A COLORFUL G&W OPERATION IN ONTARIO


WALTER PFEFFERLE/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR EXCEPT AS NOTED R


AILWAYS OF ALL KINDS can be excit- ing to chase and learn about, but there’s something about shortline


railroading that has a particular appeal. Maybe it’s the older motive power, the relaxed schedules, or the friendly crews. The smaller railroads offer great oppor- tunities to learn railroading on a person- al basis and get up close with them. One such shortline is the Goderich- Exeter Railway that operates 184 miles (291 km) of track through the farm- lands of southern Ontario. Featuring a 2.5 percent grade as trains climb from the harbor at Goderich, there are some excellent photo opportunities along the line.


GEXR was formed by RailTex in 1992 and was the first shortline in Canada to


28 APRIL 2017 • RAILFAN.COM


be purchased from a Class I railway, in this case Canadian National’s Goderich Subdivision between Stratford and Goderich. In 1998, the railroad expand- ed when it took over operations on CN’s Guelph Subdivision from Silver Junc- tion at Georgetown to London Junction at London, Ont.


The Guelph Subdivision handled around 25,000 carloads of freight in 2008, consisting mainly of automobile parts, chemicals, and grain. Many industries in the area rely on rail shipments, and spur lines access busy industrial parks in Cambridge, Kitchener, and Guelph. A branch to Elmira had once served the the Uniroyal chemical plant, now closed. Elmira is now home to Chemtu- ra, a manufacturer of agricultural seed


treatment products, and the Sulco chem- ical plant. Both are customers of GEXR. RailTex operated GEXR until it was purchased by RailAmerica in 2000. In turn, the RailAmerica group of shortlines was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in 2012. While a few locomotives have been painted in G&W corporate orange, the majority wear a mix of RailAmerica and predecessor paint.


The Goderich Subdivision handles more than 8,000 carloads of freight per year. Much of the traffic on the Goderich Sub is salt from the Sifto Canada mines in Goderich. Several grain elevators along the line provide another source of traffic. GEXR also connects with the facilities at the Port of Goderich on Lake Huron.


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