Silo City

I was fortunate to secure a spot in Mark Maio’s October workshop/tour of the abandoned silos and numerous other buildings known as Silo City. It can be seen from the end of Hamburg St., on the other side of the Buffalo River in Buffalo, NY. In fact, this is a good spot to catch the early morning light.

The real fun, however, starts when you drive onto the property, grab your camera gear, and choose a building to explore. Twenty-two of us had three full days of unlimited access.

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Morning Light

 

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End of the Line

 

 

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Two Minute Exposure

 

 

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View from the Top

 

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Unused Tracks

 

 

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Alley

 

 

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Rope

 

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Endless Belt Man-lift

 

 

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“Tugger”

 

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Window View

 

 

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Gray Day

 

 

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End of the Line #2

 

 

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“Selfie”

The Portland Company

The Portland Company was established 10 November 1846 to build railroad equipment for the adjacent Portland terminus of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad connection between Portland, Maine and Montreal. Its first locomotive, the Augusta, emerged from the shops in July 1848 for delivery to the Portland, Saco &Portsmouth (later the Boston and Maine Railroad). Over the next several decades, the Company produced in its Fore Street facilities over 600 steam locomotives as well as 160 merchant and naval vessels, rail cars, construction equipment, Knox automobiles, and the like. Portland Company built the engines of the civil war side-wheel gunboats Agawam and Pontoosuc.Taking into account its other products, the Company could lay claim to being one of the leading medium-to-heavy steel manufacturers in New England. The company ceased production in 1978. Presently the site has become a marine-oriented complex with a small marina, several marine as well as other office tenants and the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum.

 

 

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Office Space

 

 

 

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Fire Door Detail

 

 

 

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Overhead Belt Drive System

 

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Inside and Out

 

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Hand Lettered Sign

 

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Wooden Truss Detail

 

 

 

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400 lb. Anvil

 

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Bookbinder’s Space

 

 

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Empty

 

 

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Wall Detail

 

 

 

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Small Detail

 

 

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Truss Detail

 

 

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Well Worn Wooden Floor

 

 

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Window Detail

 

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Brickwork Detail

 

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Window Detail

 

 

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Woodworker’s Space