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History
The History of Western
Canada’s grain elevators goes hand in hand with the history of the
railroad. Our hamlets and villages evolved and prospered as they linked with
other communities.
The elevators and train stations were the cornerstone
around which the community revolved. We have now come full circle and
ironically the elevators and railroads that once breathed life into the
communities are now responsible for their demise.
As elevators are shut down
and the rail lines are abandoned and removed, rural communities suffer and
deteriorate.
The statistics supplied by the Canadian Grain Commission are
staggering.
In 1933 there was a total of 5485 primary elevators operating in
Western Canada. By 1981 the number had dropped to 3324. In 1991 it was
reduced again to 1578. The last numbers recorded in August 2003 set the amount of
primary elevators in Western Canada at 389 and this could be high judging
from the amount of elevators that have been shut down since then.
The
confusing part of this whole scenario is the fact that in 1981 the total
capacity of the elevator space was 8,748,630 metric tonnes, while today it
sits at less than 6,100,560 metric tonnes and this is supposed to improve
the efficiency of the system.
I very much doubt that the producers that have
to drive up to 200 km to deliver grain to a centralized location will agree
with this. It is inevitable that before another decade passes there will be
no more wooden structures around for our future generations to see. It is up
to us to preserve the photos and the history of our prairie sentinels.
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