The Ontario Southland Railway Inc. is an independently held short line operator. The company was founded in 1992 to purchase of track between

Tillsonburg Tillsonburg is a town in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada with a population of 18,615 located about 50 kilometres southeast of London, on Highway 3 at the junction of Highway 19. History Prior to European settlement, the present site of Tills ...

and

Ingersoll, Ontario Ingersoll is a town in Oxford County on the Thames River in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The nearest cities are Woodstock to the east and London to the west. Ingersoll is situated north of and along Highway 401. Oxford County Road 119 (former ...

from the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

. In 2009, a second line was added, as of CPR track from

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

to St. Thomas, Ontario were integrated into the system. In 2015, Ontario Southland began leasing the ex-Canadian National Cayuga Subdivision between St. Thomas and

Delhi, Ontario Delhi (; ) refers to both a former township and unincorporated community located off of the junction of Ontario Highways 59 and 3. Delhi is known as the "Heart of Tobacco Country." Prior to 1880, this community was known for its lumber indus ...

, which had been abandoned by its former shortline operator the St. Thomas and Eastern Railway in 2013. The OSR also operated the

Guelph Junction Railway The Guelph Junction Railway is a shortline railway owned by the City of Guelph, Ontario, and serves the city's northwest industrial park. The railway was the first federally chartered railway in the Commonwealth of Nations to be owned by a munic ...

until August 28th, 2020, when they ran their last train on the line before transferring operations to the Goderich and Exeter Railway.

Operations

Tillsonburg Operations

OSR's Tillsonburg Division operates on the remaining of the ex-Canadian Pacific Port Burwell Subdivision between Ingersoll and

, Ontario. Customers served include Future Transfer, Cedar Crest Wood Products, Kissner Group, Johnson Controls, International Beams, and Wellmaster. Traffic destined for Growmark Inc. in Delhi, Ontario, as well as Cargill and Norfolk Co-Op in Courtland, Ontario is also handled.

St. Thomas Operations

On December 14, 2009, the OSR began leasing the St. Thomas Subdivision from Canadian Pacific consisting of of track from

to St. Thomas, Ontario. Customers served include Ontario Refrigerated Services, Auto Warehousing Company, Agrium, Belmont Farm Supply, Sylvite, Messenger Freight Services, and Factor Gas Liquids. Interchange with CN at St. Thomas and with CP at Woodstock.

CAMI Automotive Operations

OSR does all switching at the CAMI Automotive plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. Approximately 100 multis are switched in and out of the facility each day.

Cayuga Subdivision

In November 2015, the OSR and

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. C ...

announced that the OSR would be overtaking operation of CN's abandoned Cayuga subdivision from St. Thomas to Tillsonburg and further on to

, once necessary track maintenance was completed, in order to service a windmill turbine factory which had opened east of Tillsonburg. Other customers served include two grain elevators in

Courtland, Ontario Courtland is a village located in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada on Highway 3 between Delhi and Tillsonburg. Sidewalks only exist on the main streets. Otherwise, the walk through Courtland is simple provided that pedestrians pay extra caution ...

, an ethanol plant in

Aylmer, Ontario Aylmer is a town in Elgin County in southern Ontario, Canada, just north of Lake Erie, on Catfish Creek. It is south of Highway 401. Aylmer is surrounded by Malahide Township. History In October 1817, John Van Patter, an immigrant from New ...

and a fertilizer plant in Delhi.

Locomotive Roster

References

{{Canada railways Ontario railways Rail transport in Oxford County, Ontario Rail transport in Woodstock, Ontario Rail transport in Elgin County Rail transport in St. Thomas, Ontario