Breakfast Cereals
Breakfast cereals are another American invention, originally small quantities were imported but about the turn of the century the Americans began building factories in the UK, mainly around the docks to allow the use of bulk imported grain.
Kellogs built their factory in Manchester, the grain being brought in via the ship canal. Later they built a grain mill near Liverpool which remains today the largest in the world.
Shredded Wheat was invented by a Vet from Denver in 1892, Britain imported it from 1908 to 1925 when the American parent built its UK factory at Wellin Garden City.
Fig ___ Shredded wheat factory as built in 1925
This factory shows all the characteristic features of the cereal factory; the tall silos for storing the grain with a large production hall at the base. The silos would need to be something between an inch and two inches (25 - 50mm) in diameter in N scale and a minimum of three inches high or taller. The top of the silos might be covered with a simple corrugated iron building with a simple pitched roof. Extending down from the top would be a series of pipes, typically six inches in diameter (1mm in N). The base of the silos would often be enclosed in a simple brick building. Heljan offer a rail connected grain silo which would do rather well in this application.
The production hall would normally be butted up to the base of the silos, it would be a single floor building with walls perhaps twenty feet high. There would be some on-site warehousing for the finished goods and an office building for administrative staff.
For model railway purposes the building would have a siding run along it past a series of loading bays (either just doors in the wall or with a small platform) and with the silos and a covered hopper wagon unloading pit at one end and the boiler house (coal or oil fired) at the other. The boiler house should be separate from the silos as the dust from grain is very liable to catch fire (mixed with air it is a moderately powerful explosive).
Fig ___ Cereal factory on a layout
Weetabix Invented in Australia in the 1920s the product arrived in the UK in about 1930. The Weetabix factory is at Burton Latimer near Kettering.
Scotts Porage Oats Established in the 1880's but only advertised as such after 1914 when the word Porage was added to differentiate it from other brands (by which time the entire manufacturing process was automated and advertising featured the slogan 'untouched by human hand').
Quaker Oats This is an American brand with a wide range of products. It was set up in 1901 and has no connection with the Quaker religion that I know of. I believe it arrived in the UK about the time of World War One.
XXXXXXXX'Force' was (possibly still is) a cereal that was very popular in Britain in the 1930's, featured the Sunny Jim character on the box and advertising.
Rice Crispies 1928, Sugar Puffs 1957 (originally owned by Quaker Oats).
To add more on cereals especially stick-on labels.
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