March 1st, 2003
The GEXR was borrowing some CN power and we went to Kitchener-Waterloo to take a look, chasing it back to Guelph and almost catching it leaving the city, out near the airfield.
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
(map) Kitchener-Waterloo is on the the GEXR Guelph sub between Guelph and Stratford. The GEXR Elmira spur heads North to service Elmira and the CP Waterloo sub out of Cambridge joins the GEXR Huron Park spur for interchange traffic here.
video
"9581 CN GEXR", my audio reminder to myself at the end of the clip. GEXR is using CN engine 9581, here seen switching train 432 in Kitchener at around 11am.
Guelph, Ontario
(map) The city of Guelph is my home town and is just East of Kitchener-Waterloo on the GEXR Guelph sub, and the Ontario Southland Railway/Guelph Junction Railway track, the other end of which is at Guelph Junction.
March 9th, 2003
Four of us went to the London/Komoka area to see where CP, CN, and GEXR meet.
video
GEXR 432 comes up from the West through Guelph sporting GEXR's RailAmerica engine. This is the first video with my new camera, a Canon PowerShot S45 and it is 3 minutes in length.
Woodstock, Ontario
(map) The CP Galt and CN Dundas subs meet here, as do highways 401 and 403. It is a busy place.
London, Ontario
(map) The home of EMD, the plant responsible for a lot of the large engines we see on the rails today, London hosts the West end of the GEXR Guelph sub at the CN yard where the CN Dundas sub joins the CN Strathroy and CN Talbot subs, CP's yard, and the CP Windsor and Galt subs.
video
A 57 car long CN freight pulls out of London yards heading Westbound.
Komoka, Ontario
(map) This is where the CP Windsor, CN Strathroy, and CN Chatham subs meet just West of London.
video
AMTK #85 with a P42 races Westbound through Komoka, just West of London where CP and CN tracks meet.
video
Moments after the Amtrak, the lights came on again and this 120 car freight came through Eastbound at the same level crossing.
London, Ontario
(map) The home of EMD, the plant responsible for a lot of the large engines we see on the rails today, London hosts the West end of the GEXR Guelph sub at the CN yard where the CN Dundas sub joins the CN Strathroy and CN Talbot subs, CP's yard, and the CP Windsor and Galt subs.
March 22nd, 2003
This was another another short trip to the Junction.
Guelph Junction, Ontario
(map) Technically Campbellville, Guelph Junction is the junction of the Guelph Junction Railway -- currently serviced by OSR -- the CP Hamilton sub, and the CP Galt sub. It is between Milton and Galt on the CP Galt sub.
video
A short local train switches Guelph Junction. The second unit is not one I recognise, and in the poor lighting all my photos of it are over-exposed. Ultimately, in spite of spending 20 minutes watching this train switch, I got no good shots of the second engine.
March 24th, 2003
A regular trip to Guelph Junction caught a local CP train switching a work train.
video
A train switches Guelph Junction's South service siding on the Galt sub, moving cars back and forth between the Hamilton sub, the Galt sub, and the service siding.
video
A GO train returns from a hard day's work with cab car number 231.
video
An autorack train comes out of Hamilton sub sporting engines 5968, 5431, and 5935. 5431, while bearing the name CP and the number 5431, is painted in Union Pacific yellow and gray. Unusual.
March 26th, 2003
This was another routine trip to the Junction.
video
A short local train with 5 coil cars and second-hand unit CP 4652 comes out of Hamilton sub toward London. It parked there and was still there waiting to get on Galt sub when I left two hours later.
video
I have never felt as miserable as I do about this video. UP cotton belt engine number 1972 was the second unit on this train, along with CP 9554, SOO 6031, and CP 9532, and I blew the video of it so you can't see it. This video is super-short and shows the engine, but the Cotton Belt markings are not visible. In case you've never seen one, they're black with a Union Pacific shield and large white letters stating "Cotton Belt".
March 28th, 2003
Intended as a railfanning trip, no trains came through, so I ended up taking pictures of CN 6167, preserved at the downtown station, and of the surrounding town.
Guelph, Ontario
(map) The city of Guelph is my home town and is just East of Kitchener-Waterloo on the GEXR Guelph sub, and the Ontario Southland Railway/Guelph Junction Railway track, the other end of which is at Guelph Junction.
March 29th, 2003
This was a routine trip to the Bayview Junction area, though we were lucky and caught a foreign unit leading an Automax train up the CP Hamilton sub.
Bayview Junction, Ontario
(map) This is where the CN Oakville, CN Grimsby, and CN Dundas subdivisions meet at a great big wye, beside which is the CP Hamilton sub. This location encompasses CN Bayview Junction, Hamilton West, and Hamilton Junction.
video
A Via train starts its lunchtime trek up Dundas subdivision.
Waterdown, Ontario
(map) This town is at the top of the hill coming out of Hamilton on the CP Hamilton sub.
video
A short local train is just out of sight but loud and clear finishing the long, rough climb up the escarpment out of Hamilton on the CP Hamilton sub.
Burlington West, Ontario
(map) This is between Burlington and Aldershot on the CN Oakville sub, where the CN Halton sub merges in.
video
A Via train rushes through with the Telus engine, but don't blink - it's got clearance for miles.
video
A freight exits the Halton sub (very short clip).
Puslinch, Ontario
(map) This community straddles highway 401 from West of Guelph Junction to Killean on the CP Galt sub.