 The silos were located south of Queens Quay on Maple Leaf Quay, between the Peter Street and Rees Street slips.Before construction of the fourth Welland Canal, prairie grain was shipped to lakeports such as Collingwood or Midland, transferred to rail car, and delivered to Toronto - a laborious process.Gordon C. Leitch realized when the canal opened, he would be able to ship grain directly to the Toronto waterfront at considerable efficiency.