Images: These pictures are not censored for quality. What one person considers a bad or useless picture may be exactly what someone else is looking for. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Videos: These videos are very big, which is why railfanning videos are so rare on line. As long as Windows Media Player says "Connecting" it is working, even it if appears to be taking a very long time. It says "Connecting" until it has finished downloading the video. Please be patient. If you are unable to play these videos with Windows Media player, a problem which exists with some versions of Media Player and (sometimes) with Internet Explorer versions lower than 6, I strongly recommend the use of Quicktime if it is available. If you are using Linux, mplayer needs to be told that the videos have a bit depth of 16 (-bpp 16) to work.
Filenames refer to location, date (dd.mm.yy), and camera-assigned four digit id number.
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.
Top photos and videos from Guelph, Ontario
| Guelph, Ontario | |
| April 29, 2015 | In Guelph for the nomination meeting, I took a few minutes to go shopping in nearby Kitchener and found 432 working in the yard. Returning to Guelph, we found 580 waiting on the Goderich sub to get past a work block. |
| June 15, 2010 | With only a few days left before I moved out of Guelph, CN 6167 was finally moved across the tracks to its new home as part of the city's new Transit Hub. I was only able to watch a few minutes of the progress. |
| May 29, 2010 | The evening of the 28th, Mischa and I went to Guelph station to watch GEXR 432. Months after the arrival of GSCX 7362 and 7369 from the NECR, I still had not seen them running. True to form, the unusual happened right in front of me. We decided to watch the train from the east edge of the Walker Building parking lot at the west end of the Guelph viaduct. Right in front of us, about 6000 feet back, we heard a pop and saw the hosebag separate between two cars. Moments later, 432 was stopped in emergency and, being the good foaming samaratins we are, we took off to try and find the head end to alert them to the reason for their emergency brake application. After rendering the crew assistance in moving around the two kilometre long train to repair it, 432 set off for Toronto with 3 cars jettisoned in the out-of-service Guelph siding. The next day, I shot a very short X432 lifting the cars which were repaired over night after stopping at the farmers' market for my week's vegetables. |
| November 16, 2009 | I was downtown at the right place at the right time for OSR heading southbound with three rockets by the River Run Centre, and then caught GEXR 431 with 2 CN units at last light at the station before going home for the day. |
| November 08, 2009 | I went flying over lunch hour and saw the Guelph Junction Express, then later went back out for GEXR X431 with the recently arrived FEC unit at the Alma St crossing. |
| September 03, 2009 | I received a scramble for an EMD extra coming into Guelph with assorted export units and got it just after sunset at Guelph station along with Steve, Chris, Bill, and Trevor. The train had: HLCX 6091-HLCX 6522-EMDX 11002-Veolia Transport (France) 077501-077502-077503-Egyptian Railways 2157-AAST2-2161-2159-2154-2150-2151-2155-2152-2158-2160-2162-2156-2149-2153-2163-EMDX 11001. |
| May 24, 2009 | Steve picked me up and we went to Galt to see what we could find in an hour. We caught an eastbound, fruitlessly chased Hagey job, and found some MoW equipment working a tie replacement program at the Highway 24 crossing on the Fergus sub. |
| May 11, 2009 | Returning home from New Hampshire we stopped for the night in Henrietta, NY. In the morning we chased the LAL from the RGVRRM museum back into Henrietta, then went back to the museum to pick up my sunglasses which I realised in Henrietta I had left on the trunk.... they were present, on the road, and had miraculously not been run over. From there we went over to R&S' tracks, found them shiny but with no indication as to where or how far away a train was, and pushed on to Brockport on the Falls Road, which we followed fruitlessly back to Lockport where we found a CSX local leaving. From there we went to Depew, missed 3 as we approached, and caught 377 and 63. Back in Canada a few minutes later we caught CP 254 at Guelph Junction and watched VIA 87 while our pizza was baked at a nearby pizzeria. |
| April 25, 2009 | The Guelph Historical Railway Association put on a rare miles tour with the Guelph Junction Express, runnint into the industrial tracks in Guelph and doing two photo runbys. I volunteered on the train and took a few photos and some short video clips while not otherwise occupied using my wife's point-and-shoot camera rather than the bulky SLR I normally use. |
| April 16, 2009 | On my way back from errands I ran across OSR at Woolwich/Speedvale heading north, so turned to follow them and shot them (video only) crossing Woodlawn, then chased 580 back down to Alma St./CN Guelph Junction and went home. |
| February 22, 2009 | We heard about an EMD move of Egyptian Class 66s and went to Guelph station for them. We got the GJE leaving southbound and then began the waiting game. After several hours, we received word that the train was stopped in Stratford and went home, and immediately got word it had left. Trevor and I headed up to Breslau to get it and then chased it back to Guelph before calling it a day. |
| January 24, 2009 | Steve called me to let me know that 580 had just left Cambridge with a dimensional. I took off down highway 24 and saw it crossing ahead of me at the crossing. I went back for it at Wellington Rd 32, and then waited for the light there to change. It never did, and after several minutes I turned south on highway 24 and turned around, going to CN Guelph Junction for it coming off the Fergus sub and heading west on the Guelph. |
| October 22, 2008 | Needing a poutine fix, I headed to Pierre's Poutine on Macdonnell, easily the best poutine west of the Quebec border, and then went over to Guelph station for GEXR #432. While we were waiting for it to come through Guelph, OSR indicated on the radio that the Guelph Junction Express was coming to a stop at the River Run. A few minutes later, 432 went through the station and the GJE arrived, and I missed a chance to shoot them together on/under the viaduct. I then chased the GJE back to Victoria Rd on its way home. |
| October 19, 2008 | I went to Alma to shoot GEXR #580 heading up the Guelph North Spur with 3 cars for Traxxside (formerly Bio-pro), went off on an errand, and caught them leaving town light power. |
| September 07, 2008 | With our by-election in Guelph cancelled by a Prime Minister who can't keep his word on anything one day before voting day in favour of a general election, I took off to London to chase an EMD extra with 17 JT42CWR locomotives bound for France and Germany. |
| August 21, 2008 | Guelph's new tourist train's first test run was sponsored by Sleeman and ran south from the River Run Centre with a number of VIPs. I took a few minutes to shoot it, the first passenger train this century on the Guelph Junction Railway, passing under the Goderich-Exeter viaduct over the river, then waited a few minutes for OSR 182 with one plastics car and VIA 85 to pass. Had 85 been running on schedule, I would have shot it in the same frame as OSR 182 -- the holy grail of Guelph railfanning. |
| August 04, 2008 August 08, 2004 | In Guelph, the August long weekend is now known as John Galt Day. These are shots taken by me and my wife of the move of the handcars GHRA ran, borrowed from the historical railway group in Palmerston, and then only by my wife of the festivities -- and of course of VIA #85 crossing the viaduct. |
| June 30, 2008 | Using information from the fine folks at the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, we returned to Sodus first thing in the morning and asked at Ontario Midland's office what the itinerary was for the day. We found the northbound OMID outside Newark as it departed the interchange at about 10:30 and then took off to Avon to find the Livonia, Avon, and Lakeville where we expected to find them switching. They had already taken off and so we headed back to Henrietta to find them and some lunch at MacGregor's, whose parking lot backs on to the LAL-CSX connecting track. After CSX Q377 and Q393 passed, the LAL came back southbound, and we headed back to Avon to get them returning to town, the tracks being too fast to chase. From there we headed home, catching CP #426 and #155 near Guelph Junction and GEXR #432 at Wellington Rd 29 back in Guelph. A perfect end to a perfect trip. |
| February 23, 2008 | In the morning, we got GEXR X432, 6 units light power on the way to Toronto from the farmers' market. In the afternoon we caught it coming back as a potash unit train on our way to the airfield for me to do a checkout flight in C-GQRA. While my instructor and I flew around, Laura sat in the back and took photos, mostly of the controversial Lafarge lands in the core of Guelph. |
| February 18, 2008 | DETOURS! A wreck at Aldershot East sent three CN freights and countless VIAs over the GEXR Guelph sub. Naturally I spent the day at Guelph station. Last detours were five years previous, almost to the day. The day started with VIA #82 coming through Guelph station ahead of VIA #84-#70, followed by VIA #85, a chase of GEXR #580 down the Fergus sub, VIA #73 and #72 meeting at Guelph, CN #396, CN #394, VIA #75, VIA #87-#83, and CN #392 with 2 UPs to finish it up. In the cold weather, I had finished off all my camera batteries by #392 and my still camera gave out after shooting the lead unit on the train which had CN-UP-UP-CN-CN for power. Re-using an almost-dead battery got me through the end of the evening. |
| November 25, 2007 | EMD move! Algerian and French EMD units came through after meeting 85 in Kitchener. |
| November 24, 2007 | I went to Guelph station for Via #85. |
| October 21, 2007 | EMD export special! We went to Breslau bridge for GEXR X432 with a set of Europe-bound Class 66s, beating him to Guelph station account of a meet with Via #85. |
| October 06, 2007 | Near the end of a tiring election campaign against the ill-conceived concept of Mixed Member Proportional representation in Ontario, I escaped to Guelph station on a rainy day for GEXR #432. In spite of new Alaska units on CN, CSX detours on CP, new CN units showing up from both GE and EMD, and ETR 9 doing regular steam excursions in Waterloo, I've not escaped to the tracks other than for this one train in the last month due to the election and home renovations. But worry not, I'll be back! |
| August 19, 2007 | We went to Guelph station for VIA #84, #85, GEXR #432 with 9 EMD export units, and GEXR #431 with a freshly painted new scheme Saskatchewan grain car. |
| August 18, 2007 | We went to Guelph station for VIA #84 and #85, and Georgetown for CN #384, #148, #422, #398, GEXR #432, CN #393, #394, #435, GEXR #431, and VIA #87. |
| July 10, 2007 | I went to the station to watch GEXR #432 for my first train since the end of my trip. |
| June 10, 2007 | A curious detour VIA #72 passed through Guelph at exactly 16:00 with 6446-4 LRC coaches-6406 facing west- 4 LRC coaches. |
| May 28, 2007 | I went to Jones Baseline for VIA #84 with the unit nicknamed 'the turd', down to Guelph Junction mileboard for CP #426 with 5911 big bulti, across to Milton for CN #148, off to Ayr for CP #159, #243, #424, London Pickup, and Paris for CN #331, #393, #76, #396, #382, #75. |
| May 27, 2007 | We went to Palgrave for CP 222-25 with the MPEX 601 (new GO MP40), working our way north to Alliston waiting to hear it come. It did come, after many hours, in a rain storm. We got it at Ypres and again at Spence (Alliston Honda storage yard), but were not able to get it again further south as he was a straight shot to Toronto yard. We also got the SSR at the start of the day and GEXR #431 when we got back to Guelph. |
| May 19, 2007 | I went down to the Galt sub for #159 and #243, catching them quickly and returning home. After lunch I went back out, getting GEXR #432 in Guelph, and CN #396, #148, and #435 at mile 30. |
| May 12, 2007 | We went to Guelph Junction for CP #255, down to Bayview for CN #422, CP #254, VIA #73, CN #331, CP #426, VIA #72, leapfrogged CN #271 between Hamilton West and Bayview, and continued with CN #396, #148, #333, #393, #435, back to Guelph Junction for CP #427, and Puslinch for CP #722 with 20 ballast cars, CP #198, #243, #525, and up to Guelph for GEXR #431. |
| May 01, 2007 | CP #424 had CP-CSX-CSX-CP power and #198 was on his block. I headed down to Puslinch for the pair in spite of the weather. I shot GEXR #431 in the evening. |
| April 28, 2007 | GEXR #580's derailment cleanup continues... the tank car was finally rerailed Friday night but by mid day two covered hoppers remained on the ground. We also went to get CP #241 (missed the power) and CP #242 at east siding switch Killean. 242 had a CSX SD40-2 trailing. |
| April 27, 2007 | GEXR and PNR crews continued their efforts to put GEXR #580's derailed cars back on the tracks. After another whole day of work, three cars remain derailed -- all the ones that were still derailed last night -- GEXR 3835 is dead, a pair of cranes are on site, part of the grade crossing is ripped up, and a covered hopper has been deposited into a hole left by a removed tie, unlikely to move again any time soon. Calling Hulcher might have been easier... |
| April 26, 2007 | Derailment! GEXR #580 derailed 6 cars at the exact same spot GEXR #580 derailed on October 22nd, 2003. I went to check it out about an hour after it happened when 4046 came to rescue the tail end cars and open the Edinburgh Rd crossing at 11:00, again around 17:30, and one last time around 22:00 when I found 3 cars still derailed with the crew all having gone home for the night. |
| April 24, 2007 | Wanting to enjoy some sunlit trains before the next week long round of rain hits I shot GEXR #431 at Alma Rd and VIA #87 a few minutes behind him at the viaduct. |
| April 21, 2007 | In the afternoon we headed down to Guelph Junction for CP #424 with a freshly painted CP GP9u, CP #525 ham turn with 3 units, and CP #127 with a rent-a-wreck trailing a GEVO, then returned to Guelph for GEXR #431. |
| April 14, 2007 | CN #305 came to Toronto on the 13th with 7 ex-QNSL SD40-2CLC units on their way to Chicago. They came out of Mac on CN #399 for which we went to Bayview, where we found him lifting the NS traffic at Aldershot. Back in Guelph we found CN 911 HazMat disaster training car parked behind GEXR 3835 between Alma and Edinburgh roads surrounded by firefighters and police. |
| April 01, 2007 | CP #242 had CP-SOO-BNSF for power. I went down to Killean to shoot it, getting #139 and #242 at the east switch, and #242 again at Gore Rd crossing and at a field near Wellington Rd 35 in intense rain. Later on, I shot Via #85 in Guelph's West end followed by GEXR #432 with 13 Class 66 export units. No videos. |
| March 29, 2007 | I heard CEFX 101 north give a track release through my peaceful early morning slumber and bounded out of bed to get to Guelph Junction for CP #255 with CEFX 101-110 and 252 axles. CP #2254 met him at Guelph Junction and had two rent-a-wrecks for a bonus. No videos today, my video camera can only do one thing at the moment, and that is insist that I eject the tape! Also got Via #85 with the rolling turd (VIA 6414 in Lotto-Quebec scheme) at lunch hour. |
| March 27, 2007 | GEXR #432 had the last of the EF Carajas SD70Ms, EFC 755. I went for it at Edinburgh Rd in Guelph. #432 stopped to lift traffic directly from GEXR #580, the local road switcher. |
| March 23, 2007 | VIA #84 had 6403, the CBC unit in perfect light, and GEXR #432 had 4 EF Carajas units, but I was only able to catch VIA #87 in the evening with VIA 904. |
| March 22, 2007 | I got word that GEXR #432 had 3 EF Carajas export units. As soon as he was over the detector at Breslau I went to Guelph station to get him, finding the weather to be somewhat substantially worse than I would have liked. With the traffic light gods on my side while the weather gods were against me, I got to the station just as the headlights were coming around the corner, put my video camera on the dashboard, and stepped out into the downpour. |
| March 15, 2007 | Kevin sounded the alarm on two EF Carajas units on a late GEXR #432. I went down to Guelph VIA station for them. |
| March 08, 2007 | I heard a GEXR train entering the Guelph sub at Kitchener bound for Silver so dropped by Guelph station to see what it was and got blurry shots of GEXR 3821 heading to rescue a stalled #431. |
| February 25, 2007 | We stopped downtown for GEXR #432. |
| February 20, 2007 | A Carajas unit was reported on a flat going through Baden on GEXR #432 so I went after it, shooting OSR with 504-503 elephant style at Victoria Road on the way home. |
| February 19, 2007 | I went to the crossing at 48.04 Galt sub for CP #147, the field just east of highway 6 near east switch Puslinch for CP #257, mile 30 Halton sub for a light power CN #391, Tremaine Road mile 34 of the Galt sub for CP #424 which had a pleasant surprise near the end of the train, back to mile 30 for CN #384, CN #148 - the second of three today - and CN #422, and back to Guelph for GEXR #431 light power. CN #148, normally intermodal, was mostly manifest, CN #422 had CN #550's power helping it as it was too heavy and stalled at Tansley. It took three crews to cross the Halton sub. I missed CN #301, a north end train detouring over the Dundas. The strike has really got CN in a crunch. |
| January 14, 2007 | GEXR #432 had a JT42CWR class 66 between two buffers. I watched it at Guelph Via station but didn't do a particularly good job of shooting it. |
| December 20, 2006 | VIA #85 was well over an hour late resulting in a Guelph meet with GEXR #432. They met just out of sight at mile 49. |
| December 16, 2006 | Steve took us down to Hamilton for NS #328 and whatever else we could find. We got to the Grimsby sub at around 08:15, in line with when NS #328 would arrive from his 07:15 sighting at Ingersoll, but CN NI dispatcher had other ideas and #328 was stabbed for the Amtrak, VIA #97. With 45 minutes to kill we went over to Kinnear yard and caught CP #135 parked and CP #254 coming in with three new GEVOs as only power before returning to shoot #97 and #328. After that we returned to Kinnear and shot #725 also with a new GEVO meeting CP #254 in quite poor lighting, caught Rail Link working at Hamilton harbour, and watched CN #148 go by from Ham West before going home, as Steve was out of time. CN #385 had a CN leader with KCS 4019 and a WC, and CN #435 had two CN GEVOs and CN 398000, one of two custom built articulated covered hoppers, but we were not able to get either, though we did manage to get a relatively bland GEXR #432 in Guelph. |
| November 23, 2006 | The Royal Canadian Pacific, CPR's business train, came to the Galt sub. In spite of nearly blinding fog, an army of railfans went to Guelph Junction for it. My whole day can be summarised as: Guelph Junction: CP #142, RCP, Milton/Trafalgar Road: RCP, CP #243, Scotch Block/mp30: CN #385, #148, #394, #271, Guelph Junction, Moffat, Corwhin, Arkell: OSR northbound chase, Guelph: OSR/GEXR #432, Cambridge/Galt: CP #159, #741, #141, with CP London Pickup working in the background, and CP #257, one unit light power, hiding just out of sight. Not a bad day! |
| November 18, 2006 | We went to Guelph station for GEXR #432, then down to Guelph Junction for CP #255, missing it, but catching CPs #424 and #198 in short order. |
| September 27, 2006 | I stopped to shoot GEXR #580 at CN Guelph Junction while running errands. |
| August 04, 2006 | Having still not replaced my stolen scanners, I went downtown to see a rail grinder parked in Guelph. To the best of my knowledge no rail grinder has ever been to Guelph before, but LMIX RG309 has been parked in Guelph for three days, apparently coming out at night to grind. |
| July 01, 2006 | With a busy day I only made it out for GEXR #432 at the station. |
| May 27, 2006 | We went to Kitchener to see GEXR #432 at the station there, a place I hadn't been in a while. We caught VIA #85, GEXR #433's power parked, saw GEXR #580 head North on the Elmira spur, and #432, then went to mile 30 for CN #392 with two NS units, Guelph Junction for two GEVO leaders and back to Guelph for VIA #681, the once-a-year Stratford Extra. |
| May 15, 2006 | I shot CN #114 with a BCOL SD40-2 trailing on the York sub from the approach to Buttonville, and got GEXR #431 from final at Guelph. |
| April 26, 2006 | On the third and final day of the conference I tried to shoot GMD1 CN 1431 on CN #542 at HalWest, where it had been on Monday when I was not ready for it. It was a bit further than I hoped but I managed one telephoto shot through the window of VIA #86's LRC coach I was sitting in. I also shot a few GO trains and found myself riding behind VIA 916 for the trip home. VIA 916 had been the only Via P42dc that I had not shot in daylight, so I got ahead of it after getting off in Guelph and shot it crossing Alma. |
| April 22, 2006 | For Door's Open Guelph, the GHRA put its caboose on display. Naturally I had to shoot VIA #85 and GEXR #432 passing! |
| April 20, 2006 | I beat GEXR #432 to the Via station by a few seconds. The train had a 12-axle 4-truck transformer load from ABB. In the evening, Laura and I caught CN #390 with that most elusive target - MMA 1. |
| April 17, 2006 | I shot VIA #87 at Watson road on the way back from errands. |
| April 12, 2006 | An extra train was heard coming to Guelph and I went to investigate in spite of the rain. GEXR 3856 showed up with 9 ballast cars and met VIA #85 in Guelph. I shot it at Guelph station and Jones Baseline, getting #85 at Cityview Drive on the way there. No videos, I didn't particularly want to risk 2 cameras in the rain. |
| April 08, 2006 | We went down to Paris for the day. It was relatively quiet, with long lulls and little interesting power. On the way home, we caught CP #243 at Ayr and after dinner I caught VIA #87 with 6411 leading in Guelph. |
| April 02, 2006 | Steve picked us up and we went off to shoot OSR working Guelph on a nice Sunday afternoon. They went South and we gave chase. As we got to Guelph Junction, Shane called about a CN GEVO on CN #435. Naturally we couldn't pass that up! I now have BNSF, UP, CSX, NS, CP, and finally CN GEVOs! |
| March 29, 2006 | We shot GEXR #431 at Guelph station by chance. |
| March 23, 2006 | Brand new BNSF SD70ACe number 9370 led GEXR #432 to Toronto, giving us our second straight day of testing. Perhaps it'll keep up? |
| March 22, 2006 | Brand new BNSF SD70ACe number 9371 led GEXR #432 to Toronto and back. Steve sounded the alarm. Thanks Steve! This happened again on the 23rd, and I got much better photos... |
| March 17, 2006 | We got in the car to go find a friend at the tracks in Guelph and immediately heard a westbound clearance on the Galt sub. We got to a crossing in Puslinch just on time to set up for and wait for CP #243 with CEFX 1053 leading, followed by an SD40-2, a couple of tank cars, and B23-7 TCB 202. We got moving quickly and shot it again a few miles west, before going back to Guelph and watching GEXR #432 pass by Via station. |
| March 16, 2006 | Jay called about CN #390 with two dimensional loads. We went down to Hamilton West for it and CN #393, shooting CP #424 on the way there, #525 on the way back, and GEXR #431 later in the evening back in Guelph. |
| January 21, 2006 | We heard CN 8014 leading GEXR #432 approaching Kitchener and were... rather surprised. The alarm was sounded and every railfan in the area descended on the Guelph sub to shoot it. After, we got word of CP 8745 leading 7 units on CP #424 and booted it down to the Galt sub to catch that. Not bad for a day that I wasn't railfanning... |
| January 12, 2006 | I shot GEXR #432 at Jones Baseline outside Guelph on highway 7 to the East, then OSR at PDI, and then went to the Junction to see what was brewing there. |
| January 08, 2006 | We went to the yard at Alma street to shot GEXR #431 coming back from Mac yard for the sake of it. We also found three tracks full of grain cars there, which is unusual. |
| December 02, 2005 | CN had a curious development over night. Two NS run-through trains, both designated CN #784, were seen on the Dundas sub. The first one went down the Hagersville sub to Nanticoke late the night of December 1st. The second parked at about 10:30 am at Paris Junction and was still there as of this writing. I went to Paris to see it, and also saw CN #271, #148, #330, VIA #72 and #73, and CN #435. VIA #85 had 916 tonight, and I caught it at 23:45, completing my VIA P42dc roster! |
| November 24, 2005 | Mike and Shane both called to warn about Via #85 with the Budweiser painted F40 not coincidentially numbered 6424. Tom and I went to shoot it in downtown Guelph. Laura and I then caught CP #424, #139, #257, and a Sperry Rail car between Guelph Junction and Killean. |
| November 23, 2005 | Brendan reported that CP #167 had 2 more GEVOs on it. I used the opportunity to try out my brand new camera, shooting first OSR and VIA in Guelph, then #167 around the Junction... beware big pictures! |
| November 12, 2005 | Rob woke me with an SMS about CN #492 with a straight SD40 and a Herzog GPS-controlled ballast train heading East by Aldershot. I got moving fairly quickly and caught #492, #338, #154, CP #424, and GEXR #432 before lunch. In the evening we caught CP #141 with CP 4652, a GP40 in Guilford colours and CP markings known to locals as one of the 'ugly brothers'. |
| November 05, 2005 | A bunch of us met at Hamilton West first thing in the morning as a way to meet eachother. We caught 11 trains there, 3 at Puslinch, 1 in Guelph, and 2 more at Killean over the course of the day, with the most interesting things being a new wide-gauge SD70 on a flatcar on GEXR #432 and KCS 4001 primer unit SD70ACe on CP #246 at Killean. |
| November 01, 2005 | I wasn't going to miss the CBC engine again, in spite of the bad light. I caught GEXR #580 working at the Fergus sub yard while I waited a few minutes for VIA #85 and the CBC unit to show, and then caught GEXR #432 at the now-closed Cityview crossing between Victoria and Watson. |
| October 31, 2005 | I had an opportunity to catch GEXR #432 and took it, though I missed VIA 6403 - CBC unit - on #85 a few minutes earlier. Turned out #432 had light power... oh well. |
| October 30, 2005 | VIA 6403 - the CBC unit - was on VIA #85. I heard it too late to catch it, but tried anyway, getting it through some bushes. It met 432 at East siding switch Kitchener and I caught 432 through Guelph with 3 units and 2 cars at the station about 30 minutes after missing 85. Later on, Jay warned of a CEFX yellow on CP #248. We went for it, and caught CP #159 and #243 as well, though we were not expecting them. |
| October 27, 2005 | Steve caught GEXR #432 in Kitchener with a tarped EMD unit on it so I caught it at the station in Guelph about an hour later. |
| October 23, 2005 | I caught VIA #85 on Kent street and then went a little East for GEXR #432 on a rather dark and stormy day. Late Sunday night, we heard NS #O99 on the Grimsby sub and decided to see it at Ingersoll. We caught it, and 4 CP trains at Ayr, in the pitch blackness of an autumn night. |
| October 15, 2005 | We did a little exploring and caught six fairly normal trains everywhere from Drumbo to Georgetown. |
| October 08, 2005 | GEXR #431 came through town about 17:15 with 4 units and a standard selection of freight cars. |
| September 30, 2005 | I caught OSR crossing Stone Rd southbound by chance. On the train, an ALPX cylindrical hopper had a rather large branch stuck in its catwalk. Later, GEXR #431 came through town with three units and a decent length train. |
| September 24, 2005 | GEXR #431 crossed 37.2 and gave Laura and I just enough notice to catch it at Kent street. |
| August 06, 2005 | Kevin picked me and Chris up at quarter to 7 and we headed down to Hamilton West to catch 327 and 328. Even at that hour, we were too late for 327, though, but we caught plenty of other trains, then checked out Hamilton yard and caught VIA #85 back in Guelph before calling it a day. |
| July 27, 2005 | On my way downtown to run some errands, I heard 431 entering Guelph and got trackside just on time to see it come over the Norfolk Bridge. |
| July 14, 2005 | A train climbing Campbellville hill set off some grass fires, closing the 401 for part of the day and the Galt sub for about 7 hours. In the evening, I poked down there to see what I could find. The parade got under way just as the sun was going down, but in the time we were there we caught the CP water train which had helped fight the blaze, three GO trains in very quick succession that had been held short of the hill, CP #419 with a colourful, if domestic, consist, CP #424 with an ex-Milwaukee bandit, and another train whose number I didn't catch with another CEFX yellow trailing and CWR laying equipment. Not bad for 2 hours on CP. |
| July 04, 2005 | I heard that VIA #84 had 2 engines (919 and 920) and so ran off to catch it downtown, then watched #580 go onto the South industrial. Later in the day, Chris and I caught London pickup, CP #257 at the Junction, and GEXR #431 back in Guelph. |
| July 02, 2005 | St. Thomas Central Railway ran a steam excursion with ETR #9 from St. Thomas to Ridgetown and back. Laura, Rob, and I went to see it out of Guelph and saw whatever else we could along the way. We caught it just outside of St. Thomas but after only a few minutes there was no more evidence of coal smoke. I'm not sure if it broke down and whether or not it eventually got fixed if it did. On the way back we caught CN #331 at Ingersoll, a CN eastbound at Woodstock, CP #153 at Ayr, what looked like London pickup with a yellow unit at Galt yard and Galt yard job also there. After landing we caught GEXR #432 light power at Jones Baseline in Guelph but I blew the pictures when I left the zoom on. In the evening we caught CP #246 coming out of Guelph Junction at Guelph Line road. |
| June 25, 2005 | Via #84 left Kitchener with VIA 6420 leading. I headed downtown to catch it at Alma road and again at the station. 6420 recently had a third headlight added to its nose whose purpose I can't quite figure, but it was on. |
| June 09, 2005 | I caught Via #85 through my windshield at Watson Road on the way back from the airfield. |
| May 22, 2005 | I headed down to Ingersoll with Laura to get some scenic photos to help a modeller, and caught some interesting trains in the process. CN #271 had a hotbox going over the detector at mile 53 (Ingersoll is mile 59) on the North track. Unfortunately there are no switches oriented the right way in the area to set off the car with a melted journal and the train tied up the North track for nearly 3 hours while it waited for CN #581 to finish up at Cami and come out, cross over at Blain, 8 miles to the East, and put the car in an industrial track near Beachville. |
| May 20, 2005 | GEXR #432 still didn't have CN 399000, but had an unusually long string of autoracks from Toyota in Cambridge. |
| May 19, 2005 | GEXR #580 went down the Fergus, #432 went through with 3 GP40s, and OSR crossed the Hanlon with more engines than cars. Another normal day in Guelph. |
| May 18, 2005 | GEXR got its CN unit back on the night of the 17th, so I went down CN Guelph Junction to see if I could catch it. |
| May 15, 2005 | Steve woke me up to hit the tracks as soon as he was up and from there we went to the cowpath at Bayview Junction, caught an absurd number of trains in an hour, and moved on to explore Hamilton before coming back for a few more trains at Bayview and going back to Guelph, where we caught 431 - sans CN unit. |
| May 14, 2005 | 432 met 85 at Guelph station, following which we went to Guelph Junction and started with 141 meeting 152. After that it was 159, 246, 242, 424, and 525. 525 - Ham turn - had a W03 dimensional, said RTC, and issued GBOs as appropriate. It turned out to be a 4-axle regular empty flatcar, so I really don't know why they classified it as dimensional. I saw GEXR #431 come back later but did not have a camera handy. For anyone in the area, do note that it had CN 399000 articulated potash hopper, so it will be in the area for the next little bit. |
| May 06, 2005 | After extensive bad weather, this day finally yielded something track-worthy. CN #411 had a BNSF AC4400CW in second place, and GEXR #431 came back with a CN GP40-2W leading. |
| April 30, 2005 | I went to the station to pick up Tom from Via #683. |
| April 26, 2005 | GEXR #431 couldn't make the hill at Acton and #580's power was sent to rescue it. VIA #88 had to wait in the siding at Guelph for #431 and didn't leave until well after scheduled to. |
| April 19, 2005 | Travelling to and from LinuxWorld Conference and Expo aboard trains 86 and 87, I managed to see a few interesting things. CN #271 had an ex-CNW dash 9 on it heading West, though I wasn't able to get pictures of it. The afternoon's #275 and #385 kept me busy during our treck from the Weston sub to the Guelph sub on the Halton sub. |
| April 05, 2005 | On leaving the airport after spending an hour practicing emergency procedures in the circuit, I heard horns. I got to the Stone Road crossing with about 15 seconds to spare before OSR showed up on its way in from Guelph Junction. |
| March 26, 2005 | On my way back from CNC4, I caught 431 with regular power passing behind the shopping centre at Victoria Road. |
| March 23, 2005 | GEXR #580 with GEXR 3843 leading switched the CN Guelph Junction yard over lunch. |
| March 11, 2005 | OSR picked up KRL 300302 at ABB and brought it to the interchange. GEXR 580 and 432 came from Kitchener minutes apart some time later, and 580 went North to pick up the dimensional at the interchange and deliver it back to 432, which took it directly to Mac yard. |
| March 08, 2005 | CN 148, 391, 422, 392, CP 424, and 127 kept my trains-per-hour ratio up on the first nice day in ages. |
| February 20, 2005 | GEXR #433, normally a Kitchener-London train, switched Guelph again briefly late Sunday afternoon. |
| February 06, 2005 | GEXR #433, usually a dedicated train from Kitchener to London for autoframes followed #432 to Guelph and did what would normally be #580's work, except #580 doesn't run on Sundays. After watching that, we headed to Guelph Junction to catch CP's new power-transfer train, #138, with 8 units. |
| February 04, 2005 | On the 3rd, GEXR ran #432 to Mac yard. #431 came back in the late afternoon. Then, after #88, #432 went to Mac yard again. Today, GEXR #432 returned from Mac yard following Via #85 in from Silver around lunch time, and in the late afternoon, I heard #432 announcing its departure from Kitchener. It crossed the detector at 56.2... then 30 minutes later crossed at 56.2 again. Hours went by, and Via #88 called Kitchener mileboard. GEXR #432 came back on the air and told #88 they'd be following them to Silver after spending the day in the shop track. So Chris, Laura, and I met Steve at the Guelph Via station to watch the two trains. While #88 was going by, Chris' camera batteries died and he didn't have any spares, and as #432 approached, my camera set up for the video went into a fatal error mode and refused to cooperate until the moment the train was out of sight, when it came back on and pretended nothing happened. My camera set up for still shooting, on the other hand, was able to be switched to video just on time to catch the first frame with #432's leader right in front of me. Oh, the complications in such a simple task. These few shots are dedicated to the crew of tonight's #88. |
| January 26, 2005 | It was a beautiful day out, warm, clear skies, and mid winter with fresh snow, so I took a couple of hours out in the afternoon to see what I could find. |
| January 09, 2005 | In a remarkable repetition of events I discovered that I had, again, lost one of my camera batteries the day before (update: battery found 2005-01-22 -- in a couch). I went back to the only place it could be and did not find it there, but on the way, heard GEXR #432 coming with CEFX 6537 leading and decided that'd be a worthwhile detour, catching it from the North side of the tracks at the Alma road grade crossing. |
| January 08, 2005 | I left Laura and a friend at a fabric store in Guelph and headed down to Guelph Junction to catch a set of trains I'd been tracking on the scanner. I missed the first one by fractions of a second, but it was ham turn running light. The next two went by heading East, one off the Ham sub one off Galt OCS territory. After them I figured there would be no trains for a while and headed back to Guelph, hearing GEXR detector 56.2 as I entered the Hanlon. I thought I might be able to beat 432 to the overpass at Victoria and Elizabeth, but was too late to set up a shot. After that I saw OSR switching PDI and called it a day. It was worth a try, anyway. |
| January 01, 2005 | We went to catch Via 85 at CN Guelph Junction and then 432 at the viaduct at lunch time. In the afternoon, Walter advised that a BNSF was in second place on 398 and a third unidentified engine was following it. We went to Scotch Block to catch it. The BNSF unit ran out of gas less than a mile from us and the train went by us at what the crew reported to the RTC was 13 miles per hour. The third unit turned out to be an ICE engine. |
| December 31, 2004 | GEXR discussed the presence of a D-6 dimensional on #580 leaving Kitchener and that was all the motivation I needed to head out into the haze and see. |
| December 05, 2004 | In the evening, CP's 2004 US-bound holiday train (there is a second holiday train which heads North and ends up in British Columbia) stopped in at the Galt station. Though I heard its clearance from Guelph Junction to Orr's Lake on the scanner, we didn't leave till later on and only caught it moments before it left. |
| December 03, 2004 | CWR train in Guelph heading to Kitchener, meeting 580 at Mosborough. Yesterday, 518 - the CWR train, and previous to that a GM extra that we all missed - met 432 at Rockcut siding. Like Mosborough, it is very much unused. To make matters more interesting, the CWR train, led by the 2 2210s, set off an original-paint and reporting marks D&RGW hopper at CN Guelph Junction. The CWR train is fully loaded, and CWR only stretches from Silver (Georgetown) to Guelph. |
| November 27, 2004 | My missing camera battery was sitting on the ground at Scotch Block and even seems to work, still. Phew. |
| November 20, 2004 | We went to Brampton to see the OBRY/CN diamond, in spite of very bad weather. |
| November 05, 2004 | 580 went on the ground at CN Guelph Junction. 12-axle depressed centre heavy duty car KRL 300302 with a ~300 ton load spread the rails and took a hopper down with it. KRL 300302 derailed in Guelph a year ago, too. |
| October 14, 2004 | The CP TEC train, 8218 leading, ran the Guelph sub -- my first opportunity to catch a CP engine on the GEXR. 8218 met Via #84 at Guelph, holding up the passenger train for about 15 minutes. 8218, it appears, got back on the CP at London either through Kellog or GM's spur track, and returned through Guelph Junction about 4pm. |
| October 09, 2004 | I went to CN Guelph Junction hoping to catch GEXR 432 with CSX engines, but instead got regular power... in a way I guess I kind of missed the regular power anyway, so that's not so bad. Later in the day I went looking for OSR. They were working late and I caught them heading from the interchange back to PDI after 18:00. |
| October 02, 2004 | OSR was ordered at 0430. They departed Guelph Junction at 0500 and pulled Schnabel car HEPX 200 out of ABB along with 2 smaller transformer loads, delivering it to the GEXR interchange a little bit before 0700. At 1000 GEXR finally pulled out of CN Guelph Junction with the loads, expected to arrive in Sarnia by evening where they will be interchanged with CSX and taken to Courtright, Ontario. |
| October 01, 2004 | Now, OSR has 646-506-180 as its power, though only 180 was on line. 646 was, however, leading, with all 4 ditch lights. GEXR 580 has RLK 4096-2210, the matched pair in RailAmerica colours. GEXR 432 has CSXT 4845-4846. 432 left with 6100 feet, 3 GM flats (2 with loco trucks, 1 with tanks), and a lot of cars. |
| September 29, 2004 | 432 had CSX engines, 580 had back-to-back RailAmerica-painted engines, 85 had a whole 2 cars.. another busy day in Guelph. |
| September 28, 2004 | GEXR gave an empty Schnabel to OSR to give to ABB. I missed the move by seconds... but it has to come out soon, I'll try to get that move. |
| September 02, 2004 | OSR was running with ex-BCR unit OSRX 646 in third position. A scramble call later I was at the tracks. |
| August 30, 2004 | OSR had 2 trains, GEXR 580 broke down at the Junction, 432 had CSX engines leading... just another day in Guelph. At CP we found a crane working. 159 went through, tripping the hotbox detector at Puslinch, and CN was busy but didn't have anything particularly unusual. |
| August 29, 2004 | GEXR and OSR were both working Guelph on this very wet Sunday so I went to see who I'd find. I never found GEXR working but OSR was working PDI. Later, GEXR 431 came back with 4837 and 4839 - two more CSX units in testing. |
| August 17, 2004 | On the way back from the North end, I found OSR switching on the South industrial. Later in the day, Walter called in that a BCR unit was through Ingersoll about 13:40. It finally showed up at mile 30 at about 17:00 after lifting at both Beachville and Aldershot. |
| August 08, 2004 | We picked up my mother-in-law at Aldershot, pausing frequently to take pictures... |
| August 07, 2004 | We caught GEXR with 2 CSX units going through Guelph again. There were 5 parked in Stratford but the same two seem to be on 432/431 every time. |
| July 17, 2004 | Laura and I tried to go to Ingersoll for the day and found it dead as a doornail. After several hours of boredom, we headed for home and the parade finally started. We went on to the small community of Creditville where we watched the parade until we got too hungry. |
| July 11, 2004 | Laura and I ran up to the North end of town to run some errands when we got a call from Steve that 432 was on its way and OSR was to move a transformer. We caught 432 at CN Guelph Junction/Alma Rd. Later in the day, Chris and I caught 431 at Alma/Guelph Jct again and then going over the Hanlon as they set off some cars at the Junction. Then we moved on to River Run centre where we caught OSR with a little flatbed and a transformer with no time to spare - they arrived at the same time we did. |
| July 08, 2004 | We had reason to believe that GEXR 432 may be carrying the long dead 177 and 901 GP9s that had spent a long time parked in Kitchener and been moved on July 7th into Kitchener yard. When the train did finally come, it had neither the GP9s nor the CSX engines it had recently been sporting, but was exceedingly long. |
| July 05, 2004 | Laura and I caught OSR up at the interchange. They headed South a few minutes later with about 30 cars down to lower yards and PDI. |
| July 04, 2004 | CSX SD70ACes ran light through Guelph running as GEXR's only power for 432/431. |
| July 03, 2004 | CSX units led 432 through Guelph at lunch time on Saturday. |
| July 02, 2004 | Laura and I had to run into town for a minute and caught GEXR at CN Guelph Junction running light. |
| June 05, 2004 | The Royal Canadian Pacific travelled to Windsor on the 4th. On the 5th it returned from Windsor and headed to Hamilton, then up to Guelph. It's probably the first train in three decades that has gone straight from Hamilton to Guelph up the Hamilton and ex-Goderich subs. |
| May 29, 2004 | Steve advised that there were 3 dimensional loads parked at CN Guelph Junction after we heard discussion of them on the scanner. Steve and I chased 432 around downtown Guelph, though GEXR #432 only took one of the loads. The remaining 2 left a little bit later on a second 432, but I never did get to see them. |
| April 23, 2004 | Amtrak #85/#88, the International, ended on this day with the final run being a morning Westbound from Toronto to Chicago. It went through Guelph with its trainee Via trainset in tow. Via with an engine and 3 LRCs will be taking over the route only as far as Sarnia. Later in the day, Steve, Chris, and I met up at Guelph Junction for a few regular freight trains. |
| April 18, 2004 | Amtrak's train called "The International" from Toronto to Chicago's final Sunday in existence... 27 people took the train together as a group trip up to Sarnia for a final-miles excursion, through the GHRA. |
| April 14, 2004 | On my way to the second day at Real World Linux 2004 Conference and Expo in Toronto, I wanted to take a picture of VIA 6406 which was leading the morning's #86, one of two VIA engines on my Most Wanted list due to having an HO Via engine with that number. |
| April 13, 2004 | On my way back from the first day at Real World Linux 2004 Conference and Expo in Toronto, I heard on my scanner that the engine on my train was VIA 6406, one of two VIA engines on my Most Wanted list due to having an HO Via engine with that number. |
| January 31, 2004 | CN 383 on the ground at Bayview Junction. Via detouring the Guelph sub. 682 impacting snow drift (damage) at St. Mary's. 431 failed at Kitchener. And that's just what I was around for. |
| January 11, 2004 | |
| November 17, 2003 | Unscheduled Via train number 689 came through Guelph on its way to pick up a passenger car at Kitchener station. |
| November 12, 2003 | Certified as unsafe to drive and too expensive to fix, my car - my most important railfanning tool, beating the scanner, the camera, and the trackside guide - is sold for parts. |
| November 01, 2003 | A derailment in Aldershot yard sent at least one detour passenger train up the Guelph sub, along with a parade of Eastbound special moves. The first was a GMD move of UK-bound 6-axle units followed shortly by a Babcock and Wilcox generator move. The derailment consisted of a few passenger cars being shipped and several other cars in various states and interesting angles. |
| October 23, 2003 | On October 21st, a dimensional load came to town. On October 22nd, it derailed. On the 23rd, Pacific Northern Rail showed up to fix the tracks. |
| October 22, 2003 | GEXR 580 went on the ground at the London/Edinburgh grade crossing on the ex-Fergus sub. |
| October 21, 2003 | Steve called. GEXR 431 was approaching Guelph and a track-side inspection by a foreman revealed there was a dimensional load on board. Scramble! We met up at CN Guelph Junction. |
| October 06, 2003 | St. Thomas Central Railway's Essex Terminal Number 9 0-6-0 wrapped up three days in Guelph with a one-way excursion to Kitchener. |
| October 05, 2003 | St. Thomas Central Railway's Essex Terminal Number 9 0-6-0 switcher ran an excursion from Hespeler to Guelph and back three times. The first one I slept through, the second one I chased, and the third one I volunteered on. |
| September 13, 2003 | Laura, Chris, and I went to the hobby shop at the North end of Guelph and picked up OSR working on the scanner. We went to watch them and then waited for GEXR 431 to return from Toronto before going home. |
| August 24, 2003 | Babcock and Wilcox sent a 500 tonne generator up the GEXR Fergus sub. Steve found it wyeing at the seldom-used Fergus sub wye in Guelph on GEXR 432, en route to Toronto Mac Yard, and let me know. The two of us chased it, leap-frogging eachother along highway 7. |
| August 17, 2003 | Laura had a 10:17 am train from Aldershot, so we spent the day after that railfanning. It was made more interesting by a derailment near Ingersoll on the CN Dundas sub. |
| August 05, 2003 March 08, 2005 | Laura and I had posted security in the GHRA caboose through the night. In the morning we watched OSR move the van back to its home base at Crompton Uniroyal. |
| August 04, 2003 | Laura and I stayed in the GHRA caboose posting security while it was parked down town. |
| August 03, 2003 | This year's GuelphFest celebrated Guelph's 176th anniversary. I was there with the GHRA and our caboose and baggage car. Unfortunately we got rained out this year. |
| July 30, 2003 | Laura and I had to go to the license bureau again on Woodlawn. On the way home, we stopped to watch GEXR and OSR trade freight cars on Edinburgh. |
| July 25, 2003 | I went to downtown Guelph to get some pictures of bridges to help a friend model similar bridges. |
| July 23, 2003 | Laura had to go the license bureau on Woodlawn, so we stopped at CN Guelph Junction on the way back to catch GEXR 580 heading up the Fergus spur. |
| July 11, 2003 | The Guelph Historical Railway Association's caboose was moved from its parking place in Guelph to Guelph Junction for an NMRA presentation of Guelph Junction and GHRA's possessions's on July 14th. |
| July 01, 2003 | Canada Day 2003, we went on a large circle route catching both CP and CN over the course of several hours. |
| June 20, 2003 | OSR moved a 40 wheel Schnabel car out of the ABB plant in Guelph to the GEXR interchange track. |
| May 23, 2003 | I went to the station to pick up my housemate, who was returning from a rail trip to Montreal. |
| May 10, 2003 | OSR was moving a large transformer on a heavy-duty flatbed from the ABB plant at the North end of Guelph across the street to the interchange track with GEXR. |
| May 01, 2003 | In the afternoon, I was heading to a store in downtown Guelph and saw GEXR 431 travelling through as I approached the tracks. Later in the evening, I went to a friend's house who had just moved trackside and we watched trains 88 and 89, a Via and an Amtrak, go through the city around 10:30 pm. |
| April 27, 2003 | I went to a friend's house by the tracks to work on scanner antennas. |
| April 15, 2003 | CEFX 6937's rear truck was being reinstalled after the engine had sat in Guelph for a day without one. |
| April 14, 2003 | CEFX 6537, a rented GP35 retrofitted into a GP38 sat in Guelph for a day without a rear truck. I came across it and came back later with a camera, sure not to miss it. |
| April 11, 2003 | I caught OSR's train in a couple of places around Guelph and then later at Guelph Junction. |
| March 28, 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. |
| March 09, 2003 | Four of us went to the London/Komoka area to see where CP, CN, and GEXR meet. |
| March 01, 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. |
| February 19, 2003 | Shortly after the derailment in Woodstock on the CN Dundas sub, something fell off another train on the same track, hitting the train behind it and causing further detours on the GEXR Guelph sub. |
| February 15, 2003 | A derailment on the CN Dundas sub near Woodstock sent much of CN's high priority traffic along the GEXR Guelph sub. |
| February 14, 2003 | A derailment on the CN Dundas sub near Woodstock sent CN trains up the GEXR Guelph sub, keeping us local railfans well occupied. |
| February 13, 2003 | As close as it gets to streetrunning in Guelph, I waited for trains on Kent street downtown. |