound guy.  If I want to get into the mood for modeling 1980s stuff for the layout, I crank up old heavy metal tunes.  I've driven past the prototype Ideal/Holcim plant MANY times, but really have no recollection of what it sounds like.  Unless there was a train working, I guess I tuned out the industrial noise.

Progress Photos

To show the evolution of the plant location, here's what it looks like now...

I wasn't satisfied with the weathering on the silos, so I added some chalk dust banding to impart the look of slip-formed concrete.

Here are a couple more showing the structures in relationship to the tracks that serve the industry:

I left enough track to the right and left of the loading shed for the entire planned cut of 9-10 cars.  When the local spots MTYs, instructions will state which end of the cut is to be spotted at the loader.  When the local returns to pick up loads, I'll have them "re-staged" so the other end is under the shed, thus simulating the work of the car puller.  Note the high tech alligator clips temporarily supplying DCC to the area.

This overview shows the track where coal loads are spotted.  As I stated in an earlier post, there will be a structure built over the coal delivery track.  In the space between the coal track and the existing structures, I'll add a couple silos for coal, plus some more conveyors.  The plant receives coal from Wyoming mines, originating on the UP.

Rob, it looks like it has a

Rob, it looks like it has a prototype.

Thanks for listing the building kits used, or I would have worn out the Walther's Catalogue pages trying to figure it out. Looks like an old IHC 650 ton Cheyenne Coaling Tower kit could have been of use too.

Cement Plants

This is a comment on the cement plant...it looks really great!  I am just starting a layout in N scale and plan to build a cement plant along the same lines as yours but it will have it's own peninsula.  You have given me the boost I needed to get going.  Thanks!!

Thanks Glen

FYI here's how the scene looks now, still not complete but much further along than the earlier posts:

Looking good !

 I spent a lot of time surveying at the Davenport Ca. cement plant so it brings back memories. Most plants are near hills for their quarry so I'd look for a photo backdrop to extend the scene. Also a backdrop of a big coal pile behind the coal unloading conveyor. I'd also dust up the whole area a bit as these plants were always fighting a losing battle to keep them clean....DaveBranum

Progress

You've really made a lot of progress in this area, Rob (in addition to everywhere else on your layout). I went back through the previous posts, and it's neat to see the way the scene has come together. Great job on the kitbash of the plant, and the weathering on the cement cars looks fantastic. 

Tom Patterson

Nice Bash!!!!

That is one fine looking kit bash you have there.  You should be very proud of your cement plant.  It's very believable and massive like it should be.  I do like those smaller covered hoppers too.  Nice weathering on everything.  Tom Johnson 

More to Come

I'm starting on more backdrops along this wall of the train room, and would like to add the coal silos and remaining structures soon.

Almost Done

I scratchbuilt the coal silos and structure over the coal delivery spur.

The large building is a box of .060" styrene, with strips of .060", .040" and .020" material to build up the cornice and pillars.  Roof vents are from Pikestuff.  The conveyor and control room/equipment housing thing next to it are from a Heljan cement batch plant kit.

The silos are 1 1/2" ABS pipe capped with .060" styrene, while the headhouse is more .060" and .040" material.

More detail is still needed.  A dump pit and auger for gypsum delivery is still to come.  More dirt and weeds will be added, plus I need to weather the spur with spilled lading, especially right around the loader itself.

Very nice ...

... I think you've done a wonderful job of capturing a cement plant in a narrow space.  Looks authentic enough to me!  Next thing you know, folks will be wanting tours.  

"PS-2 3572 cu. ft. cars"?

  That would be a pretty big cement car wouldn't it? The 2 bay hoppers used at our local plant were around 3000 cu ft. They ran some longer cylindrical cars years ago but I don't know how much they held.

I like your cement plant, I have to design something quite similar for my N scale layout, I want to do the same fuel coal in and cement out operation. ...DaveB

Great looking scene

Great looking scene, Rob. After admiring the nice weathering on the structures, the track caught my eye. The different ballast colors work extremely well together, and the ballast on the spur turned out fantastic. Really nice work!

Tom Patterson