Buffalo Lake, MN: Wood Grain Elevator is Rail Served by TCWR

(Satellite)

Note the fall protector.

Street View, Apr 2023

Street View, Apr 2023

Michael Krejci posted
In Minnesota.

Tom Dueringer: There use to be an ethanol plant near this elevator

I wonder if the remnants on the lower-left side of this excerpt was the ethanol plant. I also wonder why the plant did not survive.

Satellite

The railroad used to be the Milwaukee.

1964/65 Buffalo Lake Quad @ 24,000

It is now the TCWR.

tcwr via Dennis DeBruler

Rosholt, SD: Wood Grain Elevator, Feed Mill and Ethanol Plant

Elevator: (Satellite)

Ethanol: (Satellite)

Obviously, the elevator is rail served. The long, low building is probably fertilizer storage.

Street View, Jul 2024

I think this is a feed mill.

Street View, Jul 2024

Wesley Peters posted two photos with the comment:

Grain Elevator Photography Trip 2, South Dakota.

Rosholt, Roberts County, SD.

Early history unknown.

Photographed on 7/19/2025.

Photos courtesy of Wesley Peters.

1

2

Most of the storage capacity for the elevator is behind what I can see from the street.

Satellite

Photo, Oct 2020

This is just a fraction of the tank cars that are at the ethanol plant.

Street View, Jul 2024

The railroad was the SOO Line.

1958/58 Milbank Quad @ 250,000

CPKC has retained access to Rosholt because of the grain elevator and ethanol plant.

National Rail Network Map

Russell, KS: Grain Elevators, one with wood

West (Wood): (Satellite)

East: (Satellite)

Far East: (Satellite)

Really Far East: (Satellite)

West is on the right and East is on the left in this view.

Street View, Jun 2024

West (Wood) Grain Elevator

Unfortunately, the tree skunks the wood elevator.

Street View, Jun 2024

Fortunately, John McCall took a photo of this elevator.

John McCall posted
Unique looking set-up downtown Russell KS

East Grain Elevator

I called the one in the right foreground the East Grain Elevator. Then when I saw the other concrete silos and the bins in the left background, I added the locations of Far East and Really Far East.

Street View, Jun 2024

Far East Grain Elevator

This is an American Plains Co-Op elevator.

Street View, Jun 2024

When I tried to get a view that did not have the sun in the camera, I discovered that this elevator used to have a lot more silos.

Street View, Aug 2008

Really Far East Elevators (Two Feed Mills and a Biofuel Plant)

Marble Arch plant on the left, Land O Lakes Purina Feed in the middle and PureField Ingredients on the right.

Street View, Jun 2024

All three elevators are rail served by the...

Satellite

...Union Pacific

1967/68 Russell Quad @ 24,000

PureField Ingredients talks about their product being wheat protein. But I don't understand the difference between their product and flour. Their bags are labeled "wheat gluten." This plant makes half of the wheat protein that is made in the USA. The video talks about their waste being processed into ethanol fuel, alcohol and animal feed. 

purefield

This is what their customers make with wheat protean.

Same Video

Arthur, IA: Old Concrete Grain Elevator, Feed Mill and POET Bioprocessing

Old: (Satellite)

Feed Mill: (Satellite)

POET: (Satellite)

CN now owns this C&NW branch from Ida Grove Junction with the former IC route.

The elevator on the left is the old elevator. The elevator on the right looks like a feed mill.

Street View, Sep 2021

Wesley Peters posted four photos with the comment:

Revisiting Arthur, Ida County, IA.

Shotwell Manufacturing Co. Built in 1916, No contractor mentioned. The construction supervisor was B. Sampson. 1,750,000 pounds of popcorn could be stored in this complex.

Believed to be the second oldest concrete elevator in the state behind the Cannon, Haase & Metcalf Elevator (1907) at Granville, IA. [The only concrete silos I found in Granville did look that old.]

Photographed on 4/21/2026.

Photos courtesy of Wesley Peters.

1

2

3

4

Feed mill:

Street View, Aug 2025

I had to zoom out to find the elevator on the left side of Photo 3 above. Notice all of the tank cars stored in their railyard. It is an ethanol plant.

Street View, Aug 2025

Michael Wilhelmi, Sep 2020

POET
"This state-of-the-art bioethanol production facility produces 132 million gallons of bioethanol annually."

Janesville, MN: 2026 World's Largest Grain bin: 2.3m Bushels

(Satellite, will be east of the current bin.)

The previous record holder was 2.2m bushels in Mason City, IA in 2021.

J & D Construction Inc. posted

Janesville is the future site of the construction of what will be the world’s largest grain bin, with a capacity of 2.3 million bushels.

Projects like this aren’t just about size — they’re about performance. More capacity. Faster handling. Better efficiency. And infrastructure built to serve agriculture for decades to come.

We’re proud to be part of projects that help move the industry forward and support the producers and operations that depend on facilities like this every day.

This is what Building the Backbone of America looks like.

[Fortunately, some comments identify this Janesville as the one in MN.]

This looks like an ethanol plant. The 2021 record holder was also an ethanol plant. I presume that ethanol plants don't care how clean the corn is so they can store everything that comes to the plant in one bin.

Satellite

Street View, Jul 2025

Sep 2026:

Michael David Olson posted
2.3 million bu that’s 2,300 semi loads this is the largest grain bin in the world just outside of Janesville. This image was taken last night and the bin is not finished.

Brian Fuhrmann: I’s at Guardian Energy Ethanol. [This confirms that it is an ethanol plant.]

Brian Mittelstaedt: And the one behind it is a Million bu. Pretty good comparison

Hastings, NE: Grain Elevators and Ethanol Plants

CPI/Morrison: (Satellite)
Gavilon/Peavey: (Satellite)
AGP/Garvey: (Satellite)
While looking for the grain elevators, I spotted a couple of ethanol plants.
AGP: (Satellite)
Chief Ethanol: (Satellite)

CPI/Farmland/Morrioson-Quirk/Morrison

CPI = Cooperative Produces, Inc.

Caleb Kemplay posted
A warbonnet duo rolls through Hastings, NE on November 10, 2019.

In addition to three segments of silos, they have several rectangular buildings. The silos north of the track are hexagonal. The satellite image, which is typically a year or so old, shows a conveyor over their sidings and the BNSF mainline. At first, I didn't see the conveyor in Caleb's photo above. But if I look closely, I do see a line above the fourth locomotive.

Satellite

It has a long, dedicated siding so that it can load unit trains. The bright white color indicates the sidings have fresh ballast. Although the road crossing close to the elevator has to create some "operational challenges."

Satellite

Street View

Karl caught the southern part of the elevator.

Karl Rethwisch posted
Hastings, NE. 2018.

Marc Mcclure posted ten photos with the comment:

CPI Hastings Nebraska. This facility was originally Morrison Grain. Later it Morrioson-Quirk and then Farmland. With the facility I shared yesterday this facility once had 23 million bushels of storageThis house was originally a alfalfa dehydration facility. Later it was converted to grain storage.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Marc Mcclure posted seven photos with the comment: "Hastings Nebraska. Cooperative Producers elevators. Originally these were part of Morrison Ag."
Marc Mcclure Morrison Grain I'm now told.
Marc Mcclure Also learned that their was an explosion in the headhouse in 1959. The large repaired area on "back wall" was the result of spawl.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Gavilon/Quad States House/Peavey

Marc Mcclure posted four photos with the comment: "Gavilon Grain in Hastings Nebraska. I was told this is a Quad States House built in the 70's. Previously a Peavey Grain."

1

2

3

4

AGP/Garvey

Marc Mcclure posted six photos with the comment:

My last posts of Hastings Nebraska elevators. This now an AGP location. Originally built for Garvey elevators by Borton. This was built by Borton at the same time they were building elevators in Wichita and Lincoln Nebraska. And used the same design for the house and the main annex. The workhouse across the top of the tanks is huge. Two belt conveyors 36 inch wide stretch the length. The tanks on the outside are 30 ft diameter. Main tanks go 5 wide with hundreds of interstice tanks.
I worked hear a number of times including erecting the leg on the west end of the structure and installing a new belt and buckets in the leg on the front side.
One of the nicest facilities I ever worked in.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Unknown

I could not find an elevator on a satellite map that had a big rectangular building next to a set of hexagonal silos.

Daniel Kube posted two photos with the comment:

On highway U. S. 6, a little east of Hastings NE. I believe this is totally corn storage. I have seen corn dumped on the ground here, several hundred thousand bushels.
Another Hastings elevator, along U. S 6, only a couple of hundred yards east of the other pic.

1

2