Shuffling Grain Elevators Around

Back in my youth I lived in the small Prairie town of Roblin.  We had the usual row of elevators along the railway, and I spent many hours in them with my dad when he delivered grain there.  Among these was Manitoba Pool Elevator #1, the first Manitoba Pool elevator built in 1925.  An annex was added in 1968.  

Manitoba Pool Elevator #1 in Roblin was rebuilt in 1986.  This sequence of photos shows the before, during and after of the replacement.  The original #1 was replaced by Pool "C" which was on the northern end of elevator row in town.  It was a newer elevator than #1 so was selected to replace it instead of having a completely new elevator constructed.

National and Pool #1. The National elevator was only used when the main Cargill elevator was at capacity. This shot has a boxcar loading. Circa 1985/86. Pool #1 was still the original elevator here.  The National elevator came down not long after this was taken.

Pool "C" loading Manitoba Buffalo boxcars. You can see the door cut into the side in preparation for the coming work. If you were wondering if boxcars and cylindrical hoppers were loaded together. This should answer that question.

Pool "C" being prepped for the move. Roof of the cupola has been removed, unloading dock and office have been removed. You can also see some CN 3800cf hoppers with round hatches being used for grain loading. It did happen inspite of what some people say...

Cargill main elevator and Pool "C" stripped and ready to move.

Pool "C" on timbers akimbo to the track, in process of being moved.

Pool #1 dismantled and being cleaned up by a dozer. Good detail on the hoppers and other elevator stuff here.

The Pool #1 annex and unloading bay along with the station in Roblin.  The spot where the red truck is sitting is the former National elevator site after it was taken down.

CN freight #338 (or #354) with three 9000 series GP40-2W and BC Rail lumber cars passing the rebuilt Pool #1 elevator. Thanks to Mark Perry for the train information.

Over the course of the spring and summer the original #1 was knocked down but they kept the adjacent annex and parts of #1.  Pool "C" was stripped of it's roof and moved to Pool #1 site where it was inserted and rebuilt, extending the cupola height in the process. 

Pool "B" had been taken down around 1980; my dad and uncle had looked at buying it to store grain but decided against it due to the costs and other issues so it was torn down.  

The Pool #1 (or Pool A) elevator lasted until 1998 when it was taken down.  It was the last wood elevator in town.  A new higher capacity elevator was built just north of town, and it continues to ship grain today.  

The Pool elevator manager until this time was Len Maiers.  He took me under his wing as a budding train enthusiast and helped get me interested in railways, both prototype and model.  I spent many hours sitting in the Maiers family kitchen talking and hanging out in the basement running trains.  It was something that I really appreciated as there weren't too many train enthusiasts in my small town.

Len convinced me to climb up on the top of a grain car getting loaded at the Pool to shoot one of the BC Rail lumber trains passing through, headed by CN 5512 in April 1992.  This is one of my favourite railway photos.  And of course the engineer blew the horn for the Highway 5 crossing right by my photo spot.  I think my ears are still ringing...

I think I have more negatives somewhere in my files, however my early filing "system" left something to be desired; not surprising since I was 16 at the time.  I'll add more photos as I find them.

All photos by Marc Simpson.

April 29, 2021 Update

I managed to dig up a couple of additional photos of the elevator reconstruction.

Pool C now at the Pool A (Pool#1) site

Pool C being prepared to move onto the Pool A (Pool 1) site