Grain Elevator History: Train Tracks and Flattend Coins

INTRODUCTION

We are fascinated by grain elevators. We are struck by their beauty. The colourful landmarks are the subject of paintings, photographs, and pictorial books. The hamlets, villages and towns were defined, in part, by their elevators. We searched for them on the horizon as we drove to each community. The names of the community were clearly visible on the sides of the elevator. They were a distant sign that we were close to home. More than that, grain elevators are part of our own experiences of Canadian culture.

The rise of the country elevator was a strong icon for the strength of rural life in Canada and their destruction a symbol for its weakening. In 1934, the number of grain elevators in Alberta peaked at 1,781. Today there are less then 130 standing and few used by the grain trade. Those left are run down.

We are also telling the inside and hidden histories of the grain elevator through first hand accounts. We invite people to tell us their stories by e-mail. The stories submitted appear in the personal experience page.

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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Train Tracks and Flattend Coins

Canadian youth would sometimes put items on the train track to be flattened by the passing train. Coins and nails were the favourite. Sometimes the train vibration would knock them off unchanged, and often the wheels would flip them yards from where they were placed. A marker would be selected of their location and then a search for them would happen after the train passed Copper pennies were flattened to twice their size. These were treasures for a young Canadian youth.