Great Lakes Regional Railway

Great Lakes Regional Railway (GLRR) – A Division of Genesee & Wyoming History of the Railway:

The CASO Subdivision which was built from Windsor to Buffalo was placed up for sale from the former operators Canadian National (CN) and its joint partner, Canadian Pacific (CP). There were a number of companies who viewed this line as an important short cut for traffic from both sides of the border and to also be able to transport freight to and from Windsor and Buffalo. Several companies applied to the bidding process to try and obtain the winning bid to the CASO Sub.

The GLRR was started as a small shortline company, whose business was to provide freight service to customers along it 22 mile Spur. GLRR took this line over after it was abandoned by Canadian Pacific a few years ago. Business has been nothing but steady, and the company has seen a growth over the last two years of traffic coming and going. Traffic on this spur has increased over all by 15 cars a month, and the GLRR has expanded its staff now to 20 people working for the railway full time. With the GLRR wanting to slowly expand it was keeping an ear out for any lines that were close to its own spur in hopes of expanding its service and territory.

News came about that CN & CP were filing for discontinued use on the CASO Sub. With GLRR’s spur having an old out of service connection with the CASO, there was a chance now to expand and increase traffic and business. Other companies like CSX, B & B Railways and a few smaller railway companies opted for their bid to obtain any if not all of the CASO. With the amount of bidders that wanted the CASO, it was shortlisted to B & B Railways, CSX, Spring Creek Railway and the Great Lakes Regional Railway. It was decided a few months later after each railway’s bid was reviewed. The successful bidder ended up being Great Lakes Regional Railway.

This was great news, and welcomed. Over the next few weeks, rail was relayed and a wye was setup to access the CASO Sub from the GLRR small spur.

CASO Update (From GLRR after take over):

With the GLRR taking over the CASO, a lot of work would be needed to bring the line up to where it should be, and to be able to handle the increased traffic that was determined that would be hauled over this new line. With the GLRR only having 5 engines, the need was their now to purchase more engines to be able to handle the increase and not suffer a power shortage that faced other railways.

The GLRR went and purchased a total of 10 engines that were GP40-2 power units, with the option for another 5 more over the next 3 years. Work that needed to be done included replacing thousands of railway ties along the entire route. This would be done through the GLRR and the new hires and crews. Ties would be replaced over the next five years with a priority in mind and year four and five would be a full line replacement with ribbon rail and concrete ties (one main line).

The line will be upgraded with full CTC from Windsor to Buffalo. Main line will be raised and new ballast added along the entire route to provide better drainage and prevent pooling of water that was found to happen in a few areas of concern. The need to upgrade turnouts along the CASO will take place on a priory basis, but all turnouts will be eventually upgraded to handle 25-30mph through travel. Heaters will be setup at all CTC access switches, and field switches will be looked at and possibility of being housed out of the elements. With safety taking a top priority, all crossings along the entire line will be inspected and re-assed for safety, and will be updated or upgraded if required. Some of these safety features will be:

- CCTV

-Gates for pedestrian/vehicular traffic

-Enhanced crossing lights that can be seen

-Signage on blind crossing if lights are active

-Emergency phones

Track maintenance will take place regular and also brush and weed control will be done as 60% of the network contains over growth at current. Full cut back and weed control will be done to the Leamington and Fort Erie branch lines. The Leamington branch will undergo a full rehabilitation and re-construction. Bridge re-construction will take place over the term of rehab, as the Grand River Bridge, and the Bridge at Niagara Falls both need upgrading to exceed current specs. Ditch work will be done along the entire line to ensure proper drainage occurs and all culverts will be inspected and upgraded on a as need basis.

The one tunnel entrance will also undergo a retrofit to accommodate bigger cars now being used on railways. This will happen to accommodate intermodal freight, enclosed auto carriers. This will allow GLRR to better provide a wide assortment of freight to those it serves.

Passenger Service:

Prior to being absorbed by G&W: the GLRR was working on a plan to determine if to run passenger service. A study was done to the determine if the numbers were there to justify such a service from Montreal Quebec, to Niagara Falls and from the Falls to points south to Detroit. The study came back as very favorable to providing passenger service. The GLRR took the next step and looked into pricing of equipment and also if contracting out such a service to be able to provide a better return for the GLRR. The GLRR looked at the equipment, and it was too much of a short fall for starting something from scratch and providing all the engines and passenger cars, so the logical move was to see if another company could fill this void. The GLRR approached both Metrolink (GO Transit) and VIA Rail. Both were asked to submit a proposal for passenger service and how they could make it grow. Both parties were given 6 months to come up with a plan. After that time, both companies submitted their reports, and GLRR sat down to go over them. Once a decision was made, talks began about having VIA Rail use GLRR tracks and provide passenger service. It was discussed that VIA trains would be a priority on GLRR rails, and that since most of the CASO was double main line, this was not to be an issue. VIA and Great Lakes RR came to a mutual agreement, and VIA would take care of passenger service.

A new company and Image – GLRR Update Late Fall 2013:

In spring of 2013, GLRR took a hit and traffic went due to companies being closed, or relocated over the last few years, and the GLRR for once saw that they were in a bit of trouble. Negotiations were on going, and there was news upon the horizon that several new customers were signing for rail service, but these companies were not sure if the GLRR would be able to handle the service, and were worried about long term viability of the railway, as others were suffering and could not maintain railway infrastructure. This concerned the GLRR, and it badly needed the business. It was at this point that Owner Nathan Brown and GM (insert name) and Rail Division manager (Insert Name) sat down and went over what options were available and how the GLRR could keep their railway foot print solid, and bring on these new business. It was decided to look for another company to take over, but allow the GLRR to keep running. And as such the GLRR opened communications with a US company called Genesee and Wyoming. Hopes were that the G&W would purchase the GLRR and this would show the business that the GLRR was around for the long term. By fall of 2013, both parties had reached an agreement, and the merger of the two companies took place. All GLRR engines will be painted in the G&W scheme, but will now have a new logo. After this news was received, all the business signed on with GLRR including 4 others business. The GLRR now saw a car increase of over 50 cars in a monthly period and this would grow to include intermodal, enclosed auto carriers, oil, ethanol and grain, plus many more commodities.

Interchange Partners:

Canadian Pacific (CP)

Canadian National (CN)

B & B Railways ( B & B)

Ontario Southland Railway (OSR)