Elevators Through Time - Book 2

Part 27: To the silo!

Part 27: To the silo!

Kate's fingers interlaced with mine for a moment and I could almost have felt what she whispered a moment ago without having heard it.

"Well you are both still young. Better to mature before you commit." We heard Todd say.

We both nodded like a pair of kids.

Okay, technically in the presence of grown ups we were 'kids'.

"Kate..."

I said after a while of gazing out into the field.

She turned to see me staring out to the wheat field and the horizon.

"After a few years... yes..."

I looked her straight in the eyes when I said the last word. I was mature enough to get a sense of things and knew that the bond we shared was strong and that we had the means to support each other in different ways. Plus I knew the literal number of years we would need to wait, but I kept that to myself.

Kate and I shared a moment of looking deep into each-other's eyes full of meaning and hope for the future.

Then Martin decided to break the moment by calling out and flying off Kate's shoulder to get at a few crickets in the nearby grass.

"Wow, such a pretty toucan!" Else jumped out of Kate's embrace to follow Martin around.

"You both have good taste in pets," Todd commented, keeping an eye on Martin.

"...And children-friendly pets too." Stephanie kept an eye on Else.

While Martin was happily munching on a few crickets he welcomed a few childish pats from Else.

Maybe it was something about children that didn't startle him as much, but Martin seemed to have a calm demeanour about the treatment from Else.

Else wasn't too young so there was no over-handling. She had a pet turtle so she knew how to handle pets gently.

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Todd saw this moment to cut in and return us to why we were here and said,

"So, you've come here to take a look at my grain elevator have you? Well let's go then. You treated me to a show and it's only fair that I return the favour. Come on."

We called Martin but he wanted to stay for a feast in the fields, so we let him. Meanwhile Kate and I rode with Todd on a truck out to the grain silo near the railroad track, made especially for his property's production of grain.

There were three seats in the front and Kate happily sat in the middle with my arm around her while we bumped along the farm side road.

Todd seemed like the perfect father-figure, but with respect to Kate I didn't comment about it.

We passed field after field and noticed the glitter of the railroad in the distance.

They seemed so part of the environment that we didn't notice them until later...

...a series of steel behemoths...

...towering over a long strip of steel stretching off into the distance...

I actually had to lean back to look up at them when we got close, "Whoa!"

"Yeah, these are the storage tanks for the grain we export to the local industries."

"Where do the soy beans go?"

"They're delicate so we transport them via packages in rail cars, but not through this storage and transport site."

As we approached the towers Todd explained to us how the silos actually work. We just thought that it silos were just cylinders that store grain. He assured us that if this was so, then these towering 105-foot diameter structures would crumble 'to their knees from the  lack of weight distribution.

Todd explained to us how and where the silos stored 2.5 million bushels worth of storage in two 730,000 bushel bins and one 360,000 bushel bin. The bins are manufactured by a company named Gateway Builders of Fargo, N.D. Todd then showed us where there was a 7,000 bph (bushel per hour) dryer was installed which would then drop these grains into three 20,000 bph dump pits.

Grain is moved between these silos via archemedes screws.

I looked up a video on a similar type of silo and elevator setup and Todd explained in detail how an incredibly long train that collected grain and soybeans from the silos. Todd pointed to the connecting pipes above and explained their purpose. He pointed to his silos and explained how grain gets from three of the four towers we saw and headed for the trains running alongside.

We noticed how proudly Todd explained the automation of the system and how he only needed a supervisor to watch over the system and not many people actually needed to be there to ensure work was proceeding well. Computers monitored corn output and updated records and quotas per train request. Sensors monitored the levels of grain, and the shute angle and position and ensured nothing was wasted. Sensors even checked the motion and weight of the railcars and determined whether it was enough for that particular railcar.

It was truly a spectacular job.

Kate's curiousity got the better of her after a while and she asked,

"Excuse me Todd, could you tell me if a person could actually use that 'elevator' instead of having it carry corn?"

Todd laughed the laugh of a man who would really do something crazy like that... if he was a few years younger.

"Ahaha, I know it can take the weight of more than one human, but we never let anyone use that 'elevator', not even for cleaning it. Not only is that dangerous and you have the risk of getting stuck and sink in the grain without a way out, but stepping or just touching the elevator would contaminate the produce we are trying to keep clean.

Kate had her question answered but she still had a desire to ride in it.

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After a lot more of walking, talking, and pointing, the three of us stood quietly and took in the sight of these silos and the rail next to them.

Kate reached out and touched outside of the silo, just in thought.

I did the same for some reason.

Martin walked down Kate's arm and reached out with the tip of his wing to touch the silo.

The three of us turned when we heard a hearty laugh from Todd,

"You three are a strange family."