Is there a grain elevator in south Saskatchewan with its own short section of electrified railway?

I know it sounds unlikely because you couldn't run overhead wires right under the elevator where covered hoppers are loaded

 Actually, you can. Take a look at this locomotive:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/w...penrode_06.09.06.jpg

 The extra pantographs are for when it's running under an overhead loader for iron ore or coal IIRC

They might also be safety lines for workers to clip onto while working atop the cars. The catenary-style arrangement may simply allow such workers the flexibility to move from car to car.

Was this east or west of the trestle? I plugged in "Lethbridge" into Google Maps and got "Lethbridge, AB, Canada", which would be Alberta. I also spotted the trestle (via it's shadow on the valley) Perhaps you could locate the facility on Google maps?

---PCJ

Thanks guys, that's good information. The idea of safety lines for people working on top of the covered hoppers sounds very logical.

After I made the post I got to thinking, how do electrified coal or ore hauling railroads go through the loader? And Michiel's link shows relevant explanatory info.

On that trip we spent nights at Lethbridge Alberta and Brandon Manitoba. I saw that grain elevator a few hours east of Lethbridge. Maybe I can figure out the location from Google maps, maybe even find a photo of the elevator. The tracks were north of the highway and the grain elevators were north of the tracks, not close to any significant community as I recall.

At the time I had the notion that they might have an electric loco just to switch the grain elevators, but RailRide's suggestion of safety lines sounds more likely.

Yes, they are safety lines.  I see them at pretty well every grain elevator here in North Dakota.  The workers wear a harness and are hooked up with a carabiner to a cable long enough to allow them to work.  The cable is attached to the overhead, either with another carabiner or a trolley, to allow them to walk from one end of a cut of cars to another, opening the hatches before loading and closing and sealing them after.  If they slip off the car, it's only a foot or so before it snaps tight.  Much better than a 15'+ drop to the ground!