Grain Elevator

[@godisanissan7407]

John must have started work here in 1946. I googled his obituary. He retired shortly after this film was made. John was born in 1921 so he was 60 when this was made and he passed away in 2011 living to the grand old age of 90. Thank you to all the people who made this amazing historical film of ways of days gone by.

[@je862]

After reading your post, I searched John's obit.....very interesting! Gosh, I bet he was a great guy! I was 16 years old in 1981 and would have really enjoyed talking with him, to hear stories of the 'old days'. For sure at that time in '81, he was dealing with very old equipment. The distributor sure could have used some maintenance to get it in good working order again. I work at an elevator that was built in the 1970's and it has lacked general maintenance since it was new. One of the several distributors has the same problem, sometimes it stops in between holes. One of the newer ones is electric and that one works really good....

[@albertaboyz]

Wow. Great memories. I grew up on a farm and hauled grain exactly like this in the 70's and 80's with my Dad. This scene is forever gone.

[@JeffScher]

The human physics of running the place is fascinating. The pace of the film is elegant and calming. Really a terrific documentary.

[@НаталіяГорбаченко-э6л]

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[@EricRannaud]

The cinematography is ridiculous. Modern documentary filmmakers should all be required to watch this. The pacing, the framing, the sound production (!!!), the opportunity given to the viewer to just observe... It's just wonderful.

[@jimreynolds1939]

OMG. Love this video. I was a grain buyer/elevator agent for Saskatchewan Wheat Pool from the mid 1970s to mid 1980s. For a few years I operated an elevator with a diesel single cylinder engine exactly like this. Brings back so many memories and a few things I forgot.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

You worked at a very interesting time in regards to grain elevators that’s for sure. Some of the uneconomical branch lines were being abandoned or would be in the near future. A lot of the wooden elevators were upgraded with annexes or steel bins. A lot of the elevators went to electric motors as well. And, the 40’ boxcars were being phased out and being replaced with the coke-can Trudeau hoppers. You got to witness a transition period in regards to grain elevators.

[@brianlacroix822]

was it normal to dump grain into a box car? grain cars were not a thing back then?

[@oilersridersbluejays]

@Lachlan Ponce by this time it depended on how heavy of rail you had. A lot of boxcars were already phased out by 1981 by the 90 ton hopper cars and a lot of the rail lines were or would be either upgraded from 60 lb rail to 90 lb rail or else they would face abandonment. Elevators had to be upgraded to have a hopper car loading spout. At this time, most elevator motors were being upgraded to electric and having two legs instead of one. Overhead scales and electric over hydraulic bin gates and car pullers were also upgrades a lot of elevators have or would have received around the time.

[@larryk5806]

This is a true depiction of the grain elevator as I remember. In the early 1960's, I worked in one in Ludell, Kansas. My first job was to unplug the "leg" which was about 15 feet below ground level. I had to go down a ladder and then fill up a bucket of wheat from the bottom, crawl back up the ladder and dump it into a pit, until all 200 bushels were removed, so the elevator belt and cups could move, again. Larry

[@kenvickery7319]

I remember these elevators as a kid in the 60's. Miss the sound of those old engines. In the mid 80's, I helped build a few of the last wooden elevators built.good memories. Putting the cups on the leg belts was a tricky job. You had to keep it balanced, so you had to bolt on 1 or 2 cups at a time, then rotate the belt halfway around and put on 1 or 2 cups to keep it balanced. The belt drive wasn't powered up yet, so it was rotated by muscle power only.

[@jerrydewitt8585]

Memories that brings a tear to the eye. Remember hauling to elevators just like this, now their all gone. Something to miss in life for the younger generation, heart warming to see for me.

[@jeffdundovich145]

I just cannot believe one man can do that whole operation by himself

[@jeffdundovich145]

I would love to work at that place but not by myself I love to deal with trucks coming and going and trains make it all that much better that guy worked hard but he looks like he had the life I'm envious

[@oilersridersbluejays]

@jeffdundovich145 this elevator was a small shipping point, even by 1980s standards. They usually had only one guy run these small throughout elevators. This elevator also wasn’t upgraded to electric bin gates/hopper car spout yet (if it ever was) which also is more evidence that it didn’t handle a lot of bushels in a year. Most elevators at this time were upgraded to be electric instead of diesel motor for the leg and manual bin gates or in the process of being upgraded. They most likely also handled a lot more grain and these elevators would almost always have two, sometimes even three guys running the show.

[@emilymayer5500]

When I was a girl, we used to watch Canadian television (Lethbridge, channels 2 and 7 I think) and these heritage segments would come on. This was one of my favorites. I haven't seen this in some forty years. Thanks for the upload! Still a fantastic piece!

[@davidlisowski5245]

I used to work at the Inglis Elevators National Historic Site in Canada and we showed this video in the reception centre. They restored a Ruston and Hornsby engine to working condition in one of the offices.

[@bryancaughey7507]

I drove past there a couple of years back and took a bunch of photos of the elevators and the equipment they had around the outside. The elevators were closed to visitors (winter time) Do they still do tours inside these elevators?

[@davidlisowski5245]

@@bryancaughey7507 I think only in the summer. You would have to call them to book a tour out of season.

[@trackhoe23]

I wish it was longer.

[@RainMan221]

Yeahe too, so peaceful

[@BiddieTube]

This is a great tutorial on how the old grain elevators functioned.I have seen countless amounts of them around and have always wanted to know how they work and what is inside.

[@RainMan221]

I don't know why, but for some reason this video just soothes my mind

[@Dairy_Farmer]

The memories.... Worked at an old dusty feed mill/grain elevator/farm supply/hardware store/fuel supply built in 1864 in far Northern Illinois. The set up was very similar to this video. Always had strong interest in history growing up on our small family dairy. This video deserves a like, and it got one from me.

[@travelingtom923]

One of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Editing was excellent! Looks like a fun place to work. If you were a young boy visiting this place it was probably really amazing. God bless the person who wanted to do a documentary on this subject. I am sure at the time they thought it would not only be boring, but hardly worth the money used for filming. Thanks also to NFB for digging this out of the archives.

[@Yegorific]

It is NOT a fun place to work. The equipment is old, constantly breaking down, with replacement parts getting harder and harder to find. It's incredibly cramped to make any sort of repairs or adjustments on anything because these elevators weren't built with repairs in mind and have had numerous upgrades and modifications over the years to make it worse. They're also very dusty, which is unpleasant, a respiratory hazard, and an explosion hazard. The pacing of the documentary doesn't reflect the pacing of the industry. Box cars are a thing of the past. My last crib loaded three to four 100 ton hopper cars per hour, which is actually very slow by modern standards, but still lightning fast compared to the video. Keeping one or two of these guys around as living museums sounds great. But as functioning industrial stations, cribs are rightfully a thing of the past.

[@je862]

I work at an elevator that was built in the 1970's and it's a relic. Even at that time, nothing was designed for maintenance, it's absolutely ridiculous. Piece of junk is always breaking down. Although I really like this documentary, this guy is dealing with a 90 or 100 year old system, so much respect to him.@@Yegorific

[@oilersridersbluejays]

@Yegorific depended on the elevator really. The newer ones that were electric and having car pullers and a dust system weren’t bad really. Ancient girls like this one though, that’s a different story.

[@mitchoner]

This is such a beautiful timepiece, I wish we had more stuff like this

[@jamessimms415]

Am so glad I found this. Saw it decades ago on tv here in the States, & was always looking for it. Definitely saving it.

[@doct0rnic]

Something really went wrong on this country, that a man can't make a living on small acreage with a small truck and tractor, that small elevators were muscled out by the railroads and towns eventually disappeared. I think the US and Canada could have maintained a life like this but greed won.

[@johnbee7729]

The grain elevator - the iconic sentinel of the prairies from a much simpler era. Thanks for sharing this NFB

[@darryldarwent3676]

Great film. In the late 80s I worked on a farm near Barons, AB. I used to haul grain in a Dodge 500 to the local UGG elevator. Travelled downhill most of the way. Always a bit scary when the grain shifted in the box. Going to the elevator was always a bit deal. This brings back memories.

[@ronnyvonallmen6892]

One of the Best Documentaries I have ever seen…

[@brentreid7031]

Long gone are the Prairie Giants. What a time of life to remember.

[@vandalsavage6152]

What a magnificent film. An hour ago I had no idea how the grain was elevated or discharged and the sight of the Ruston & Hornsby oil engine flogging away was a real blast from the past. And how well designed were the elevators, the grain siding track on a slight down grade allowing one man operation of the freight cars, and of the elevator also. Thanks for a fab film, it is in my favourites now....

[@billsafreed9982]

That's the kind of elevator that we dealt with when we were farming back in the late 60's early 70's.

[@chevforever]

Man that film means so much to me. When it was filmed, my Dad just started with the Saskatchewan wheat pool service centre so the elevator stories were a common topic at the table come supper time.

[@Wheresthewheel]

Does this ever take me back! As a kid a trip to the elevator was my version of Disneyland. They were so big and different from anything else I knew.

[@Green4321]

As a kid, when we went to the elevator,, that was one of the few times my dad would splurge and let me buy a bottle of pop.

[@andypetrovich2155]

This the coolest video on KZbin I have seen. Thank you for posting! Answered all the questions I had about these old elevators. Sad to see them falling apart.

[@JFinnerud]

A truly fascinating film about a bygone era

[@SouthObeauty]

Wow! This guy did everything and worked around a lot of hazards. Well done!

[@minimalisticmime5459]

As a person who works at a modernized grain elevator I thought I had it hard but this is a true testament to the grit our ancestors had

[@agerothn]

Oh that NFB icon.. I remember seeing it so many times during class when I was a kid in Saskwatchewan. That old logo alone is nostalgic for me.

[@shortliner68]

I would have never guessed how many tasks were performed by the operators of these grain elevators. Being a railfan, I was particularly amazed by the hand "switching" of rail cars to spot them at the spout and then moving each loaded car away to make room for the next car. This video has really given me an in depth understanding of the design of these elevators and how all the machinery worked. As a retired mechanical designer I'm certainly impressed with how they were made.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Even in 1981 this elevator was small and antiquated compared to a lot of others in Saskatchewan. Most have or would get car puller winches and hopper car spouts.

[@ajknaup3530]

Can you believe they pushed those BX's by hand?!

[@shortliner68]

@@ajknaup3530 I know....I had no idea these country elevator operators moved cars by hand as part of their job. And they had to brake them in time before they passed the loading spout.

[@ajknaup3530]

@@shortliner68 I noticed he sacrificed a couple of pieces of scrap lumber to help spot the car.

[@kennethkowalchuk7868]

Thanks for this. I grew up on the prairies and have seen so many grain elevators but never there operation. Fascinating.

[@jgalaska9662]

I worked as a maintenance chief at one. It's very interesting and fun but trust me, the dust can get to you

[@randomrazr]

what fi ur hand got caught int he pulley

[@jgalaska9662]

@@randomrazr it would hurt

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Especially in those old SWP elevators. Most wood elevators were upgraded by this time (early 80s) or were in the process. This one only has a boxcar (no hopper car spout nor a car puller). Some other things I noticed that this elevator has is still only one leg so if a farmer showed up while you’re doing rail cars, you have to stop filling the car to dump the farmer. A lot of elevators had two legs by this time. I also didn’t see any dust collection system in this old girl. I guess that’s why they used the good old windows. I guess I caught the tail end of grain elevators doing things the old way. My town had three elevators (a Pioneer and 2 SWP, one of which was an old Federal). The Pioneer was built in the mid 80s. A pretty big wood annex and the elevator itself was steel with two loading tracks and a digital scale that could fit a super B no problem. The main SWP was also pretty big and built in the late 60s. It also had two loading tracks and a rebuilt scale to hold a super B. The little SWP that was a Federal didn’t have a car puller or anything. Had the old manual scale. It was converted to electric though at some point, and did have a hopper car spout added to it. It was seldom used and I think was just overflow for the main SWP. It would be rare to see more than a couple cars spotted there at a time compared to the 20 some at the main SWP and the Pioneer.

[@alexbrown7786]

@@oilersridersbluejays Happened to me many times, stop, unload, start loading car, stop again, over n over. I often loaded at night during harvest.

[@nantonelevators864]

A most detail record of the life in an elevator.

[@magpie_nutmeg5257]

So happy my town is restoring our last elevator.

[@czhang100]

Didn't know how I managed to land here but it is a truly fascinating work!

[@DL541]

Awesome video. This has got to be one of the most interesting videos to me on KZbin.

[@mngermanshepherd]

Love the nat sound and creative shooting. Excellent documentary example.

[@terrywerm1]

Wonderful documentary. I worked for a small elevator in southern Minnesota back in the early 80's and it was rather fascinating to say the least. Thanks for posting this!

[@johnjaevin2237]

I remember going to theses places all the time growing up on a farm.

[@JoshuaW]

Great film showing a much simpler time. I enjoyed seeing how things were done before I started hauling to the elevator. Thanks for sharing!

[@duncanwatson7297]

Brings back memories. I am more familiar with the electric leg drive. I was operating the now local farmer owned ex MPE elevator a couple of winters back. We still use 300 bushel trucks. That Loadstar has the fibreglass tilt hood first available in 1971. I don't recall being horribly bothered by coopering a boxcar but they sometimes had other messes and damage to fix up before putting someone's food in them. Other than grain elevator, I filled them with Food Aid 110 lb lentil and pea and bean bags in 1980. I saw this NFB doc as I am researching a grain elevator driveway hoist Otis winch I just bought. I have a few grain trucks that predate the common hydraulic hoist, and I can't remember where I put my bushel scoop. One of my trucks a 39 International has a PTO chain driven under floor auger but the 35 Chev and the 38 Maple Leaf are shovel or scoop.

[@chriswieler6146]

I've never actually officially worked in an elevator but my dad did. He started in later 70s with Cargill for almost 20 years before operating a brand new pioneer elevator near brunkild mb for another 5. By the time I was growing up he was offered shares with Delmar Commodities out of winkler Mb out of which he retired a few years ago. I remember when he would go to the elevator to help on a Saturday and would bring me along to help. At the time I didn't care for it but looking back now and seeing how these are slowly dissapearing I wish I would have asked to come more often. He has made a lot of friendships over the years with the farmers he dealt with.

[@DF11G]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful video so that I can know how the life was like on the prairie.

[@ianmedium]

John passed away in 2011 at the grand old age of 90.

[@comphroc1]

1 man operation. Very satisfying.

[@debbiegastonguay7256]

Awesome film. Brought back some memories of the trips I made with my Dad to the grain elevator. I will always remember the "chug chug chug" of the engine. Interesting to see the workings of the elevator.

[@vancepomerening4794]

Love all the scales. I operated a 50 ton Fairbanks Morse truck scale at a California feed mill.

[@emperorinsaino]

I lived a few blocks away from this elevator. It was demolished in 2014.

[@icelineman]

+emperorinsaino What happened to the engine?

[@emperorinsaino]

+icelineman I forget. maybe Gravelbourg or Manitoba.

[@НаталіяГорбаченко-э6л]

emperorinsaino

[@emperorinsaino]

Acme Comments I'm sorry, you're mistaken. This is Wood Mountian's, and was demolished.

[@emperorinsaino]

Acme Comments it's a sad loss. There's been ongoing struggles with the railway and elevator company for the Village I think, and weren't enough local people around willing to step up and maintain it, while some work in the demolition industry...

[@brucesimonson4581]

Wonderful documentary. Gotta love the opening shot where the elevator and the church steeple dominate the skyline.

[@brucesimonson4581]

Also, the comments are worth the read. Thanks.

[@jamesholmes3499]

An absolutely beautiful documentary!

[@FarmerSteveO]

The simple days of farming I miss!

[@oilersridersbluejays]

You and me both. I miss the days of bouncing in the old tandem axle or three ton grain truck to the elevators in town only six miles away. Dump some grain, have a visit with the elevator man, and bring in another load. Now it's a one hour hike to a terminal in a semi. Some probe takes a sample, go unload, and drive home. It's a very impersonal experience now compared to the older days. All branch rail lines are tore out, elevators sitting there empty or demolished, and see the odd ugly old concrete terminal somewhere on a main rail line. Think we went backwards.

[@spark5580]

That's when life was simple not relying upon fancy farming equipment it's just you and nature

[@tylerh2689]

I work at a modern grain elevator and to see this man do this work in a such an efficient way is amazing. How the times have changed. I still see these old ghosts from time to time here in the Midwestern US. Have never taken a look at one but now I want to. By the way our facility loads rail cars and we do 90 at a time, and our largest tanks we have there hold 650,000 bushels. Our largest ground pile holds twice that.

[@thumpin250]

Ground pile is a dirty word around my farm. Lol all yours.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

If I have to pile grain on the ground it’s because it was a phenomenal year and it still goes into a grain ring and gets tarped, and next year I’ll buy a few more bins. You will never see a grain elevator in Canada pile grain on the ground. If it’s full, it’s full. No more deliveries. Piling grain on the ground is for the birds. Literally and figuratively.

[@jwebstersmithii7459]

This is 5-Star! Gonna watch it again.

[@daduck100]

Great shot doc,reminds me of the elevator back home in Manitoba,one guy ran the whole place.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Yes. The bigger ones in those days that handled a lot of grain had two guys usually, sometimes even 3. The small ones that didn’t handle much grain only had one guy usually. 150 boxcars a year was not much that’s only 9000 tons a year. A lot of elevators by then handled 30000 tons a year or more, mind you with upgrades and hopper cars.

[@bgt63]

It's not until you.look back that you realize that everything changes slowly, yet also quickly. An era marches relentlessly into history right in front of you

[@andrewandres148]

This video rocks! Love how smooth everything worked... And that old Fairbanks I bet is still in working order somewhere,,,,,,

[@martinbatistelli]

Interesting to see how this was done. I didn't know that grain was still being hauled in boxcars in 1980.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

The “Trudeau” coke-can hoppers were starting to appear a fair bit by this time. Boxcars were still fairly commonly used though. You could call the early 80s the last hurrah of the 40 footer boxcars. A lot of the lighter rail branch lines were boxcar only until their track was upgraded to handle the 90 ton hoppers. This was just a few years into when the prairie rail “rehabilitation” was going on and the new hoppers were being spotted. The rail line commission was started up in the mid/late 70s. Main lines were of course absolutely safe. The branch lines ended up into three categories. Either the railways (CN and CP) were forced to upgrade the line and keep it in operation until at least the year 2000 if it was an important branch line. If not the case, then it would be turned over to the prairie rehabilitation program. This meant that the railway had to upgrade the track but there was no limitation on when the track could be abandoned (although it was usually fairly difficult for them to abandon this category of lines at first). In this category, the track was usually upgraded but not always. It wasn’t uncommon for it to have little done in upgrades or the railway would just apply to abandon it within the next decade or so. The upgraded rails would end up being used on the main lines to save CN and CP money. The last category was “recommended for abandonment.” These lines often had a time frame of immediate abandonment to abandonment within the next three years, depending on circumstances such as little to no rail traffic being generated to a “phasing out” process. They were usually considered uneconomical to be rehabilitated at all for many reasons such as another more economical branch line not far away, had grain elevators that were in fair to poor shape and unlikely for the elevator company to want to renovate or upgrade the elevator, or just such poor track conditions that the cost to upgrade them would never be turned back into profit. Back to the 40’ boxcars, I remember seeing some as late as the late 80s in my area, but there were usually more hoppers spotted than boxcars by this time. Boxcars were terribly slow and laborious to load and held only 2/3rds of what a hopper would hold. I know the local grain elevator agents swore and cursed any time there were any boxcars spotted. At least by the mid/late 80s, they were more uncommon. Upgrades on elevators like a hopper car loading spout, annexes being built, and even something as basic as a railcar puller were very welcomed. I know us farmers (at least my dad as I was still quite young at the time) also liked the new hoppers showing up. It meant the elevators could ship grain faster. A little 60 ton boxcar (I think that’s what they held about) took I think three or so hours to load. A hopper car could be done in an hour (sometimes even half an hour). The bad unforeseen part was that it eventually phased out a lot of the smaller elevators on even the most economical branch lines when instead of upgrading those elevators, the elevator companies decided to plop a few huge concrete terminals on the mainlines. Sorry about my long comment, it’s just a topic I like discussing as a farmer.

[@martinbatistelli]

@@oilersridersbluejays Thanks for the explanation.

[@P_Rund1952]

I think by the 60's boxcars were becoming obsolete for grain loading in the US. I used to go with my Dad or grandfather to the local elevator, mostly to take a load of ear corn and have it ground for feed, which they would deliver. Midwestern US elevators were more complex because of the importance of making feed for local livestock producers. They did not ship out as much grain and the ones I went to in the late 50's and 60's already had 2 legs and sometimes a third strictly for the feed mill part of the facility. In the late 60's I worked for a fertilizer company and learned the tricks of jacking cars and getting them stopped in the right position. It was a chore if you overshot the unloading point, then you had to jack a loaded hopper car upgrade to the conveyor.

[@Quadflash]

Beautiful, simple, elegant work

[@peterphang8259]

Very interesting. Good job. I came to watch this video because I have a 1989 USA stamp North Dakota depicting a grain elevator.

[@Thegroomedsasquatch]

I worked for Pioneer Grain for 12 years. Worked in several elevators just like this one. Mine were kept a lot cleaner than this one though.

[@robertmoulton2656]

Wow. CNFB produced something truely great. Loved it ! The much better than the typical artsy crap there known for

[@tyfrank3427]

The only things that are really better now is no more wheat board monopoly and higher grain prices. The farm equipment was at it's best in the 1970s and 80s, being simple, made to last, and comfortable to operate. The farms were smaller and didn't need the infrastructure that today's farms have. The grain was better; not sprayed with desiccant before harvest which enters the food chain and gives us cancer and other disease. The elevators in every town allowed for farmers to haul their grain a few miles with three ton trucks rather than hauling it sometimes hundreds of miles, requiring super B trains to haul the grain efficiently. The farms were smaller and equipment was smaller and affordable, unlike today. Families worked together, unlike today, and prior to that families and neighbours worked together to build the community. Now the farms are much too large, equipment is expensive and designed not to last, and any excuse to use harmful chemicals on the land they do. Not to mention GMOs, massive farm debts, the Dutch coming over and raising the price of the land to make it grossly overpriced so no one can start farming if they wanted to, ILOs which is a case for PETA, pumping growth hormones into the animals which I believe is probably the greatest cause of obesity in humans when that goes into the food chain. Then you add legislation by governments elected by city folk who know nothing about our way of life and have no business butting into ours, and it's easy to see that nothing has improved since then. All "progress" we made since then has actually been a step backwards for Agriculture, our food chain, our way of life, and our country.

[@Mercmad]

My personal theory on obesity is that for the last 15 years all food companies have been adding Corn Syrup to everything in the way of processed food. Sugar is addictive ,and if you eat something containing sugar in the form of Corn Syrup, you can't taste it but your brain begins to crave food. Mc Donalds are the most infamous with buns so sweet they are like donuts. And look at these burger chains, people don't understand that food is bland crap with no nutritional value but the sugar content tells the brain it tastes great. is stored in the body as fat. You get more just sugars eating anything processed that you become flooded with fats,and obese. A study was done in New Zealand where people ate normal store bought food, and others went on a strict home cooked diet . The latter lost weight dramatically but suffered terribly with withdrawal Symptoms,

[@RainMan221]

@@Mercmad correct, couldn't have agreed more! Mind explaining the 'withdrawal symptoms'?

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Got that right. Fully agree with you.

[@brettknoss486]

Hell, most farms have more bin space than those old elevators had. No idea what you mean about machinery being more comfortable.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

@brett knoss not sure about the comfortable part so much, but much easier to work on. Most of my equipment is from the 80s and early 90s. The newest things I have are my augers and my Flexi Coil 67 sprayer. I have two pull type Case 1682 combines. They are simple to maintain, and I swath every acre anyway. I also don’t have any payments on equipment. I’ll admit, I farm “only” 1800 acres and have 40 head of cattle, but it’s enough for me and my family. My overhead is way lower than most bigger farms, and I get all my crop in and taken off just as efficiently as anyone, and I do almost everything myself. Sometimes big and new isn’t always better. With more cash flow because of no equipment expenses, I’ve been able to save for the tough times like this year’s drought, and I don’t contract a single bushel unless it’s sitting in my bin already. And, that money can be put towards buying another quarter or two when land comes for sale in the neighbourhood. I would rather have older equipment and farming 2000 acres of land than farming 10000 acres with brand new equipment and being saddled with debt. Sometimes, people make more stress than they need to.

[@zacharbert6604]

Fantastic video

[@freightuk]

Fascinating, seen models and images but in use even better, thanks for posting :)

[@supertrucker12916]

I work for a grain elevator in malone N.Y it's been a staple in the community since the early 50's it's the only wooden elevators left in the area and the old tracks are still there even though the train stopped running sometime in the 80's if I'm not mistaken

[@tmeyer729]

Where in Malone? I live near there and would like to see it.

[@supertrucker12916]

@@tmeyer729 its on elm street

[@tmeyer729]

Is it the one by the garden center and Arnold's? I was just there the other day I bought some chicken feed and cracked corn.

[@David-fj5md]

Ohh how I wish I was in that time period to witness things like that in person..

[@canuckster24]

I always wondered how they were able to load so many cars without the help of a locomotive, had no idea they could push them themselves.

[@dshel560]

we used those jacks but mainly the winch. the trick was stopping them on uneven tracks

[@oilersridersbluejays]

All rail sidings have a slight downgrade to them. They would use the car jack and push to get them to roll. Once you got them rolling, you had it made, so long as you timed your braking on the car right. Stop too soon, gotta do it again. Stop too late with an empty, you went past the loading spout. Stop a full one too late, and you hit the derail or derail the car on the switch, either of which you would probably get fired. Around the time that hopper cars started being used, rail car pullers were installed. It was just a big winch that you would hook to the cars and it would advance the cars as you filled. No more needing to push, unless the puller broke down. And a 90 ton rail car is not as easy to push as a 60 ton boxcar.

[@myrtistaylor5759]

@@oilersridersbluejays fired for that? I'm sure they have equipment for such an occasion of a derail

[@oilersridersbluejays]

@Myrtis Taylor it’s easy to rerail a car. That’s not the point at all… You could end up damaging CP or CN property. Rerailing a loaded rail car costs big money, more than what the grain inside is worth. Of course you would probably get fired…

[@myrtistaylor5759]

@@oilersridersbluejays hey shit happens. I would think those large corporations would have a union

[@tylerelston3758]

So interesting and informative, thank you!!!

[@Lostamericana]

This is all kinds of fascinating.

[@PatrickKanatzer]

I've been working for a local grain elevator for 5 years now. The modern grain elevators are ran completely differently.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

The basics are the same. This elevator was an old one that never really seen any upgrades although most were by this time. By this time, the elevators in my town were all electric and loaded mostly 90 ton hopper cars, digital scales, had two elevator legs and car pullers installed. The size is what’s changed the most. And the fact that there are not a lot of elevators around anymore and they’re all on or very close to main rail lines, so us farmers have to haul a long ways now.

[@davidkimmel4216]

Memories Memories Thank You

[@Dial8Transmition]

This reminds me of an old grain mill back home in the town that I grew up in, it was built during the 70's down by the river and used a water wheel for power, which now is sadly rotten and taken down by the river. We used to sneak in there a few times as kids and it was so fun to look at all the old machinery and stuff left there. We had to sneak in as we were not allowed in there due to how dangerous it was. There was also another mill not too far up the road that used to make animal feed and we used to sneak in there as well. I have wanted to go back to those places as an adult and maybe try to film and take some pictures, but the grain mill seems to be in such bad condition that I don't think going anywhere near it would be safe, and the other one is all boarded up so I can't get inside. Sad, but I glad I got to see it when it was there

[@ewardmello4255]

What a nice show How smart people was to design a elevator like that with a single engine to run it .

[@LostOzarkRambler]

great video!

[@q9260]

What a neat hand tool to move a train wagon, never saw something like that before.

[@bradgearly]

This prairie documentary was filmed in 1981. It was an NFB prairie production.

[@toesly]

This was awesome. Thanks for sharing! :)

[@only1clover]

Thanks for the upload! I really enjoyed it!

[@francisvanmarter1704]

Excellent video, thanks

[@vernoncoe714]

Wow brings back memories!

[@glengebert]

Man, I needed this.

[@michaeldrevdahl2292]

this is so great, thank you !!

[@nfb]

Glad you like it!

[@Rurik8118]

0:48 I assume that cat was well fed (; 🐭

[@stuartbees2691]

Great to see British engineering running the elevator.

[@nitro105]

I remember trips to the elevator as a kid but they were electrified by then, my sister says she remembers the engines.

[@tyfrank3427]

By 1981, engines would have been very rare in an elevator. Many of the newer elevators were built with electric motors. My dad is 66 and he says that the elevators in our area were electrified at that time.

[@nitro105]

Most elevators built in the 20's were gas and some switched to diesel 1938 and into the 40's. they were still running in the 1970s here.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Wasn’t around until the 80s but all local elevators were electrified by that time. Not many boxcars neither; usually hoppers by then. Digital scales and car pullers were other features seen by then.

[@duncanwatson7297]

Looking for advice, wiring switch on my winch from elevator truck axle hoist.

[@alexbrown7786]

Great seeing this, I bought in Laverna with this exact setup!

[@oilersridersbluejays]

The thriving metropolis of Loverna, Saskatchewan, a 2 minute walk from Alberta?

[@alexbrown7786]

@@oilersridersbluejays And how would you know about Laverna? BTW it is only 1 min walk if you go slow.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

*Loverna not Laverna. I live in Saskatchewan.

[@alexbrown7786]

@@oilersridersbluejays and I type bad, where do you live (town) I bought in Preeceville then to Loverna until it closed.

[@Barbac62]

the license plate on the farm truck that brought in grain was dated 1981.

[@jtoddjb]

I'd give anything if we could go back to 1981

[@tyfrank3427]

I would have loved to be my current age back then.

[@whatayawant]

Back in '81 I just started my current job so yeah,I'd love to go back then and tell myself what to expect.

[@skyt54]

I wish history would have stopped right here. I have a Ruston Hornsby engine just like the one in the video which I show at the Great Oregon Steamup.

[@UltimateHulk32011]

Great old Stationary engine a Ruston & Hornsby alway the from the old country 😊

[@mikeking7038]

In 1981 that ruston engine would have been an antique. Wonder where they got parts.

[@TheOwenMajor]

Big trucks, 300 bushels, hahaha, oh back then. Now you're looking at 1500 easy per load.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Have to because a guy has to drive an hour or more just to sell grain. Went backwards I think. I would rather dump 300 bushels at a time into an old elevator than haul 1500 to some impersonal terminal an hour away.

[@brucebiesenthal927]

I spent 10 yrs working with the P00l last three as a Fieldman in Melfort

[@tonyrichardson2437]

just terriffic to watch

[@gradyeilers7533]

Boy how things have changed. “Big trucks all 300 bushel or more” the combines hold more then that now…

[@AppiusOS]

I'd love to go back in time and drive my very own boxcar across the prairie like at 9:20

[@verngoossen9733]

OH look "coopering the car" man have I done a lot of those --- nowadays the hopper car is used--

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Coopering was pretty much done by the time I was a very young kid but have seen it done on rare occasions then. Most elevators in my area were loading hoppers by then and the elevators were more electric motors rather than diesel by then, but very cool to see how it was done when my dad was a young buck bouncing in the old three ton to town to sell grain. I wish we still had elevators and a rail line. Our six mile drive in a three ton or tandem to sell grain turned into an hour drive with a big tandem or semi now. Seems like we went backwards since all the elevators and rail lines were abandoned in the 2000s.

[@dshel560]

i cringed when i saw the boxcar, man i hated when cpr or cnr (UGG gladstone was served by both) dropped them off. at the end we'd smash holes in the floor and reject them

[@brentreid7031]

I remember them coopering the cars UGG in Oak River .

[@seththomas9105]

Dad got in on coopering boxcars in the early 70's at a small elevator in Iowa. By 1980 coopering boxcars for hauling corn or soybeans was all but done in the Midwest.

[@duncanwatson7297]

I coopered a few box cars back then. But now I have bought an Otis winch that was used to power the truck axle hoist in an elevator. I am looking for someone who can tell me how to wire in a control switch.

[@ChechenRebel]

What is that thing called @8:35 that he uses to move the railway car?

[@titily]

+Dkay Compound lever pinch bar

[@seththomas9105]

We called them a "Car Jack"

[@DRGW168]

We always called them car movers where I used them.

[@verngoossen9733]

@@speakyourmind7380 or a rail jack

[@EricRannaud]

Best part of the video. You can buy one for $250: www.aldonco.com/store/p/198-Manual-Car-Mover-with-guard.aspx

[@kerrykurschinsky2451]

"65" International,.... remember them,....my dad had 1 of them for a milk truck,..... the steering was about 20 turns,... from lock to lock,..... don't miss that part...........

[@Swishersweetcigarilo]

I wish someone would've done a documentary on the flour mill and grain elevator in Cleveland ohio before they closed in 2020. Someone wanted to film but the company said no. I could've been famous!