ABOVE: GEXR 3030 and 2303 lead a train of covered hoppers loaded up with salt out across the fields outside of Seaforth on May 14, 2015.
River, with a population of around 8,000. Besides salt mining, the harbor is a busy place and is owned by Goderich Port Management Corp. It is an industrial harbor used primarily to load salt for lake and ocean freighters. The Sifto Salt mine provides most of the carloads here. GEXR also services Goderich Eleva- tors, Ltd., and a transloading facility in Goderich Monday through Friday. Clinton, Mile 33.1: Our first stop is
about 12 miles east of Goderich. Clinton is known as Canada’s home of radar tech- nology and has a huge radar antenna in the downtown core due to its association with the RCAF Station Clinton during World War II. The “School on Wheels,” a former Canadian National classroom car that visited remote northern communi- ties, is also on permanent display. Seaforth, Mile 24.8: Another nine
miles down the line is Seaforth, a town of 2,400. Seaforth’s Main Street is a Provincially Designated Heritage District and one of the finest examples of 19th century streetscapes in the prov- ince. Seaforth Elevator & Expediting and D.L. Smith Packaging, Ltd., are the primary customers. Mitchell, Mile 13.2: Mitchell is a community in the municipality of West Perth, part of Perth County. It is located at the intersection of Highways 8 and 23, 12 miles (20 km) northwest of Stratford, and 36 miles (60 km) north of London. The main customer here is Feltz Grains, located off Georgina Street. Stratford, Mile 0.1: Also known as Cowie Junction, the line connects to the
30 APRIL 2017 •
RAILFAN.COM
GODERICH
Goderich-Exeter’s West End
Illustration by Otto M. Vondrak. Not all lines and stations shown. Not an official map. ©2017 White River Productions
Goderich Sub
Brucefield
Kippen Hensall
MILES KM
0 0
5 5 10 15
to Kitchener, Guelph and Toronto
10
Exeter Centralia
Exeter Sub
St. Marys
GEXR/VIA CN
St. Pauls
Lucan Crossing
Kellys
CN - Canadian National CP - Canadian Pacific GEXR - Goderich-Exeter Railway VIA - VIA Rail Canada
Thorndale Wyton
Ettrick Fairfield CN/VIA LONDON Komoka Westminster
CN Guelph Subdivision, which is leased by GEXR. Stratford is the base of oper- ation for GEXR and all trains originate from here. The railroad has an office and crew quarters here in the Stratford station, which is also served by VIA Rail.
The city is home to the world-famous Stratford Festival which attracts thou- sands each year to the area. The rail- road maintains a large freight yard here as well. The primary customer is Central Ontario Transfer.
Holmesville Clinton
Seaforth
St. Columban Dundee
Mitchell
Sebringville
STRATFORD CN/VIA Tavistock
GEXR CN
CN
CN
CN
L
GEXR CN
A K
CN
GEXR/VIA CN
CP
H
GEXR/VIA CN
CP
E
U R O
N
CN
CP
CN/VIA
CN
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