Prairie Sentinels: Bulwark Alberta

Today we look at some remains next to an abandoned railway line and a grain elevator that once stood near this same spot, but long ago moved to a farm down the road. Up next, it’s Prairie Sentinels, Bulwark Alberta edition and let’s see what tidbits of info we can share with you. Spoiler alert: there’s gaps but overall not too many.

The town sprung to life with the arrival of the railway in 1914-1915 (depending on the source). The two structures pictured here and one or two buildings in a very decayed state in the town itself, are all that’s left of this once thriving community. Time marches on.

Bulwark was along a short Canadian Pacific Railway branch coming in the from Coronation and ending at a place called Lorraine, one station stop north of here. The rails just dead-ended there, but that town never really took off and quickly faded into history. Bulwark in essence became the end of operational track till the entire line closed.

The rails were extended further north of Lorraine in the early 1930s, but that section never put into service and only the domain of work trains. Everything north of Bulwark got pulled up in the 1950s and now it’s all but forgotten.

Interestingly, they had plans to build a second line east from Bulwark. While some of the roadbed was graded (ca 1930), and still visible today, but no rails ever laid. This got put in by competitor Canadian National Railways and presumably they’d have used CPR’s track to reach this section. Unless they had grander plans to eventually connected it up with another of their lines in the area, which is hinted at. History books are a bit sketchy on the subject, so we’re left to guessing.

Competitors sharing track is not unheard of, but it’s usually done begrudgingly. Had the CPR section north of Bulwark been put into service it would have connected with the CNR’s Alliance branch in the north and perhaps this the planned outside connection for the isolated line.

Taking all this into consideration, the two railway were definitely up to something and data suggests they had a scheme to share many lines in the area. The railways even built, or built and operated some in anticipation of this, but it never panned out.

While it appears we’ve gotten “off track” with the subject, had these various branches been put into service, Bulwark might have been a different place and with a different outcome. Maybe it would have been bigger, more important and perhaps longer lasting? As it happened, the town pretty much died by the early 1960s, when the railway pulled out. At the peak, up to a hundred people lived here but the total varies depending on the source and some numbers appear suspect.

Prior to the railway, the Bulwark area was know as Lindsville.

We’re in farming county here and in support of this, several grain elevators were put in, down by the tracks. No one seems to have recorded when the first three were built, but it’s safe to assume it happened concurrent with the arrival of the CPR. One more got added in the late 1920s. These buildings belonged to such storied firms as Pioneer Grain, United Grain Growers, National Elevator and the Alberta Wheat Pool (the newest elevator).

There’s a fifth elevator in the area and it’s bit of a mystery, We found no history but it does exist and like the one other elevator mentioned, located at a nearby farm. We didn’t include it here, given there’s so little info about it, but may circle back to it later. Did it come from Bulwark, somewhere else, or purpose built in site?

Again, it appears like no one kept score, and the date all these elevators were dismantled or for the survivors, moved out, is not listed. Presumably (again) this happened when the CPR called it quits.

The Pioneer elevator got moved not far away, to be used for grain or feed storage down on the farm, and still stands today. If you look all squinty-like you mighty just make out the old Pioneer Grain lettering on the exterior.

The driveway has been removed at some point and we’re not sure if it’s even used anymore. Still, it looks straight and square and in better shape than that barn seen in back. Incidentally, frugal farmers would sometimes buy old elevators, move them and use them for storage in some capacity on their property. We know a couple of people personally who did it. Here: Searle Grain and Prairie Sentinels – Woodhouse Alberta – Vandervalk Farm.

Pioneer Grain operates today, as Richardson Pioneer and the only firm of those mentioned still in the game.

The elevator is sheathed in metal panels and sometimes done as a fire mitigation measure. You’ve never seen something burn till you see a wood grain elevator go up in flames. They’re made from so much wood and then add in some grain, and it’s a hell of a combo. Grain dust, by the way, is terribly explosive too and fire always on an elevator operator’s mind.

There’s more remains in town and in the grass one can find some concrete bits that once supported a grain elevator annex (an addition to increase its capacity). There’s also remains of the outhouse/fuel shack, some buckets from the lifting leg and an elevator office/engine house.

The latter is rather interesting and quite a bit taller than others we’ve seen. The usual arrangement saw most built in a lower split level form, the office raised up slightly to match the height the walkway, and the engine room offset at ground level. A large concrete pad marks the location of the drive engine. It had to be kept isolated, again for fire prevention, and powered everything via a long belt.

It’s not know which elevator this office/engine structure was connected with, but it does have similar metal sheathing to the ex-Pioneer elevator seen in this post. Of course, the other elevators here could have been similarly sheathed, so it’s nothing definite. Why it remained behind when everything else here got demolished or moved away is anyone’s guess.

This adventure saw us hanging with noted abandoned-stuff historian Johnnie Bachusky. While the forgotten towns visited this trip could easily qualify as some of the saddest places on earth, being in good company helped brighten the day. This post took a long time to publish (it’s from 2020), but we kept putting it off to do other things, and now look where we are.

Know more (new tab): Wood Grain Elevators Western Canada.

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Related posts…
Prairie Sentinels: Camrose Alberta.
Grain Elevators of DeWinton.
Creston BC Grain Elevators.

If you wish more information on what’s seen here, don’t hesitate to: contact us!

Date of Adventure: May 2020.
Location(s): The Alberta Plains.
Article thanks: Books – In the Bend of the Battle: A History of Alliance and District, Jim Pearson’s Vanishing Sentinels, Shadows of the Neutrals/Open Memory’s Door and Place Names of Alberta Volume III (Central Alberta), plus Johnny Bachusky for hosting us and being just so darn awesome.

Remains down by the former railway line.

The bucket from a lifting leg.

This concrete pad supported the drive engine.

It housed drive machinery and an office.

One elevator got moved to a local farm.

The driveway has been removed.

One of he last vestiges of Bulwark.