The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1893-04-14
ROYAL MILL AND ELEVATOR.
Facts and Figures of Decided Interest
Regarding this Great
Plant.
One of the Finest Mill and Elevator
Concerns on the American
Continent.

1t requires a careful study anu lnspec-
ton of the Royal mill and elevator plant
now in course of completion in this city,
under the guidance Of an expert, to form
anything like an accurate estimate OF its
perfection and Importance.
A reporter of The TRIBUNE has UNI
dertaken the task, and found it a decid
edly pleasant and instructive one. His
first informant was Mr.. Tidland, the
gentleman who had charge of the con
struction of both these huge buildings.
lie has engineered many such works in
various parts of the country, and says
that he has never known Il plant that
was more satisfactory in every respect.
In the first place the foundations of
heavy masonry are LAID on the bed -rock.
and Mr.. Tidland was delighted with the
splendid timbers from Montana forests
that he found available for the heavy
framing in both buildings, and he says
that nothing in this line he has ever
done came up to his ideal of plumb and
level as does hat particular piece Of
work. So perfect is the construction in
this respect that when Mr.. L%umsden,
the mill wright, began his work, he
found the beams to support his shalt
ing perfect to a hair and the same accu-
racy prevails throughout the buildings.
The TRIBUNE man, under the guild
ance of Mr.. w. L%umsden, the master
millwright, who Is now at work with "A
force of specially trained men putting in
the fine milling machinery, studied the
processes through which tie wheat
passes from the time it Is brought to the
elevator until it is turned out IL various
grades of Hour.
This process is AS follows: On one side
Of the elevator is IA railroad track from
which is received the wheat that comes
in cars. On the other side is IA wide
platform built of heavy ~planking on
which the farmers may drive who bring
their grain in wagons In the latter case
the gram is dumped from the sacks into
a large hopper, where the entire load is
weighed at once. In the case of car
loads two men with power sh wells go to
work and are able to unload 800 bushels
into the elevator in twelve minutes. This
is the usual capacity of a car.
From the weighing hoppers the wheat
passes automatically into the receiving
separators, which rid the grain OF all
straws. sticks, and other extraneous mat
ter OF this kind. The automatic elevat-
ing buckets then carry it up and dump
it into the bins. These bins are com
partments twelve feet square extending
to the full height of the building and
running to a point at the bottom. AT
these lower ends are the gates by which
the wheat is drawr off as wanted either
for shipment or for use at the mill.
When run off for the mill it is con-
Quoted into a trough under the elevator
in which r~evolves a spiral conveyor
which conducts the grain through the
trough from the elevator to the mill.
at the mill it either enters the storage
bins until wanted, or is Immediately
taken up by the automatic elevators to
the milling separators at the top OF the
mill building, where it begins to go
through a course of sprouts before being
transferred into flour. From the mill
ing separator the wheat passes into the
cookie machine, which takes out all
small black seeds and PARTICLES which
would make the Hour Of an inferior quail
ity if allowed to pass. Then it goes INTO
the secure g, where each kernel of wheat
is carefully brushed to remove every
speck of dust and smut from the seam
or other portion Of the seed.
After this thorough polishing ano
other dry cleansing processes, the wheat
II ally falls on the pair of rollers known
as the first break" The broken wheat
is at once caught up by an elevator and
carried to the ''scalpers' above, where
the finer particles pass through a rather
coarse screen and the broken mass. eX
ccpting the lighter bran husks, descenl
4. A., ,,..,I I,n,1. - Tbip Yrnrncc II
repeated several times. the crushed
wheat passing through d finer screen at
ter zach successive break. The brar
then goes into a machine called thu
cluster" where every adhering particle
of flour is taken off, after which the brar
is packed 100 pounds to the bag.
When the flour has passed through
thirteen sets of rollers it goes to thu
grading reels, which are among tn,
most sa%gacious and discerning machine
yet invented. They size up the lot il
all its various grades without mucl
supervision, and guarantee every poun'
they deliver to be of the exact elias
represented. In working on the whea
the rollers, or crushcrs, ace so adj juste'
that the upper and lower rollers may b
run at different veloclties, and this dill
f~erentIal motion is found to be an i'm
portant factor in the making of goo
flour This mill will produce probahl
a dozen different grades of flour frol
the same wheat, because the machine
have a scientific way OF getting at tn
true merits of each atom.
This mill and elevator are landmark
for miles around Great Falls One hur
dreG thousand bushels OF wheat can b
STIRRED in the elevator at one and tn
same time; while the mill has a capacit
for turning out 500 barrels of flour i
twenty-four hours, each barrel contain
ing the product Of four bushels and
half of wheat, which means that the mi
will consume $3.50 bushels Of wheat pt