The Goderich–Exeter Railway ( reporting mark GEXR ) is a short line freight railway that operates around 70 miles (110 km) of track in Southwestern Ontario , Canada. Created in 1992, it was the first short line railway in Canada to be purchased from a class I railway , in this case Canadian National Railway (CN). It took over operation of further CN trackage in 1998. As of 2004, the railway had 44 employees. Its headquarters are in Stratford, Ontario , and owned by short-line railroad holding company Genesee & Wyoming .
15-418: The Goderich–Exeter Railway was created in 1992 by its owner, RailTex (subsequently purchased by RailAmerica in 2000, and Genesee & Wyoming in late 2012), to operate over Canadian National Railway 's Goderich Subdivision, 46 miles (74 km) of track between Stratford and Goderich, Ontario ; and its Exeter Subdivision, 24 miles (39 km) of track between Centralia, Ontario and Clinton Jct. that
30-827: A Southern Pacific train-crew brakeman in 1965 and rose to superintendent of Southern Pacific's San Antonio Division until he became deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration in 1975. Seeking to broaden the revenue base, he purchased the San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad . Operating the railroad the company quickly developed a formula for a series of successful takeovers, including: In 1986 it acquired its second short line, Austin & Northwestern Railroad .In 1989 it sold its rail car business to Chrysler . By 1991 it operated 1,500 miles of track in 12 states with 60 locomotives. RailTex went public in 1993 trading on Nasdaq under
45-699: A Volvo Motor Graders plant in Goderich (closed 2010). It also connects with the port facility at the Port of Goderich . As of 29 August 2020, GEXR operates on the Guelph Junction Railway . The Goderich–Exeter Railway interchanges with CN in Stratford yard. As of 2017, the railway owned 13 locomotives , which were acquired used. Its first four locomotives, purchased between 1992 and 1994, were given names of Shakespearean characters (#177
60-629: A 21-year lease to GEXR, CN took over GEXR's yards and the Guelph Subdivision on Nov. 15, 2018. Metrolinx assumed ownership and responsibility for the Guelph Sub from Georgetown to Kitchener. However, GEXR still runs on the Goderich and Exeter Sub. RailTex RailTex was a transportation holding company that specialized in owning and operating short line railroads across North America . Based in San Antonio , Texas ,
75-416: A Class III is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $ 28 million. In Canada , Transport Canada classifies shortline railroads as Class II . There are three kinds of shortlines in the U.S.: handling, switch, and ISS (Interline Settlement System). It was reported in 2009 that shortline railroads employ 20,000 people in the U.S., and own 30 percent of the nation's railroad tracks. About
90-440: A quarter of all U.S. rail freight travels at least a small part of its journey over a short-line railroad. An ever-growing number of shortline operators have been acquired by larger holding companies which own or lease railroad properties in many states, as well as internationally. For example, Genesee & Wyoming controls over 100 railroads in over 40 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. A consequence of such consolidation
105-502: A result of changes to Ontario labour law which made the acquisition uneconomic. On February 1, 2021, train 581 ran away down the hill in Goderich, Ontario . They hit a pickup truck, semi truck and a shed. Some cars and the locomotives derailed as a result. The railway handles around 25,000 carloads of freight annually, consisting mainly of automobile parts, salt and fertilizer , wheat , grains , soy meal and rice . From Stratford
120-951: The Class III or Class II categorization defined by the Surface Transportation Board . At the beginning of the railroad age, nearly all railway lines were shortlines, locally chartered, financed and operated; as the railroad industry matured, local lines were merged or acquired to create longer mainline railroads. Especially since 1980 in the U.S. and 1990 in Canada, many shortlines have been established when larger railroad companies sold off or abandoned low-profit portions of their trackage. Shortline operators typically have lower labor, overhead and regulatory costs than Class I railroads and therefore are often able to operate profitable lines that lost money for their original owners. Shortlines generally exist for one or more of
135-460: The following reasons: In France, the equivalent of shortlines railroads are the opérateurs ferroviaires de proximité (local railways operators). Because of their small size and generally low revenues, the great majority of shortline railroads in the U.S. are classified by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) as Class III . As defined by the Surface Transportation Board (STB),
150-542: The line serves the east west corridor of Huron and Perth Counties serving Mitchell, Dublin, Seaforth, Clinton, and Goderich. There is also a spur line running south from Clinton, serving, Brucefield, Hensall, Exeter, and Centralia. Traffic on the Goderich Subdivision mainly consists of agricultural products and salt from the Sifto Canada salt mines in Goderich, and construction equipment produced by
165-512: The public company was a leader in making unprofitable lines shed by Class I railroads into viable transportation routes. The company was taken over by RailAmerica in February 2000. RailTex was founded in December 1977 by Bruce Flohr as a business that leased rail cars. Flohr had invested $ 50,000 of his own money and had investor help for another $ 50,000 from investors. Flohr had started as
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#1732791969667180-592: The sign RTEX. In 1996, RailTex was part of a consortium with Companhia Vale do Rio Doce that was awarded a concession to operate the 4,400-mile Center Eastern Network in Brazil . Later the same year, in a consortium with GP Investments it won a further concession to operate the Southern Network. The Brazilian interests were sold in 1999. In February 2000, the company was taken over by RailAmerica . It had 26 railroads over approximately 4,100 route miles in
195-532: The southeastern, midwestern and New England regions of the United States, as well as Eastern Canada and Mexico. Short-line railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are categorized by operating revenue, and most shortline railroads fall into
210-534: Was acquired from CN. The railway started operation on April 3, 1992. On November 15, 1998, the Goderich–Exeter Railway took over operation of CN's Guelph Subdivision, which runs over 89 miles (143 km) between Silver Junction (in Georgetown ) and London, Ontario . The railway had expressed an interest in acquiring the former CN branchline from Stratford to Owen Sound , but was unable to do so as
225-1119: Was named " Titania ", #178 " Paulina ", #179 " Portia ", and #180 " Falstaff "), as Stratford is the home of the Canadian Shakespearean Festival . Units 178, 179, and 180 have since been sold to other railways. GEXR was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in 2012. The railway also leases a few locomotives. All of its locomotives were made by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and include EMD GP38s , EMD GP35s , EMD GP40s , and EMD SD40-2s . As of March 2017, some of its locomotives are owned by subsidiaries of Genesee & Wyoming . List of GEXR's active units (as of July 2019) EMD GP40 4095, built in May-1966 Nee SOR 4095 Nee Canadian National 4004 EMD GP38-3 2073, rebuilt April 2017 Nee GEXR 3821 EMD GP38-2 2117, built in Dec-1972 Nee RLHH 2117 EMD GP35 2500, built in March 1965 Nee QRGY 2500 After
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