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Craddock's fertilizer elevator was originally built 10 miles down the road during the Great Depression. In it's hay day, it could store about 1,000 tonnes of grain. During the 30's, 40's and 50's, many hundreds of these elevators were built. They literally dotted the prairies. Many are still in use, but compared to newer elevators they are obsolete. To the great alarm of some people, half of these elevators have been torn down and the remainder are going fast. It's a 'no brainer' for businesses to tear them down when considering the cost of maintaining an unused elevator coupled with the liability issues of someone breaking in and getting hurt. In 1984 Agricore United needed a fertilizer mixing plant in the Craddock area. This elevator was rescued from the bulldozer and at the cost of about $100,000, it was moved up the road to this location. (Incidently, I understand you can buy an elevator just like this one for only a dollar. Moving it is the trick!) This elevator no longer has a truck scale, pit or office. It's hopper has also been replaced with a mixer but in most other ways it still maintains it's original, unique characteristics. Replacing the receiving pit is a portable conveyor belt which throws the fertilizer into the leg. (To learn about some of these terms, see the Craddock Barley Elevator page and follow the Inner Workings Of A Country Elevator link.) The thing I find most interesting about these two elevators at Craddock are their similarities. The basic components remain the same. Both the 1930's fertilizer elevator and the barley malt elevator, built in 1982, have truck scales, pits, at least one leg, gerbers, wooden bins, garners and hoppers. Yes, the 1982 grain elevator's capacity and speed at moving grain is much greater. But the components they each use to get the job done are identical in their operation although the technology has vastly improved. As an example, take the automobile. Seventy-five years ago cars had four tires, an engine with pistons going up and down coupled to a transmission with drive shafts turning the wheels. Today's cars have the same basic components although the technology has vastly improved. So it is with the grain elevator. |