I arrived in Regina, SK aboard VIA No 1 around 0430 on September 28, 1985 after passing through flurries near Broadview. I stayed in the station as long as I could (0500) then walked with all my luggage to find the Tilden rental car office at about 0520, and waited until 8 am in 0-degree Fahrenheit weather, doing jumping-jacks to stay warm. I ate my breakfast and read, all inside the doorway of such-and-such law firm! FINALLY at 8, the Tilden clerk showed up, and guess what, they didn’t have my reservation. Did I have time to wait for a car to be driven over from the airport? Of course I said 'No!', so he had to give me a Chrysler Fifth Avenue (silver) that was there, at the same rate ($10.95 a day plus 15 cents a kilometre). I could not settle into the plush, blue upholstery behind the wood-panelled dash fast enough. Before the agent changed his mind, I was driving away. This was going to be a sweet ride!
It took me 30 km of driving to find my way out of Regina, but I finally got on the correct road. My somewhat arbitrarily-chosen route on this portion of the trip was Regina to Weyburn along CN's Glenavon Sub from Davin to Montmartre, then CP's Tyvan Sub from Francis to Fillmore and the south end of the Lewvan Sub. Overnighting at Weyburn, I'd return to Regina the next day along CP's Portal Sub and the north end of the CN Lewvan Sub, departing Regina on VIA No 2 at 2315 that night. I've previously-published posts on railfanning Regina and CN's Lewvan Sub elevators, the latter published way back in 2008! Let's not rush into things - fourteen years later and you're finally seeing the Rest of the Story!
Where was I? Davin (confoundingly lettered Adair - more in this postscript post) was my first elevator in snow - top) because apparently 'S' is for Saskatchewan, September, and in this Saskatchewan September, Snow! I stopped at each town on my pre-selected route to get elevator pictures, but didn’t see any trains on these branchlines.
Davin was at Mi. 69.9 of the Glenavon Sub, and Vibank at Mi 62.0.
Odessa at Mi. 54.0. Not only a place in Saskatchewan, and a coastal city in Ukraine, but also a village six miles north of where we lived and where our high school was located.
It had not been a good crop year. Dry growing conditions and a locust infestation bit into crop yields.
The residual snow was starting to melt as the morning went on!
Montmartre at Mi 38.1:
As much as I understood Cargill to be an American ag firm making inroads in Canada and painting elevators bright green, that's my favourite colour so I kind of liked seeing them!
After this, it was on to CP's Tyvan Sub between Francis and Fillmore, then the CN Lewvan Sub from Cedoux to Lewvan. CN's Lewvan Subdivision was one of those that rated the following notation in the employees' timetable: "Only units in series 1000-1076 permitted." It was one of the last to host A1A-A1A-trucked GMD-1's. For posterity, a view of your humble blogger with his by-then-muddy Fifth Avenue. This was in the era before selfies. One had to prop one's SLR up on a providentially-placed fencepost and activate the timer! There was so little civilization around me at this point - this could have been a proof-of-life photo!
A Googlemaps image of the scene at Davin today:
Running extra...
Canada Day is fast approaching. As we celebrate so many other movements and initiatives, this annual national birthday party brings us back to where it all began - our home and for one or many generations, native land. Of course, Trackside Treasure will be marking the day! And shortly thereafter, Independence Day!
Meanwhile, south of the border, the January 6th hearings have provided enlightenment as to just what a country is, what democracy is, and how both can disappear very quickly. I am now up to date on my viewing, with the hearings not resuming until July. A little breather for...more evidence to come forward.
Jon Batiste is taking a leave as musical director of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, spending time with his wife Suleika, diagnosed with a recurrence of leukemia. Louis Cato, guitarist, is ably filling in and leading the show's house band, Stay Human . CBS' Jim Axelrod inerviewed Jon for CBS Sunday Morning back in March:
More good photos of elevators in Saskatchewan, Eric. I would not have expected to see that both the Pool and Cargill elevators in Vibank were equipped to load cars on two tracks in 1985.
ReplyDeleteThe header picture of the trio of GMD-1s, along with a caboose, is a nice catch too.
Hi Brian,
ReplyDeleteThe GMD-1 photo is not mine but I sure like it. I saw next to no trains on any elevator line I was photographing.
The elevator revolution was just beginning - the first concrete plants and some two-track loading arrangements. I was probably three years too late to get the last peak of the wooden elevator era. But I was 35 years early to those who seek them now, most privately-owned, decaying and not rail-served.
Thanks for your comment,
Eric