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NORTH SMITHFIELD – It was a big day Wednesday for what could be the most displaced barn silo in North Smithfield.
First, a century ago, it was at the Pound Hill Dairy Farm.
Then it was at Marshall Farm.
For the past 52 years it had been the focal point of the Beef Barn restaurant on the corner of Smithfield Road and Greenville Road.
Following:Iconic North Smithfield restaurant – and its silo – hits the road
But, at dawn on Wednesday, Beef Barn owner Marc Branchaud was preparing the silo – which once belonged to his grandfather, Milton Branchaud – to move for the third time, two miles away, on Industrial Drive. , near its intersection with Pound Hill Road.
All these moves have taken their toll on the old silo.
“Every time you move it, it shortens by a group,†Branchaud said.
The silo is made up of a stack of 28 inch tall red metal bands that are bolted together – 150 bolts hold each band to the other, a total of 10 bands, plus a silver nose cone-shaped roof. The lower strip was poured in cement, which formed the foundation.
So one of Wednesday’s first jobs was to use a grinder to shear part of the bottom strip of the foundation.
But it was only one step in an intricate choreography to separate the silo from the building and move it on the road.
The parts of the building wall that met the side of the silo had to be cut, as well as using a grinder to remove the 150 bolts holding about the top two-thirds of the silo to the bottom third. All of this was done before Wednesday.
The first step on Wednesday was to attach a specially designed platform, which was suspended from a crane, to five brackets that had been bolted to the outside of the silo.
Then the top two thirds were lifted from the rest and dropped into the parking lot.
As one team began removing another level of 150 bolts, another team headed for the lower ring with the crusher that would separate it from the foundation.
This lowest section was then hoisted onto a flatbed trailer, to be joined shortly after by the highest ring and roof section. These two filled the trailer, which then headed to the new location.
Then come back to get the middle section, along with other restaurant amenities like the walk-in fridge.
By the time the sun dipped toward the horizon, the silo pieces were sitting next to the new Beef Barn location, and the roof section had received a new coat of silver paint.
Assembly is expected to begin on Thursday, when the lower ring is welded to a metal support attached to the foundation.
And then the top two sections will be bolted – not welded – in place.
Why bolted?
Said Branchaud: “In case I want to move it again.”
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