Grain Transshipment |
FEBRUARY 2001
Before the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, moving grain from Great Lakes ports to Eastern export points was a significant aspect of Canadian (and American) railway operations. This month we will take a broad look at grain movement from the prairie farm to the Eastern seaboard, and zero in on a few examples of Georgian Bay transfer elevators in order to gain enough understanding to generate authentic traffic movements on our 1945-59 era model railways.
Firstly, some background on the commodity. Within the broad category of "grain", there were (and are) three principal grains: wheat, oats and barley (the latter two were known as "coarse grains"). Other grains were corn, rye and flaxseed. As mentioned in our topic on feed mills, various scrapings from the bottom of the bins constituted feed quality grains. Taking 1953 as an example, the tonnages of grains loaded in Canada were as follows: wheat (68%), barley (15%), oats (12%), rye, corn, flaxseed and all other grains (dried peas, beans and soya beans) each between one and two percent.
Further, some background information on grain elevators is in order. A "line" or "primary" elevator was the traditional prairie skyscraper, owned and operated by a number of companies such as Saskatchewan Pool, Parrish & Heimbacher, etc. A "terminal" elevator existed at the Lakehead, for the purpose of receiving prairie grain and loading it into ships. A "processing" elevator made flour (for example) from wheat received. A "transfer" elevator on the Great Lakes or St. Lawrence River received waterborne grain for transshipment to boxcars. Finally, there were more elevators at the export points for final rail to water transfer.
Now, let us have a quick overview of the grain shipping cycle from the prairie farms to the Lakehead (Fort William & Port Arthur, known today as Thunder Bay). The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) had the exclusive right to sell all wheat, oats and barley; the prairie farmer had no choice but to sell to the Board (the government was not directly involved in the marketing of rye and flax, but the Board of Grain Commissioners inspected weighing and cleaning (as they did with the principal grains). The CWB bought grain at line elevators on the prairies (operated by a number of companies). Every farmer had a sales book, and grain buying was run on the quota system (i.e. the farmer was apportioned so much, and that is all he could bring to the elevator).
Line elevators filled in due time, then they were given permission to ship a few boxcars from time to time. The railway lifted these boxcars from the line elevators, and moved them to terminals to be made into trains. After hauling to the Lakehead, they were unloaded into the terminal or processing elevators (numbering 29 as of April 1954, among 25 different companies). Over the winter, the grain was cleaned and transferred among bins, ready for Spring shipping (farther down the cycle, transfer elevators could handle tertiary cleaning, such as that made necessary by contamination in boxcars).
Alright, we now have the grain at the Lakehead. From there, in the 1000-2000 annual ship loads, the grain could go in one of four directions. It could be carried by bulk carrier or canaller to Lake ports in the United States, principally Manitowoc (Wisconsin), Superior (Wisconsin), Buffalo, South Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit or Duluth. Or, the same ships could head toward Georgian Bay transfer elevators at Collingwood, Owen Sound, Goderich, Midland and Port McNicoll on Georgian Bay (known as the Bay ports). Lower lakes points were a third option; transfer elevators at Port Colborne, Kingston and Prescott, or processing elevators at Humberstone, Sarnia, Walkerville and Toronto. Finally, a canaller could be loaded from the Lakehead direct to export points such as Montreal or Quebec City, or even overseas (comparatively rare, and a bone of contention during the era in question).
At the transfer elevators, grain was loaded into boxcars again. A lot of these elevators (such as those at Kingston, Quebec City, and all at Montreal through the port authority) were government owned. Railway and shipping companies owned a number of transfer elevators, as they had to handle the cargo anyway. The CWB tried to keep all elevator owner happy, based on the size of their respective operations. In addition to transshipment, elevators were paid by the Board to store grain. The Board decided when to store, and when to ship, grain. Interestingly, there were two prices, export and domestic, with the latter more expensive.
Now, let us look at railway modelling applications of the grain movement in Ontario. We had a year-round steady stream of loads coming out of Georgian Bay and lower lakes elevators. Railway carloads headed toward Montreal, Quebec City, Sorel, St. John or Halifax. Any of the transfer elevators were capable of loading a few dozen cars per day. Empty boxcars were herded on sidings, then boarded for grain loading. Often, the local way freight could handle the tonnage, but grain extras were part of the normal course of business. For specific discussions of this fascinating operation, consult Steam at Allandale (Collingwood and Midland), To Stratford Under Steam (Goderich) and the upcoming Steam Over Palmerston (Owen Sound).
Ian Wilson
February 1, 2001
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