advertisement

---

On Aug. 1, Plains Grain & Agronomy L.L.C. expects to begin operating a new $6.3 million grain terminal in Enderlin, N.D., which will be the 13th Canadian Pacific Railway-served terminal in the state designed to load up to 100 rail cars at a time.


A truck-to-rail transfer facility, the terminal will serve grain elevators in Enderlin, Fingal, Kathryn, Marion and Sheldon, N.D., which comprise Plains Grain & Agronomy.


In 2000, the five elevator companies decided to build the new terminal because they wanted to be served by a mainline railroad and stop more than 60 percent of the grain produced in their areas from being shipped to distant terminals, said Enderlin terminal General Manager Keith Brandt in a prepared statement.


"Aligning ourselves with Canadian Pacific Railway seemed most appropriate," he said. "The No. 1 thing is we can find people to talk to on a one-to-one basis … and they were willing to work with us as much as possible to maintain market share in our area of the state."


In fall 2000, CPR began feasibility studies to expand the terminal from a 50-car shipping station serving just one elevator. The project involved demolishing an old beanery, and relocating two and constructing two tracks.


The former Enderlin terminal shipped about 1,100 cars annually — the new facility is expected to triple that amount after one year and post annual sales of $60 million. The new terminal is designed to enable workers to load 15 rail cars an hour compared with four an hour at the former facility.