['HE necessity of hauling grain away from the
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wheatfields to the elevators before the autumn rains came was a problem that faced Canadian farmers for many years. By the old method, gram was put into sacks, stacked, and covered with a tarpaulin while awaiting trucks to carry it away. Annually thousands of bushels rotted, An engineer of the International Harvester Co. then thought of transporting grain in bulk m tankers, and his idea was given a trial. The first experimental outfit had a Peerless-Portland tankerrtrailer, which weighed 9;340 lb .empty. It was hauled by a new Western International tractor fitted with a Continental engine that developed 254 b.h.p. at 2,600 r.p.m. Along the top of the tank for three-quarters of its length was an opening 3 ft. wide. Grain was loaded by an endless bucket-type conveyer, and the aperture was covered by a tight-fitting tarpaulin. Steel covers tended to generate heat in the grain. It was also found that the safety of the outfit depended upon the tankers being fully laden, so that the grain could not shift on sharp bends.
After a 30-day test, in which the unit ran on a 24-hour schedule, stopping only for fuel and lubrication, at which times the drivers were changed, it was decided to put a fleet of such vehicles into immediate operation. Because of the dusty conditions in which the vehicles had to operate, mostly in the open prairies, it was found necessaiy to lubricate the chassis every 24 hours.
This fleet of tankers carried over 1,000,000 bushels of wheat from ground storage to elevators before the autumn rains set in. To do this it had to keep running day and night, and carry maximum legal loads throughout the harvesting season.
The coming of bulk handling required that the grain he hauled from the field as fast as it was harvested and threshed As it was necessary for a high frequency of arrivals at the loading end to be maintained, this made only short hauls practicable. Elevators had to be built at points where each could cover a comparatively small area and make shortrange hauls possible. As many of these elevators could not be put up near the railway track. transport of the grain from them to points of shipment was undertaken by the tankers.