Elevator closure

[bucket]

Trying to figure how the governments will ignore this....

Perfectly good facility....good rail ....and it's capacity is going to highway....

If anything the government would be money ahead by getting a new owner and simply the competition bureau shouldn't allowed a monopoly on that spur....

[the big wheel]

Well who handed all this power over to
These companies to do what ever they want in the first place? Rather than make a scene over licence plates for people
That are fixing the roads how about do things somthe roads don't need as much fixing? Where is our ag people?

[malleefarmer]

Tad confused nothing unusual, who owns the elevator?

In NSW graincorp has sold old inefficient elevators to farmers or groups of farmers.

Glencore/vitterra here in SA will do no such thing would rather them rot than sell to farmers or other compeitiors

[bucket]

Mallee

Bingo.....

[Rareearth]

Looking at this from a different angle.

If there were open running rights on rail lines ....

What would the country grain delivery system look like?

Would there be more or fewer grain delivery points?

Would there be more or fewer grain companies?

Would there be a more diverse cropping mix? Or livestock or manufacturing or mining ?

The railways have striped out most of the inefficiencies and easy profit with technology. Apperantly there are excess cars and locomotives sitting in the USA, all over the place. To continue they won’t pay for extra revenue back to grains research they will focus on high value consumer goods, oil, etc

What if the rail companies maintain all main lines as they do now but all other lines are deregulated, or open rights?

Can Grain move in hyper loops? They are going to start building these but will focus on high value consumer goods and people movement first. Maybe investment in these areas is best vs outdated rail? I don’t think the problem is just rail, but the consolidation of western Canadian agriculture in general.

Will block chain change this, yes if we can ship direct! Fast, easy, win - win (farmer - manufacturer- consumer) we are still Commodity though 9000 bu of barley will make 2 million bottles of beer. So back to how do we compete with Russia, China, and Argentina? Technology isn’t our competitive advantage it’s leveling the commodity field faster and faster, ie John Deere big data.

My thoughts are all over the place, can’t worry about what or how others countries are out competing us. We must control what we can control here at home, do what’s in the best interest of the country, province, agriculture... big problems, .... bigger money... big opportunity.

One more, if a company has a billion dollars to spend or invest and they are involved in agricul5ure logistics were would it get invested? If it was spent here in Canada, with our extreme (cost to build infrastructure) what would it reduce our cost to move a bushel to port, probably a few cents per bushel. It it was invested in Brazil, Argentina, it might return a dollar per bushel in reduced cost. That’s part of the problem, return on investment. Every major is trying to help build railways in Brazil.

[farmaholic]

This is the way I see it: I think the consolidation pendulum is "being allowed" to swing too far.

There is no doubt that a bit of old light rail or "old" wooden elevator abandonment probably wasn't the end of the world. But when half decent facilities on serviced, or serviceABLE, rail lines get mothballed or demolished.... is where the line is being crossed. And as I've said, if the present owning company doesn't want to operate them, then they should have to be sold to another company that is willing to operate them.
I remember some of the facilities being operated in the northern tier States, geezus... about the same as some of the facilities that are being closed in Canada, so why can't we keep using ours?

Things are still changing, one of our local terminals in slated for expansion with plans of a loop track system replacing their 3 track(or what ever it is) siding. So instead of shuttling strings of cars on and off the loading track the train stays connected as a unit and I think the pulling power even stays there and terminal staff learn how to move the train as it's being filled. There was also a push to expand terminal storage capacity after the CWB was dismantled, two terminals in our area already added extra storage capacity.

I also think the "24 hour" loading time needs to change, or maybe incentivized for facilities that are capable of doing it but definitely not penalizing facilities that don't have the ability. By that I mean keeping it the way it is for those who can do it and not penalizing those who can't but are still required to load the train within a reasonable amount of time based on what the facility is capable of. It must be frustrating for a Inland Terminal to be given a deadline to load within 24 hours and see the cars sit on their sidings for afew days after they finished.

How much "grain trailer chute to grain car lid" loading should the industry rely on? aka...not having all the product in store and rely on farmer deliveries to load a train? As a Producer, what's my "incentive"?

[bucket]

The weird thing about Eyebrow is 112 cars have to go by it regularly to service Gardiner Dam Terminal which is at the end of the branch line.


If viterra or a short line operated the branch line rail to moose jaw ....CP could have their trains made coming into moose jaw....

Sadly viterra owns a share in GDT... and thinks it makes sense to drive north 40 miles beside the rail line to be loaded on a car and come back right past a point closer from many producers farms

And the highway and rail line are only 100 feet away. ...

There is a lake in the way around here.


I think rail logistics need an updating and with technology there is no reason not to have open running rights....

Otherwise Trudeau should set in motion an infrastructure plan to build a modern railway...


Youngest nation on this planet and have torn out more infrastructure than centuries old nations could only hope for....

And the worst part is it is the most efficient infrastructure we are destroying...

A 10000 tonne elevator was a giant in the 90s now it's treated worse than a wooden....all it needs is an upgrade that the owners knew about 20 years ago...

Cans and a rail spot are part of new builds .....

[Tandem007]

Farmaholic - where’s that expansion happening? Seems like a major undertaking...All I’m saying is SURPRISING!

[farmaholic]

Farmaholic - where’s that expansion happening? Seems like a major undertaking...All I’m saying is SURPRISING!

One of the facilities east of Regina on the CP mainline. That is what the plant manager told me was planned. Loop track and storage expansion.

[bucket]

Saskatoon to Macklin had two new builds going on....there might have been a third but wasn't paying attention...

[Tandem007]

One of the facilities east of Regina on the CP mainline. That is what the plant manager told me was planned. Loop track and storage expansion.

Buffalo Plains or Grenfell I assume?

[farmaholic]

Buffalo Plains or Grenfell I assume?

Yup, you got the company right, its the Buffalo Plains facility. I hope it happens. With the overpass at the #46 & #1 & the Range Road(#----?) we would be hauling on, crossing there will be a breeze compared to the past.