Story and photos by Kristen Cart
Some time ago, one of our readers requested the picture of an elevator pit. It is one of the more unglamorous parts of a grain elevator, but as I was going through old photos, I found one. I also found many interior elevator pictures that have not made it to the blog because of their, well, unattractiveness. But a review of the parts and pieces, terms and descriptions, and interior appearance of an elevator is in order.
The Pit
Pit access by ladder. The leg is visible. Hanover, Kan.
Sloped bottom funnels grain to the base of the leg.
The Dump Grate
A smaller grate.
Center driveway truck grates.
The Driveway
McCook, Neb.
St. Francis, Kan.
The Man Lift
The bottom of the lift showing the shaft.
Current safety regulations require a retrofitted cage.
Overhead bin spouts
Bins are numbered to correspond with the bin diagram
Bin Diagram
St. Francis, Kan.
This elevator holds beans in two overhead bins.
The bins hold milo, and “F” means the bin is full.
The Leg
Cup dimensions and spacing are given in elevator specifications.
The leg conveys grain from the pit to the top of the bins.
Manhole Cover
Traer, Kan.
Our Grandfathers' Grain Elevators 
As someone who has never had the opportunity to poke around in a grain elevator, I found this series of photographs fascinating. Thanks for the post!
I’m glad that you posted these, too. They give a real sense of the work involved.