Menards new Sauerkraut building

Menard's built up buildings are getting better all the time.  I gotta see if I can find some space on the layout for this one.  To me, buildings are not of much use if they don't serve as a railroad involved building:  a factory, a warehouse, or perhaps a RR servicing building.

 

I would wish that they would use the more "yellow" tinted LED's that look like incandescent lights.  At the setting for my layout (1950), there were no LED's and even flourescent lighting was pretty rare.

 

Paul Fischer

White leds can easily be tinted amber or yellow to whatever degree you choose simply by coating/painting them with a marker or light coating of paint. Since there's no heat given off by leds, the paint won't burn or darken with age and it can later be easily removed if you change your mind.

Got to get one of the as my last name is Hermann with 2 N's, but close enough.

WOW, that is one terrific looking building, looks like what a sauerkraut facility would look like back in the 40's.

 

   Bill T.

Nice! Thanks for posting

Looks Great!

 

Might have to ask the wife...

MENARDS  does it again......... WOW!

MENARDS

 

• Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway, “ A Toy Train Layout” 

Wow! Now that is s unique structure. It's also versatile too. I can see that being a regional steel dealer or fab shop by removing the barrels and adding a gantry Crane!  Man I still have to get the cabinet shop. Not sure of the grainery but that can come after this structure! It's a must have esp for those 50's layouts!

So that's the smell... 

Wow, I agree the buildings have always been great but they seem to be getting even better with each offering! Really worth the wait! Think I'll make it a pickle factory!

Fantastic looking building. Menard's well sell a ton of these.

Like "Play Trans", I was thinking I would see if it could be morphed into a pickle

factory....want to see a larger picture, but it looks like it...I also need to do some

research on packing of other fruits or vegetables by similar structures....they grew

various fruits on the west side of the Rockies.

I just picked mine up.  With just a small sign on the track side, it will be easy to replace the sign, for pickles, or whatever.  I do need to some research.  It does look

similar to an old pickle plant kit in a vintage MR.  Wonder where they found the prototype to gin this up?  What besides cabbage and pickles would get a similar

treatment?  Barrels and vats make you think of a winery, but that would be enclosed.

A lesson should be learned here. Offer realistic looking wooden structures at an affordable price and model railroaders will come to buy them. Menard's apparently understands this marketing concept well and has become the talk of the town.

Okay...researched sauerkraut.  Phelps, N.Y., Fremont, Oh., Frankville, Wis., and Scapoose, Oregon are/were big centers for sauerkraut packing.  While I didn't find

any packers of same in Colorado, where I needed them, Colorado produced 130

million pounds of cabbage in 2009, as one of its top three vegetable crops in the

NE quadrant that has replaced sugar beets, so it is not because there could not be

sauerkraut packers there.  (I was hoping for cucumbers and pickles, maybe, but they

are more of a warmer weather vegetable)  So....my plant will remain a sauerkraut

facility, with a name change.

To the rear, march!  I changed my mind on the sauerkraut plant, and relettered signs

for a pickle plant, including the water tower: "Picky People Prefer Peiffer's Perfect Pickles".  And now I need to find vat cars (think those have been done for Heinz) and a vinegar tank car to support this industry.

Next, we need a Scrapple plant, an adjacent Rendering plant, and scrapple scented smoke fluid of course.

I like your thinking Craig!

The scrapple plant would be interesting - actually, it was already suggested previously by Farmer Bill in an earlier thread about the Menard's sauerkraut factory.

I would certainly be interested in a small meat packer, but think the footprint, with

stock pens, etc., would require too large a footprint for Menards.  Of course, I could

add the stock pens.....

COHi:  I agree with you about having a meat packer plant on the layout.  Think of the operational additions that you could make to justify the plant.  First, of course, you would use stock cars to bring in the cattle, swine or poultry to the slaughter house.  Then you'd certainly need a fleet of reefers to ship the finished product to market.  And you'd also need a box car periodically to bring in the packaging materials.  Special Box cars were also used to haul hides to a tannery, as well. They would also be used to ship canned product.  You'd need an occasional hopper car for coal for the power house and for heating and processing the meats.  Finally, you'd need a tank car to haul away some of the waste product.

 

As far as completing an industry, you would need stock pens located along your branch lines to hold cattle for those stock cars.  Of course, the actual slaughter house facility would need stock pens as well.  You'd need a food distributors to receive the processed meat at it's market.  There are, of course, more potential ancillary buildings and businesses that could be added for more diversified operation potential like the above mentioned tannery.

 

And then, the big thing with a stock yards, slaughter houses and tanneries is that they all smell pretty bad, so perhaps Menard's could develop a really stinky smoke fluid and incorporate a smoke unit into the factory building itself!

 

Paul Fischer

 

I agree about all the supporting  structures needed to support a packing house.....I'd

certainly be interested in photos of a small meatpacker, and a small tannery, and either or both developed by Menards,  but... I will pass on the smell...maybe I will just try to hit a skunk with my car?

In further pursuit of my converting this into a pickle plant, I googled "pickle factories"

and hit a gold mine of rustic pickle plants and salting stations, for which the Menards

structure will pass very well.  I also found a number of the pickle vat cars, prototype

photos, of others than Heinz...my favorite was cars operated by the Von Allmen Pickle

Co. of Louisville, Ky.  Another I pulled up was black in color, and all seemed to have

that same four vat design of the Heinz open vat cars.  There was a discussion on building these cars on the "Railroad Lines Forum", for which "Martin B." (one of our

posters here?) had posted plans of the round vinegar car and an enclosed vat car.

That forum had a lengthy discussion on building a model vat car.   I also learned there was a Utah Pickle Works, and a number of them all across the midwest, and a car was

shown for a Vermont pickle works.  Two Highland, Mich. plants, side by side, were

operated by competing brothers who had a dispute over the property line.

Being from New Jersey I would hope the next structure is a Pork Roll Packing Plant or Taylor Ham as it is known around here.

The Sauerkraut building is great and should be easily modified.

Sean

LaserKits:"The Pickle Works" just showed up in my copy of MicroMark's catalog, in O

scale, @$145, which is more than the Menard's similar plant, and it is a kit.  In fact,

the HO version is more than Menard's O scale one.  There is a pickle packin' mama of

a pickle packing plant shown next to it, but, sadly, only in HO, however, a Korber or

other building, as the Wabash Valley one I am using, will work well.  (I can visualize

a layout with this kit, the Menard's building, a packing plant, and branches to each and

to farmers' cucumber ware houses with dinky engines shuttling cucumber to the salting

stations, to the pickle plant in those vat cars, and then out in reefers to the world, from the packing plant).  Just like the Great Western used to do sugar beets and sugar.

(when you get this layout done, please post pictures....and of the salting station kit

if you build it)

I was trying to buy one at the store on line but when I try for 11% it did not work. Is there a certain promo code for it or is the 11% over with. Any help greatly appreciated.....Paul

Paul,

 

Unfortunately, the 11% rebate sale ended on Saturday. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

I ordered it and the powerhouse last Thursday.  Got the rebate for both.   I am waiting for delivery.  Will mail the rebate form to my son in Chicago to redeem it at a Menards and buy something for my grandchildren.  It can not be used for mail order, which makes no sense to me.

What type of rail service would this factory receive. I was thinking perhaps I could put a small spur to it..........................Paul

In Menards today, I noticed they have flatcars for $9.99!!  (gee, at that price I must have pushed the "back" button hard in the time machine; sure sounds better than

$50-$60)  I am deciding if I want to build my own pickle vats on them, and reletter as the Von Allmen HO pickle cars I discovered.

Yes, you would need the reefers to bring in the cabbage, and the pickle vats(or reefers) to haul it out.

I am thinking of putting a little plate of vinger in the building to add some aroma to the sceen.

 

what , I like it.

Well, I have a long standing interest in the pickle business as it applies to model RR'ing.....and al the information you might ever want is pretty readily available from the NMRA library as there was at one time a SIG that published a newsletter "Pickles in Miniature", and you can get copies of just about all of the back issues...

And, you can build a pickle plant....

 

and a vinegar tank car - plans are again readily available, and you can build the various pickle transport cars - plans are again readily available.

 

Lobaugh kit car that was rebuilt and finished

 

and the 4 vat style cars (there were different capacities and so different size tanks

 

 

Ordered the sauerkraut building and my second Canadian pacific helicopter! Absolutely terrific building and got another helicopter because I think it's great, especially for the money! Question for Mark, why can't I order the red and white coast guard helicopter on line? Really want it but not worth a 450 mile trip to pick it up in Massillon Ohio!

play trains,

 

I'm glad you liked the helicopter! I'm excited to see what you think of the sauerkraut building too!

 

Here's a link to the US Coast Guard Helicopter.

http://www.menards.com/main/tr...=3888550112201664012

 

Thanks!

Mark the Menards Train Guy

Got home with my Sauerkraut factory yesterday and when I went to light it up the Hermans sign was loose. Everything lit up so I do not want to take it back. What can I tack it back on the building with. I was thinking hot melt. But before I do any help greatly appreciated...................Paul

Paul,

 

A little hot melt around the edges should work fine. Since they are LEDs, you won't have to worry about the glue melting again.

 

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

Mark,

 

I installed the building with a Menards power adaptor yesterday and all the lights worked fine.  This morning a friend of mine came over to see it and in approx. 10 minutes the blinking red light went out.  I e-mailed customer service hoping they have a circuit they could send me to install instead of sending the whole building back.

What's your thought on this - is that doable?

 

Thanks,

Side Rod  (Carl)

 

 

Side Rod,

 

I'm sorry to hear that. Customer service will be contacting you soon. I will work together with them and we will come up with a solution.

 

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

Good Afternoon Mark,

Earlier today, I posted question here on the forum for you. However, I don't think you saw it. Therefore, I going to post it here.

When will your company be introducing more freight cars other than flats with loads? Also, what well be the next "O" Gauge track pieces released by your company and how soon will that be. Take care and have a wonderful and safe day. Thank you.