The Quaker Project

 Greetings All,

The Quaker Project

This project had been on my mind for a few years now and at the end of 2024 I finally decided that it was time to move it forward. As previously noted in the Press Release the need to incorporate the Cargill Grain Silos into part of a manufacturing plant has finally won out.

The final inspiration came one day when I looked at a box of Quaker Instant Oatmeal that was in our pantry and thought this would be perfect for adding a manufacturing plant to the Cargill grain silos. Plus I now had plenty of signs to work with!!!

The Quaker Oats Company

The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national advertising campaign for Quaker Oats.

"Rainbow over Quaker Oats" by matthewjhale is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/?ref=openverse.

In 1911, the company acquired the Great Western Cereal Company. The iconic cylindrical package was introduced in 1915. Although Quaker Oats Company states that the "Quaker man" is not meant to resemble or represent an actual person, the company identified the Quaker man as William Penn in advertising dating back to 1909.

"Playground at Havelock Estate" by Alan Murray-Rust is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.

In 1983, Quaker acquired Stokely-Van Camp, Inc., the maker of Van Camp's and Gatorade. In 2001, PepsiCo bought Quaker Oats for $14 billion, primarily to acquire the Gatorade brand.

"Elusive Quaker Tearpad Coupon for $3.00 off when you buy any 5 Quaker products" by Hotcouponworld.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.

A Quaker Oats Railyard

"Quaker Oats Rail Yard" by fgv5g8 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/?ref=openverse.

For more interesting tidbits about Quaker click here.

Back To The Project

The Cargill Grain elevator soon to become a part of the Quaker Oats Company.

The manufacturing building mock up is taking shape. I'm using a sheet of white carboard bought at a big box craft store for the build.

The Cargill elevator will remain in its current location.

Both the silos, the elevator and the plant loom over the adjacent residential neighborhood like the photo above.

Windows and doors to handle 40' boxcars have been added. 

Windows and dock doors spaced for 50' boxcars have been added to the other side of the structure. A raised cylindrical tank / silo has been placed at the left corner of the building mainly for looks at this point.

The Quaker plant as seen from the High Line

Quaker signage is now adorning both the silos and the plant.

No mistaking it now as a Cargill facility except for the small lettering on the wall to the right which I didn't notice until I looked at the photo.

Cardboard tubes and some foam padding from an unknown source add some visual interest to the roof. A large pipe made from three plastic outdoor accent light poles attaches elevator to the silo and the factory.

I have to say from this distance the factory and elevator look really good to me.

We'll close it here for now with the Quaker Oats Company Empire City plant ready to open.

Next up we'll look a the freight traffic going in and out of the plant and silos as the first freight cars are spotted.

Final Thoughts and Comments

The cardboard mock up of the manufacturing plant with printed windows and doors came out much better than I expected and will most likely be in place for quite sometime. 

Quaker's product lines offer some interesting possibilities for the type of freight traffic needed for the manufacture and shipping of not only their famous Quaker Oats but other products as well like LIFE cereal. We'll take a closer look at this in the next post.

Thanks for reading!!!

See you soon!!!