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This prototype photo of Rickel & Co. Malsters was taken in 1981 when I started gathering information for the model railroad. The Rickel & Co. complex was located at 1824 Adelaide Street in Detroit. Rickel supplied the brewries in Detroit with beer brewing ingredients until 1971, when Archer Daniels-Midland took over the business.
Malt production was discontinued in 1985 following the closing of the Stroh's Brewery and the silos were demolished in 1995 -1996.
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Click image for a larger photo.
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The main building of Rickel & Co.(right photo) was made from Design Preservation Modules, mounted on an .80 sheet styrene base. Artwork for the sign was made with Adobe Photoshop and based on the the prototype photos above. The decal was printed with an ink-jet printer on a white decal sheet.
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The silos were made from 4" PVC pipe. The main elevator structure is .80" thick styrene with appropriate bracing to keep it square and in place.
This view, looking down Adelaide
St., was typical of the many bridges carrying auto traffic over the GTW rails in the "Dequindre Cut".
The bridges on the PH&N RR were made with a plywood base covered with the appropriate basswood accent pieces to simulate the concrete construction of the prototype. Sidewalks and street surface are styrene plastic, scribed and painted to replicate the prototype.