Short line a go despite flood, elevator closures

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Published: August 17, 2000

Gary Wicentowich could be forgiven for wondering what could possibly happen next.

He’s the general manager of Great Western Railway, the newly formed company that’s taking over more than 500 kilometres of track in southwestern Saskatchewan from CP Rail.

But his first five weeks on the job haven’t exactly gone as planned.

“There have been a few surprises,” he laughed resignedly, during an interview last week.

First, a torrential rain storm in early July washed out several km of track around Vanguard, Sask., halting rail traffic for an indefinite period, creating some minor legal headaches and delaying the official transfer of the line by more than a month to Sept. 7.

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Then, in an early August meeting with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, he learned the company would close its 18 elevators on the line by the end of January 2001.

That will leave just six elevators on the track, three owned by Pioneer Grain, two by N. M. Paterson & Sons and one by United Grain Growers.

Wicentowich said that while he knew the pool was planning to abandon most of its facilities, he had thought three or four would remain in business for a while yet.

“It came as a surprise,” he said. “In May we were led to believe they would still be in operation for at least a couple of years and give us time to sort things out.”

Pool vice-president Gary Wellbrock said it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the company is closing all of its elevators, although he did acknowledge some of the closure dates have been pushed up a few months.

He said the pool had made it clear that it would shut down its facilities in the area as it opened new high volume elevators on CP’s main line that runs along the Trans-Canada Highway to the north.

“We’re following through on that business plan and everyone was informed,” he said.

Wicentowich said GWR’s original business plan has been thrown out the window, but the company won’t be derailed by obstacles in its path.

“We’re still here and we’re still trying to make this thing go,” he said. “We always planned to give it a real good shot for one year and then assess the situation.”

He said the pool’s withdrawal doesn’t spell disaster for the fledgling short line.

Some producers are talking to the pool about buying the abandoned elevators, either as individuals or in groups, and using them to load and ship producer cars. He’s also hopeful the other six commercial elevators on the line will remain open.

“We know the grain is there and we don’t think everybody is going to be hauling up to the high throughput terminals on the main corridor,” he said. “So maybe the local producers and the other companies can pick up some extra grain. That’s what we’re hoping.”

The company is holding town hall meetings to tell producers about its plans and find out what they intend to do with their grain.

“We don’t have a lot of time for people to get organized and tell us what their plans are, and that’s what these public meetings are all about,” said Wicentowich.

Ray Desautels, who farms at Dollard, Sask., has submitted a bid on the local pool elevator, although he’s waiting to see what conditions the pool might put on its use before going ahead with the purchase.

If there are too many restrictions on the sale, such as shipping producer cars, he won’t go ahead with the deal.

Desautels said it will be a challenge to ship 3,600 producer cars off the line, which is the amount of traffic GWR says it needs to make a go of it. But he feels better about the line’s future now than he has in a long time.

“I’m pretty optimistic about it, but it will be up to producers now to use it or lose it,” he said.

Wellbrock confirmed that the pool is talking with local buyers about selling some its elevators, but declined to say more, citing issues of commercial confidentiality.

He thinks farmers in the area have already embraced the changes in the area, with many bypassing the local elevators to deliver to big concrete facilities at places like Swift Current or Assiniboia.

“The competition is very intense at those locations,” he said. “It’s just a better deal for them.”

About the author

Adrian Ewins

Saskatoon newsroom

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