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BuckSkin 
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Joined: 12 Sep 2019
Location: Poor Farm
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 Topic: Historic Grain Building ???
Posted: 11 Jan 2025 at 6:57am |
Am I correct in thinking this is an old grain loading facility where scoop shovels were used to load loose grain inside ordinary boxcars ?
This is at Great Bend Coop Elevator in Ellinwood, Kansas.
What were the upper openings used for ?
I guess once elevators and covered hoppers took over, this could have been used as a warehouse.
Please add your two cents worth as my thinking may be all wrong about this building's purpose and use.
I am driving the truck/trailer that is sitting on the scales and was there getting empty weight before going out in the country to load big squares of Alfalfa, after which I returned to the scales to get loaded weight.
This was Tuesday_15-July-2014.
Thanks for looking.
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DMiller
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Joined: 14 Sep 2009
Location: Hermann, Mo
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Posted: 11 Jan 2025 at 7:04am |
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IIRC the upper openings at least in a similar structure I have seen the grain was lifted on conveyor belting or old style auger legs from gravity boxes and rear discharge grain beds on trucks.
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jaybmiller
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Location: Greensville,Ont
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Posted: 11 Jan 2025 at 7:16am |
upper openings could VENT grain dust ,get fresh air in ??
wonder if those neat 'shorty 'G' tractors were used there ???
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Lars(wi)
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Posted: 11 Jan 2025 at 9:58am |
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My first thought, would be something for ear corn, but being what looks like brick construction, I just am not certain. Wonder what the back side of the structure looks like?
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I tried to follow the science, but it was not there. I then followed the money, and that’s where I found the science.
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DMiller
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Posted: 11 Jan 2025 at 11:54am |
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Brought up on Google Maps, same as this side just had a Overhead Door added at some point at Mid section.
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jiminnd
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Location: Rutland ND
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Posted: 11 Jan 2025 at 12:20pm |
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How about a coal shed? In our area we had wood building with many bins for different types of coal, you loaded what you needed with a shovel.
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1945 C, 1949 WF and WD, 1981 185, 1982 8030, unknown D14(nonrunner)
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DMiller
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Posted: 12 Jan 2025 at 5:06am |
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Coal bunkers usually were open, lock coal inside a closed box will self heat and ignite in a relative amount of time. Power stations stir coal piles to keep that from happening.
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truckerfarmer
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Posted: 12 Jan 2025 at 8:19am |
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Appears to be train tracks in front of dock. I'm gonna guess that it predates mechanized grain handling. I'm thinking more than likely for bagged feed/seed storage.
Back in the 90s I used to deliver bagged seed to places like this. All moved with a 2 wheel cart, (steel wheels and wood handles). Stack 10 bags on a wood or plastic pallets that were about 12" x 18". Then the customer would wheel them out of my trailer into the building. Wasn't so bad when each stop only got 4-6 pallets, 40 bags to a pallet. Had a couple customers that would take a full load. As I recall I could haul 24 pallets. Most of my deliveries were in North Central MN. But I get to Central ND, NE IA, and had one customer West of Witchita, KS. Even took a load to El Reno, OK once. KS and OK loads were to reload salt to bring back to our warehouse/store.
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AC7060IL
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Posted: 12 Jan 2025 at 10:35am |
That brick building was probably a “flour depot” for wooden barrels of milled wheat flour? Ellinwood was primarily a German immigrant settlement in the 1860-1880s propelled by the Santa-Fe railroad immigration agency. The immigrants brought their old world (Europe) business ideas to Kansas. During peak crop production years, multiple flour mills produced 600+ wooden barrels per day. “Wolfs Premium flour” was marketed internationally via railways/barges/ships. Checkout it’s rich history on the weblink I’ve attached. On a side note, only half of town’s businesses are visible topside as many underground tunnels/rooms/businesses/meat storage/saloons/brothels etc. https://legendsofkansas.com/ellinwood-kansas/
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DMiller
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Posted: 12 Jan 2025 at 11:07am |
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Pretty cool on that small town. KS summers smoking Hot, and winters blowing mean cold, can see tunnels being a purpose both seasons.
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BuckSkin
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Posted: 12 Jan 2025 at 11:34am |
 AC7060IL wrote:
Checkout it’s rich history on the weblink I’ve attached. On a side note, only half of town’s businesses are visible topside as many underground tunnels/rooms/businesses/meat storage/saloons/brothels etc.
https://legendsofkansas.com/ellinwood-kansas/ |
Thanks for this information.
In 2014, soon after me being there, I had read of the tunnels and underground businesses and had completely forgotten about it until your post brought it back to my memory.
If the same thing was done in heinously humid Kentucky, you would die of lung rot and all your product would mold and mildew in short order; for whatever reason, whatever the humidity is above ground, it is a lot worse at basement level.
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