A Refreshing Trip

In early February 2024, I went on a road trip to refresh my images of some Manitoba grain elevators. In general I revisit elevators every few years – and the ones closer to Winnipeg, more frequently – but there have been some elevators that I have only seen once. It was time to take some updated photos.

As you can see from the lead image, I took a selfie in front of a few of the elevators that day, and the air temperature was right on the edge of requiring a hat!

This song seemed appropriate to start the journey. Don’t worry, first priority was putting more gas in the tank.

I headed south out of Winnipeg on highway 75, through Morris and down to just north of Letellier, where I turned west on highway 14 toward Winkler and Morden. I paused in Morris to take a few photographs, including this “proof of life” photo showing the semaphore still present along the CP Lariviere subdivision behind a lone ballast car. This semaphore serves no purpose today – and the CN semaphore in Morris also serves no purpose – but it’s very cool to see them still in position.

Passing through Rosenfeld, I took note of a few details. Rosenfeld is where the CP La Riviere sub bends from south to west, while the short CP Gretna subdivision continues south to Altona to serve the sprawling Bunge facility there.

The junction is made with a wye, seen below, facing north from highway 14. Numerous tank cars and faceless gray hoppers are stored in sidings, while a pair of extra-height boxcars are on one leg of the wye, no doubt going to or coming from the Western Harvest bean plant in Morden.

Canadian Pacific’s track ends in Morden, where the Boundary Trail shortline railway assumed ownership of the track to Manitou. I understand the BTRC now runs all the way over CP tracks to here in Rosenfeld to interchange with CP.

Not shown are ten battered grain hoppers and another extra height boxcar on the “main” just west of the wye.

As I was approaching Rosenfeld, I was very surprised to see a Manitoba Pool logo on the end of a Quonset hut. What could be more Manitoban than that?

One thing I really wanted to accomplish was to photograph the grain elevator in Plum Coulee with my drone. I’d photographed that elevator a few times but never with my drone.

When I unpacked my drone and started connecting things up, I quickly realized that the USB cable that connected my phone (with the drone app) to the controller was non functional… and I didn’t have another cable with me. That meant that I could not see what the drone was seeing, so it was impossible to aim the drone accurately.

I decided to give it a shot anyway, so I controlled the drone solely using the controller, and pointed the drone vaguely in the direction of the elevator and pressed the “take a picture” button on the controller a few times. I swiveled the drone a few times and took several photos, hoping that at least one would turn out.

There were certainly a few shots of the side of the elevator, or part of the elevator, but a few did turn out!

I stopped in Morden briefly to photograph their ex UGG, ex Victoria grain elevator, and the track in the area. I noted this rather strange structure near the elevator. The function of the blue elevating leg feeding the big steel bin is obvious enough, but I wonder what the giant arch of steel shipping containers is for.

I also picked up a USB cable at a 7/11!

As I approached Manitou, I saw a sign marking the turnoff south to Kaleida. I had not been in Kaleida since 2014, so it was a no-brainer to take the exit and drive the 10 km or so on an icy gravel road to the town.

I flew my drone here – watching through the app this time – and darn near froze my fingers off as I took my photos. The air temperature wasn’t too bad but the wind was fierce. My fingers grew numb and I ended up hitting the “return to home” button to recall the drone, so I could stuff my hands in my pockets to warm them up.

Returning to the highway, I arrived in Manitou to document the Boundary Trail’s rolling stock and to see the former La Riviere train station, recently relocated from a private museum.

On the east end of town, Northern Plains Rail Services NPR 7278 sat in a siding with a trio of hoppers and ex Delaware & Hudson caboose 35719 built in June 1959.

The ex La Riviere train station is situated near the former Manitoba Pool grain elevator, trackside by the last bit of track that used to go to its former town.

The Boundary Trail’s other locomotive, ex Grand Trunk 4625, has been repainted into a striking green and black scheme. I liked the GT colours but they were getting a bit faded.

From here, I headed north on highway 244 to Rathwell, then east along the CP Glenboro subdivision through Elm Creek to Winnipeg.

I paused briefly at Culross to photograph one of my favourite elevators, this relatively small Paterson elevator. It used to be a brilliant white, but the cleaner apparatus they recently attached to it has turned everything dusty and brown. Progress.