Caption: Canadian Wheat Board covered hopper CNWX 100807 sits with two very new CNWX 390000-series "Single Wheat Sheaf" cars on the siding to the Marmill Feeds mill in downtown Markham, opposite the station and CN's Uxbridge Subdivision. Scenes like this hearken to times not too long ago when areas like Markham were rural communities rather than bedroom commuter suburbs of the GTA. Farmers would come into town with their haul of grain to drop off at the local town elevator, that would in turn load it into strings of boxcars or covered hoppers spotted on the siding for transport to domestic market customers or the ports for export.

Today instead of farmers bringing grain downtown, commuters flock in from the neighbourhoods that were once farmer's fields. Marmill Feeds would last into the mid-late 90's before the mill and other buildings on this property were cleared for a housing development and more GO Transit commuter parking. A nearby street bears the name "Marmill Way", hinting at the area's past.

Keith Hansen photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.