Page 16 - NMRA Roundhouse September-October 2019

Now let’s fast forward to 1998! In early September, CPR engineer Nick Korchin- ski and his conductor assembled a grain train of empty hoppers at the Kipp Yard on the west side of Coalhurst.They would proceed with three locomotives; CP #3015 (GP38AC), CP #3060 (GP38- 2), and CP #3028 (GP38-2) with #3060 and #3028 positioned rear end first so that they would be the leading units on the return trip to Lethbridge,Alberta.
The final destination was the last remain- ing grain elevator in Orion,Alberta, op- erated by the Alberta Wheat Pool. Mind you, they would be dropping off empty hopper cars at the remaining grain eleva- tors along the line and picking them up on the return trip.The remaining Orion elevator, built in 1916 as a Pioneer Grain, had a neighbour, a 1929 Alberta Wheat Pool that was later moved closer to the other grain elevator to allow them to be “twinned” for additional grain storage. Not far down the track a little way to the west there used to be a vintage 1916 Alberta Pacific elevator, which was de- molished in 1988 still sporting its original Alberta Pacific logos and lettering.The remaining “prairie sentinel” was painted and lettered for the Alberta Wheat Pool, or AWP, or simply “the Pool”, a farmer owned collective founded in 1923 and for many decades the province’s biggest grain handling firm.At their peak in the mid-1930s, they had over 800 elevators scattered across the province in the mid-1930s.
After the train was assembled, they headed east through Coalhust, across the High-Level Viaduct to the east end
of Lethbridge to the “Montana” siding, where the switch was turned to allow the train to head southeast onto the Stirling subdivision.At Stirling, another switch was turned to point the train eastward on the 85-pound rail territory. After crossing Highway 4, just on the east side of the village of Stirling was
the next-generation of grain elevators; a high-output vertical concrete AWP (later Agricore) elevator under construction that would replace the last remaining wood elevators in Stirling. Continuing east the train passed the remains of the siding at Judson that was removed not long after the two-grain elevators, an AWP & Federal grain, that were closed in the mid-1980s.The Federal elevator wasn’t painted over when it was pur- chased by Alberta Wheat Pool. Eventu- ally, the train crosses Highway 36 and approaches the hamlet of Wrentham.
Passing the grain elevators in Wrentham – only the first and fourth end elevators remain in the small hamlet
The hamlet of Wrentham still boasted four-grain elevators; a 1925 Ogilvie Flour, a 1917 N. Bawlf Grain Co. (later Alberta Pacific / Federal), a 1928 Alberta Wheat Pool, and a 1968 Alberta Wheat Pool elevator.The Ogilvie was owned by a local farmer, and the remaining three elevators were used by AWP. On a side note, the Ogilvie for a short time was also operated by AWP from 1960 to 1968, before it was sold. It is currently the last Ogilvie Flour marked eleva-
tor left in the province of Alberta.The middle two elevators in Wrentham were closed and demolished within months of each other in 1999, and the last in the row, an AWP elevator would be sold to a local farmer in 2000. After Wrentham, the train heads east past another re- moved siding, located at Conrad. At one time, two-grain elevators were located here.The Conrad elevators were closed
in the mid-1980s and were demolished not long afterwards.
After Conrad, the grain elevators in the hamlet of Skiff appear on the horizon. There were three elevators located here but now only one remains. From the west was a 1929 Ellison Milling (Parrish and Heimbecker), a 1929 Alberta Wheat Pool, and a 1954 AWP. The two Pool elevators were closed at the end of the season in 1999 and demolished a year later, while the P&H was sold in 2002 to a local farmer who continues to use it to this day.
Continuing eastward, the train passes two remaining grain elevators at Leg- end; an AWP & United Grain Growers example.The AWP elevator was built in 1929 and sold to UGG in the late 1960s, meanwhile, the UGG was built in 1936
Passing the grain elevators in Skiff – only the first elevator remains
16 ROUNDHOUSE - September/October 2019