Welcome Visitor. First time here? Like what you see? Bookmark us for when you are bored, and check out 'top shots' and 'fantastic (editors choice)' in the menu above, you won't be dissapointed. Join our community! click here to sign up for an account today. Sick of this message? Get rid of it by logging-in here.



The Goderich-Exeter Railway ceased operating on the Guelph Subdivision and related spurs on November 15, 2018. The next day CN regained control of the lines and picked-up where GEXR had left off, just as they had done 20 years prior. In turn, GEXR would continue their operations on the Goderich Subdivision and Exeter Spur out of Stratford. While the final days of GEXR on the Guelph Subdivision marked last runs for all their local assignments and road trains 431 and 432, there was also extensive coverage that followed on this site as well as other social media sites. 
Unfortunately, I had just started a new job which meant I had no extra time to photograph the final days of GEXR. That combined with the time change and a large snowstorm meant I had a no “last run” or “this is it” kind of ending. The last 431 I had photographed was a week earlier.
In comparison, during November 1998, several of us watched on the station platform as the final CN 431 stormed out of Kitchener with two SD40-2(W)’s. It was a fitting send off just hours before the original GEXR take over. That time around it was more of an end of an era type of feeling.
Throughout 2018 I photographed GEXR operations quite extensively and had plenty of material to go through and edit over the course of the following year. It wasn’t until I hovered over a few photos I had taken just prior to the changeover that I saw a familiar date. I quickly realized the similarities to another photo I had taken two decades prior, which I had previously posted here this past year as well. 
http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=35433
All the photo information is in the caption, but basically that day my dad and I were at the station shooting CN 432 coming into Kitchener with less than two weeks to go before the pending GEXR takeover. The photo I ended-up hovering over on my computer had the same date, which was November 4. That’s when everything came into perspective. 
That day in early November 2018, my wife, young daughter and I had stopped at the station to do the same thing as GEXR X580 headed west to Stratford after working the P&H facility at Shantz, east of Kitchener. While the train only had two light units, it was more about the last two decades and the connections this hobby can bring together. 
My daughter will never meet her grandfather. But to be chasing history with her, in the same way my dad and I did at the Kitchener station that day long ago, I can now say we all shared the transitions between railway’s 20 years apart. 
Realizing this full circle of events with my daughter turned out to be a fitting ending to GEXR operations on the Guelph Subdivision and one that I will be able to tell her about some day.
Copyright Notice: This image ©Jason Noe all rights reserved.



Caption: The Goderich-Exeter Railway ceased operating on the Guelph Subdivision and related spurs on November 15, 2018. The next day CN regained control of the lines and picked-up where GEXR had left off, just as they had done 20 years prior. In turn, GEXR would continue their operations on the Goderich Subdivision and Exeter Spur out of Stratford. While the final days of GEXR on the Guelph Subdivision marked last runs for all their local assignments and road trains 431 and 432, there was also extensive coverage that followed on this site as well as other social media sites. Unfortunately, I had just started a new job which meant I had no extra time to photograph the final days of GEXR. That combined with the time change and a large snowstorm meant I had a no “last run” or “this is it” kind of ending. The last 431 I had photographed was a week earlier. In comparison, during November 1998, several of us watched on the station platform as the final CN 431 stormed out of Kitchener with two SD40-2(W)’s. It was a fitting send off just hours before the original GEXR take over. That time around it was more of an end of an era type of feeling. Throughout 2018 I photographed GEXR operations quite extensively and had plenty of material to go through and edit over the course of the following year. It wasn’t until I hovered over a few photos I had taken just prior to the changeover that I saw a familiar date. I quickly realized the similarities to another photo I had taken two decades prior, which I had previously posted here this past year as well. http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=35433 All the photo information is in the caption, but basically that day my dad and I were at the station shooting CN 432 coming into Kitchener with less than two weeks to go before the pending GEXR takeover. The photo I ended-up hovering over on my computer had the same date, which was November 4. That’s when everything came into perspective. That day in early November 2018, my wife, young daughter and I had stopped at the station to do the same thing as GEXR X580 headed west to Stratford after working the P&H facility at Shantz, east of Kitchener. While the train only had two light units, it was more about the last two decades and the connections this hobby can bring together. My daughter will never meet her grandfather. But to be chasing history with her, in the same way my dad and I did at the Kitchener station that day long ago, I can now say we all shared the transitions between railway’s 20 years apart. Realizing this full circle of events with my daughter turned out to be a fitting ending to GEXR operations on the Guelph Subdivision and one that I will be able to tell her about some day.

Photographer:
Jason Noe [916] (more) (contact)
Date: 11/04/2018 (search)
Railway: Goderich-Exeter (search)
Reporting Marks: GEXR (search)
Train Symbol: X580 (search)
Subdivision/SNS: Guelph Subdivision (search)
City/Town: KITCHENER (search)
Province: Ontario (search)
Share Link: http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=39442
Click here to Log-in or Register and add your vote.

9 Favourites
Photographers like Gold.Log-in or Register to show appreciation
View count: 957 Views

Share this image on Facebook, Twitter or email using the icons below
Photo ID: 38248

Map courtesy of Open Street Map

Full size | Suncalc
Note: Read why maps changed. Suncalc.net for reference only.

All comments must be positive in nature and abide by site rules. Anything else may be removed without warning.

3 Comments
  1. Great shot Jason! Love the story. At first glance I thought that the station to the left was actually Brampton (ex CN, VIA and GO)….the giveaway was how close the overpass is to the station. But Kitchener is also VERY similar in design of architecture and surroundings too. Nonetheless you have preserved your collection of the GEXR well. :)

  2. I can’t believe its been a year.

  3. @Todd Steinman- Thanks very much Todd. Yes, I certainly got quite a bit of GEXR in the last year and in some locations that I had never photographed before then.

    @Stephen C. Host- Yes it doesn’t seem like a year at all. It went by far too fast.

Railpictures.ca © 2006-2023 all rights reserved. Photographs are copyright of the photographer and used with permission
Terms and conditions | About us