Manchester Ship Canal Grain Elevator No 2 Port of Manchester
A NEW GRAIN ELEVATOR - A contract for the erection of a new grain elevator with a storage capacity of 40,000 tons has just been placed with Messrs Henry Simons Limited, of Manchester. The new elevator, which will be rhomboid in form. will be erected on the foundations which were laid at the east end of No. 9 dock when it was constructed. Subways have already been constructed on both sides of No. 9. dock in which bands will be placed, three on each side. The grain will be discharged from the steamers on to the bands, which will convey it to the elevators, by which it will be lifted and distributed to the various bins in the house. When the grain has to be delivered from the storage bins it will be again lifted and distributed to the shipping bins, from which it will be loaded either in bags or in bulk into barges, carts, or railway waggons. Each of the receiving and shipping elevators will be provided with an automatic scale capable of weighing 200 tons per hour. The building will be constructed of reinforced concrete, with steel doors and window-frames, and the roofs will be covered with asphalt. It will be fireproof throughout. Provision will be made for 260 storage bins and 81 shipping bins, all 76 feet 8 inches deep. [Manchester Guardian 29 October 1912 page 16]
MANCHESTER DOCKS: NEW GRAIN ELEVATOR NEARLY COMPLETED - Next week the Port of Manchester is to add greatly to its usefulness by the opening of the new grain elevator. The Ship Canal Company announce that they expect to be able to begin to place grain in the new elevator about the 7th instant. although the building will not be fully equipped with machinery until some weeks later. The new elevator which is one of the finest in the country, has a holding capacity, like the other elevator at Trafford Wharf, of 40,000 tons and is capable of "handling" grain at the rate of 1,200 tons per hour It is a reinforced concrete building, with steel window-frames and Doors, comprising 260 storage bins and 81 shipping bins. as well as distributing, weighing, and loading out floors, machinery for cleaning the grain etc. The structure is 160 feet high, 295 feet long, and 165 feet wide. The equipment includes six receiving elevators and six discharging or shipping elevators, each of these being provided with an automatic scale capable of weighing 200 tons of grain per hour. There are also automatic scales for weighing and sacking, machinery for loading into carts or railway waggons, and for the discharge of bulk grain or sacks into coasting vessels or barges. The elevator is built at the east end of No. 9 Dock. An interesting feature is its subways on both sides of the dock, in which run band conveyors arranged so that during the time general cargo is being dealt with portable elevators and conveyors will be used for discharging parcels of grain from vessels to the granary. Manchester's importations of grain now reach over 600,000 tons per annum. In the early days of the Canal no special facilities were provided for handling grain, but the possibilities were soon realised by the company, and with the erection of the No. 1 elevator the trade greatly increased. [Manchester Guardian 2 September 1915 page 9]
MANCHESTER - The new grain elevator is to be brought into use this week by the Ship Canal Company, although the building will not be fully equipped with machinery for some weeks. The new elevator has an identical capacity, like the other elevator at Trafford Wharf, of 40,000 tons, and is capable of handling grain at the rate of 1,200 tons per hour. It is a reinforced concrete building, with steel window frames and doors, comprising 260 storage bins and 81 shipping bins, as well as distributing, weighing, and loading out floors and machinery for cleaning the grain. The structure is 160 ft. high, 295 ft. long, and 165 ft. wide. The equipment includes six receiving elevators and six discharging or shipping elevators, each of these being provided with an automatic scale capable of weighing 200 tons of grain per hour. There are also automatic scales for weighing and sacking, machinery for loading into carts or railway waggons, and for the discharge into coasting vessels or barges. The elevator is built at the east end of No. 9 Dock. It has subways on both sides of the dock, in which run band conveyors arranged so that during the time general cargo is being dealt with portable elevators and conveyors will be used for discharging, parcels of grain from vessels to the granary. [Building News 8 September Page 279]
Following the closure of the docks, demolition of the concrete structure began but proved far from easy and extended over three months. For much of the time the main core stood at an angle
LEANING TOWER OF SALFORD: A 200 feet tall grain warehouse. in Salford docks, Greater Manchester, has tilted over after weeks of blasting by demolition contractors. But the firm's angle is that the tilt is deliberate, to prevent the concrete building falling into a canal when it is finally blown up. [Manchester Guardian 22 September 1983 page 3 with photo]
