[MOC+BDP9] ABS Grain Elevator and Hopper Car

[zephyr1934]

 

I'd like to present my latest MOC: the ABS Grain Elevator and Hopper Car

 

This build is also my contribution to the BDP Series 9. To this end I wanted to make a grain elevator and covered hopper car that would be fun to play with and great to look at. Something that fits in the industrial district of a city just as easily as being part of a train layout. I brought in lots of details like the ladder and catwalks on the outside of the building. 

The tower has a removable wall to access the detailed interior. The first floor office includes a workstation for the manager, filing cabinets full of detailed records, and a testing station to determine which silo an incoming shipment should go to. The second floor breakroom includes opening lockers, a punch clock for employees, a small kitchen area, and a well-stocked vending machine. The third floor "headhouse" has lots of details like the distribution spout at the top to route grains to the appropriate silo for storage or to the departure spout to be loaded into a waiting freight car. Grain dust can be explosive, so a dust collector is employed to keep everything safe.

The grain elevator includes two brick built signs, "ABS GRAINS." Of course, that name has a double meaning because Lego bricks start out as ABS granules. There are a few other Lego themed easter eggs for builders to discover. The exterior includes a loading chute above the tracks and a receiving pit between the rails. There is a gangplank that can be lowered for easy access to the top of the car when its being loaded (if you have taller hopper cars the gangplank can easily be moved higher). The train track features a movable derail at the start of the siding and an industrial-style terminus at the end. 

For the train car I wanted to create a detailed model that can serve city builders who would appreciate a single parked car to accentuate the grain elevator as well as train builders who might use the design to build a whole train of their own.

You will soon have an opportunity to support this model in the Bricklink Designer Program Series 9 crowd support phase, Oct 6-17.

I hope you like it, comments and questions are always welcome.

 

[JWBDolphins]

Very nice, you have my vote! 

 

[Selander]

Good one 🤗👍🍾🤞

Very nice interior as well !!

Edited 6 hours ago by Selander

[LL1982]

I like this, love all the interior stuff. Ever considered actually dropping 1x1 rounds (yellow or tan) into the wagon to make it a working grain elevator? 

[Feuer Zug]

Great grain elevator. I like all the details you put inside of the buidling. Is that a modified form of KarTrak on the side of the hopper?