So, we are in with the Hui Laulima Mahi 'Ai na M&K / M&K Agricultural Cooperative. This will use Oldest Daughter’s grain elevator ( New Industry for the Triple O - A Grain Elevator ) for which, incidentally, she got a good grade, as both core and catalyst for our project this year.
We have some newcomers to LSC, so, here is the backstory. The Triple O takes a loose guide on the Oahu Rail & Land Co. Sugar was the main reason for the railroad’s existence, but it hauled passengers, military supplies, agricultural goods, etc. By its heyday, money had married power, and most of the land was held in large, industrialized plantations focused on sugar and pineapple. Many of these companies still exist, even as the plantations are gone and family and artisanal farms have returned to be the norm. Grain was never, to my knowledge, a commodity here, but feed and cooking corn are local crops, so, in the world of the Triple O, the elevator serves a cooperative formed by the M&K Sugar Plantation (fictional; the letters come from our last and her maiden name) and local farmers. From the elevator, grain travels over rail for local use and export to the other islands.
There’s the backstory. Again, for newcomers, CINCHOUSE (Commander in Chief, House) decreed nearly a decade ago that “This cannot be just your hobby!” I have take that strategic guidance and operationalized it as “All may participate; none must participate.” I fudge a bit on the Mik, and I insist all take part. All do, and we all have great fun.
Siting the hui laulima / cooperative was a problem. Kid-zilla and I originally thought this siding would be a natural place:
O.D. broke out her elevator, and the crew fell out to see how it would lie.
We all agreed that it would change the fundamental character of our farm scene, so the elevator moved to the mill town of Pu’uoma’o (Green Hills).
After careful consideration, we decided on a final orientation.
In this way, local farmers would deliver grain via wagon to the elevator. Grain would then be poured into specially rigged box cars on M&K tracks, before being pushed onto Triple O tracks for onward shipping.
History, site, and story complete, it was time for the napkins.
O.D. will finish her elevator.
She understands that finishing it does not count as a Mik project, so her challenge will be tie it into Oldest Son’s (O.S.) grain silos.
Youngest Daughter (Y.D.) and Kid-zilla will handle the hui’s administrative and other “necessary” functions.
Yours truly, who, of course, will have about 10-14 days of non-availability, will make a small transfer shed and serve as foreman.
This will be sited at the little farm at the top of this thread. I also have that languishing LGB box car we’ve stripped for parts that begs for conversion to grain hauling. Time will see if I get to it!
We are stripping the house of Christmas decorations, scouring the shed for materials, and rustling up the 1:24 diggermen for the jobs!
Happy Building!
Eric
