A Manitoba Grain Elevator Tour – Beulah to Elva

This is post 2 in a series. Start at part 1!

I was on a mission to revisit some of Manitoba’s western grain elevators, and fly my drone over some of them. In part 1 I visited several elevators in the morning, and we resume the story after leaving Beulah.

The plan, part 2
The plan, part 2. Green cells indicate elevators I wanted to fly my drone over.

After the downpour at Beulah, I broke out of the thunderstorm near Miniota and carried on south toward my next destination, Reston.

Since I hadn’t spent much time at Birtle or Beulah, I was ahead of schedule. I decided to take a little detour before continuing on to Reston.

Harmsworth

Harmsworth grain elevator, August 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.
Harmsworth grain elevator, August 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.

I flew my drone from a grid road and took a few photos of the beautiful old grain elevator at Harmsworth. I didn’t take many, as I didn’t want to linger too long and get behind in my schedule.

Former Lake of the Woods Milling Company elevator at Harmsworth, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.
Former Lake of the Woods Milling Company elevator at Harmsworth, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.

I carried on into Virden. I paused there to grab lunch at the A&W, then drove down highway 83 to Pipestone, then west on highway 2 to Reston. If I had planned my route a little better, I could have driven by Cromer to photograph that elevator again.

Reston

Reston, MB grain elevator, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.
Reston, MB grain elevator, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.

The Reston grain elevator appears unchanged from when I visited it in 2014. However, the railway tracks are gone now, as CP abandoned the track through here into Saskatchewan.

I didn’t fly my drone here, as the elevator is in the middle of town.

After photographing the elevator and the nearby CP roundhouse, I drove on to the next grain elevator.

Sinclair

Aerial view of the Sinclair, MB grain elevator, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.
Aerial view of the Sinclair, MB grain elevator, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.

The small town of Sinclair is a nice spot. I remember stopping at the general store back in 2014 and chatting with the owner. Sadly, that store is closed now.

The elevator is still there, fortunately. I put my drone up and took a few photos of it and the abandoned railway roadbed. It was quite windy here, and in fact it was windy for the remainder of the day. My drone kept warning me about high winds, so I was pretty cautious about how long I flew it and how high it flew.

I was really looking forward to the next town…

Tilston

The grain elevators in Tilston, Manitoba, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.
The grain elevators in Tilston, Manitoba, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.

I really like the town of Tilston, Manitoba. It’s not quite a ghost town, as people do live here, but the majority of the town seems to be abandoned and it has some interesting houses and buildings.

Abandoned (and stripped) house, Tilston, MB.
Abandoned (and stripped) house, Tilston, MB.

I especially love the two Tilston grain elevators. One is clearly a former Manitoba Pool elevator, complete with the big roundel on the side. The other is lettered FIVE ROSES FLOUR, a brand of the original builder, the Lake of the Woods Milling Company.

The wind was still quite strong, but I flew my drone around a bit to record some photos and a little video.

Eventually, it was time to move on.

Napinka

Former Ogilvie Flour grain elevator in Napinka, MB, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.
Former Ogilvie Flour grain elevator in Napinka, MB, Aug 2019. Contributed by Steve Boyko.

It was very windy at Napinka. I did fly my drone there, but I had to be careful to launch it upwind of the elevator and be aware that it was going to drift downwind somewhat.

The former Manitoba Pool grain elevator in Napinka, MB, Aug 2019.
The former Manitoba Pool grain elevator in Napinka, MB, Aug 2019.

I love that former Ogilvie Flour grain elevator. This was the Manitoba Pool “B” elevator until its retirement.

Grain elevators at Napinka, MB.
Grain elevators at Napinka, MB.

Napinka has a lot of interesting houses and other buildings. I spent a few minutes documenting those, then it was off to Elva.

Melita

Grain elevators in Melita, MB
Grain elevators in Melita, MB

I had to pass through Melita on my way to Elva, so I took the opportunity to fuel up my Civic, and take a quick photo of the two elevators there. Melita has an ex Pool and an ex UGG elevator.

Elva

The grain elevators in Elva, Manitoba
The grain elevators in Elva, Manitoba

The town of Elva, Manitoba has the oldest grain elevator in the Prairies. The former Lake of the Woods elevator was built sometime in the 1890s and is now the oldest remaining elevator, after the destruction of the Fleming elevator by arson.

Aerial view of Elva's grain elevators
Aerial view of Elva’s grain elevators

Elva is a quiet little town, with several occupied houses, and two elevators. It’s one of my favourite places to visit in Manitoba.

It was still quite windy, so I didn’t fly my drone too high or too far away.

Beyond the Lake of the Woods elevator is a former UGG elevator that is not in good shape. The elevator has had holes in the side of the elevator for years, and these are slowly growing.

The deteriorating ex UGG elevator in Elva, Manitoba
The deteriorating ex UGG elevator in Elva, Manitoba

It started to rain while I was in Elva, so I landed my drone quickly and took shelter in my car. It rained hard but not for very long. I took a few more photos then continued on. There were plenty of elevators left to see that day.

Onwards

In my next post, I will share the other elevators I saw on that day: Cameron, Coulter, Dalny, Waskada, Goodlands, Deloraine, Holmfield and Cartwright.

READ ON!