Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Lake Erie, Franklin, and Clarion Railroad was a fifteen mile long short line that ran from a Conrail connection at Summerville, Pennsylvania
, to Clarion, Pennsylvania
, the county seat of Clarion County, and included a short branch from Sutton to Hedrick. The road was incorporated in 1913 as a consolidation of several other railroads, the Pennsylvania Northern, Pennsylvania Southern, and the Pittsburgh, Clarion and Franklin, which itself was formed from the Pittsburgh, Summerville, and Clarion [which began operation in 1904 and was leased to the Pennsylvania Southern in 1910. Length peaked at about 80 miles of track in around 1924. The corporate name was somewhat optimistic: the railroad never reached either Franklin or Lake Erie
.
In the late 20th century, traffic included sand for Clarion’s glass making plant, glass bottles, lumber, and outbound shipments of coal, some of it in unit trains from the extensive coal deposits around Clarion. Traffic also included brick from the Hanley Brick Plant in Summerville. The line ceased operation in the last decade of the 1900’s due to a sharp decline in coal mining in the area. The track was taken up and the roadbed in now a hiking path. One of the railroad’s cabooses had been used for several years as a Chamber of Commerce roadside information booth across the highway from the local Wal-Mart, but has been removed and is now serving much the same purpose in the town of Foxburg on the Allegheny River
, a few miles to the southwest.
The line’s yard and engine facility were located in Clarion, just south of U.S. route 322 and behind many of the buildings of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, formerly Clarion State Teachers’ College. A section house was located at the siding to Hanley Brick, now Glen-Gary in Summerville. Motive power in the line’s final years was six EMD MP15DC
switchers, which replaced four earlier EMD SW1500
s. During the final years when steam locomotives powered LEF&C trains, most of the road’s locomotives were 2-8-0’s which had been acquired second hand from other railroads.
(ICC) granted LEF&C's petition for exemption to abandon its operations on September 17, 1992. Effective October 20, 1992, the ICC extended the time for the affiliated Mountain Laurel Railroad to file an offer of financial assistance, however this did not come to pass and that line was officially abandoned on November 12, 1992. The LEF&C was officially abandoned on January 5, 1993, the last day on which it compensated employees.
Summerville, Pennsylvania
Summerville is a borough in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 525 at the 2000 census. It was named after Summers Baldwin, first settler in the area...
, to Clarion, Pennsylvania
Clarion, Pennsylvania
Clarion is a borough in Clarion County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, about 100 miles north-northeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the surrounding area produced natural gas, oil, lumber and coal. Merely 2,004...
, the county seat of Clarion County, and included a short branch from Sutton to Hedrick. The road was incorporated in 1913 as a consolidation of several other railroads, the Pennsylvania Northern, Pennsylvania Southern, and the Pittsburgh, Clarion and Franklin, which itself was formed from the Pittsburgh, Summerville, and Clarion [which began operation in 1904 and was leased to the Pennsylvania Southern in 1910. Length peaked at about 80 miles of track in around 1924. The corporate name was somewhat optimistic: the railroad never reached either Franklin or Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
.
In the late 20th century, traffic included sand for Clarion’s glass making plant, glass bottles, lumber, and outbound shipments of coal, some of it in unit trains from the extensive coal deposits around Clarion. Traffic also included brick from the Hanley Brick Plant in Summerville. The line ceased operation in the last decade of the 1900’s due to a sharp decline in coal mining in the area. The track was taken up and the roadbed in now a hiking path. One of the railroad’s cabooses had been used for several years as a Chamber of Commerce roadside information booth across the highway from the local Wal-Mart, but has been removed and is now serving much the same purpose in the town of Foxburg on the Allegheny River
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, a few miles to the southwest.
The line’s yard and engine facility were located in Clarion, just south of U.S. route 322 and behind many of the buildings of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, formerly Clarion State Teachers’ College. A section house was located at the siding to Hanley Brick, now Glen-Gary in Summerville. Motive power in the line’s final years was six EMD MP15DC
EMD MP15DC
The EMD MP15DC was a switcher-type diesel locomotive model produced by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1974 and 1980. 351 examples were built...
switchers, which replaced four earlier EMD SW1500
EMD SW1500
The EMD SW1500 was a diesel locomotive intended for switching service and built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between June 1966 and January 1974. 808 examples were constructed. It was closely related to the less powerful EMD SW1000 model, forming a line of switchers powered by the new...
s. During the final years when steam locomotives powered LEF&C trains, most of the road’s locomotives were 2-8-0’s which had been acquired second hand from other railroads.
Abandonment dates
The Interstate Commerce CommissionInterstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
(ICC) granted LEF&C's petition for exemption to abandon its operations on September 17, 1992. Effective October 20, 1992, the ICC extended the time for the affiliated Mountain Laurel Railroad to file an offer of financial assistance, however this did not come to pass and that line was officially abandoned on November 12, 1992. The LEF&C was officially abandoned on January 5, 1993, the last day on which it compensated employees.