Editing Grain elevator (section)

{{Short description|Grain storage building}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = Grain elevator
| alternate_names  = 
| image            = Cargill dock 03.jpg
| image_alt        = Cargill grain elevator, [[Campbell, Wisconsin]]
Cylindrical Concrete Elevator- The Peavey-Haglin Elevator Design
| image_size       = 
| caption          = [[Grain hopper trailer]]s lined up to unload at the [[Cargill]] grain elevator in [[La Crosse County, Wisconsin|La Crosse]] for [[barge]]s <br /> 
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cargill%20french%20island.webm (Click for aerial video)]
}}
[[File:Railroad grain elevator 04.jpg|thumb|262px|[[Rail transport|Railroad]] grain terminal in [[Hope, Minnesota]]]]

A '''grain elevator''' or '''grain terminal''' is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the [[grain trade]], the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a [[bucket elevator]] or a [[pneumatic conveyor]], which scoops up [[grain]] from a lower level and deposits it in a [[silo]] or other storage facility.

In most cases, the term "grain elevator" also describes the entire elevator complex, including receiving and testing offices, [[Rail weighbridge|weighbridges]], and storage facilities. It may also mean organizations that operate or control several individual elevators, in different locations. In Australia, the term describes only the lifting mechanism. <!-- (''See'' "Usage", below.) -->

Before the advent of the grain elevator, grain was usually handled in bags rather than in bulk (large quantities of loose grain). The Dart elevator was a major innovation—it was invented by [[Joseph Dart]], a merchant, and [[Robert Dunbar]], an engineer, in 1842, in [[Buffalo, New York]]. Using the steam-powered flour mills of [[Oliver Evans]] as their model, they invented the marine leg, which scooped loose grain out of the hulls of ships and elevated it to the top of a marine tower.<ref name="American Colossus">{{cite book|title=American Colossus: The Grain Elevator 1843 to 1943|first=William J.|last=Brown|publisher=Colossal Books|year=2013|isbn=978-0578012612}}</ref>

Early grain elevators and bins were often built of framed or cribbed wood, and were prone to fire. In 1899 Frank H. Peavey "The Elevator King' along with [[Charles F. Haglin]], invented the modern grain elevator. The first [[Peavey–Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator|Peavey-Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator]] still stands today in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The Peavey invented elevator was the first cylindrical concrete grain elevator in the world and is now widely used across Canada and the US.  

Grain elevator bins, tanks, and silos are now usually made of steel or reinforced concrete. Bucket elevators are used to lift grain to a distributor or consignor, from which it falls through spouts and/or [[conveyor]]s and into one or more bins, silos, or tanks in a facility. When desired, silos, bins, and tanks are emptied by gravity flow, sweep [[auger conveyor|auger]]s, and conveyors. As grain is emptied from bins, tanks, and silos, it is conveyed, blended, and weighted into trucks, [[railroad car]]s, or [[barge]]s for shipment.