The following is a reprint of an article on the L.E.F. & C. It was written sometime in the mid to late 1940's, author unknown.
LEF&C Railroad
Primary Factor For Prosperity
Railroad Constructed In 1903-1904 Has Served Clarion District Faithfully, Added To Town's Growth And Prosperity
Since the construction in 1903 and 1904 of the railroad property now known as the Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad Company, that railroad has been the transportation life-stream for the town of Clarion and the surrounding community. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, prior to the construction of this railroad, railroad facilities in Clarion were furnished by a narrow-gauge branch line extending from that part of the B. & O. Railroad running between Foxburg and Kane, and came in across South Fifth Avenue, with a station located approximately on the site of the Henry Hufnagel residence at the corner of Eight and Greenville Avenues.
South of town there was a high wooden trestle carrying this narrow-gauge branch line across a deep ravine, and which was condemned as unsafe. A demand was made by the B. & O. Railroad on the citizens of Clarion for a contribution to cover the cost of repairing this trestle in order to continue operation of trains into Clarion; this contribution the people of Clarion refused to make, and the service was withdrawn.
While the B. & O. service, because of the less than standard width track, of very inferior quality, the withdrawal of the service left the town in a very unfavorable position. There were no improved streets or highways, and the nearest railroad facilities were over unimproved roads to Clarion Junction, and during the period that this was the only available railroad facilities, a covered wooden bridge across the Clarion River blew down, and it was necessary to cross the river by ferry for a considerable time before a new bridge was erected.
During the first few years of the twentieth century there was considerable activity among public-spirited citizens of the town with a view to secure additional and improved railroad facilities and a company known as the Clarion & Summerville Railroad was incorporated in December, 1900; in May, 1901 the name of this corporation was changed to Clarion, Summerville & Pittsburgh Railroad. This company was apparently promoted by J. C.. Whitla, and considerable amounts of stock of this company were subscribed for by the First National Bank, the Second National Bank, F. M. Arnold, Harry R. Wilson and many others. This company made surveys and secured rights-of-way but never constructed a railroad.
In 1903, a citizens' committee, headed by Harry R. Wilson, secured the rights and interests of the Clarion, Summerville & Pittsburgh Railroad, and entered into an agreement with Charles F. Heidrick of Brookville, whereby they would transfer to him the rights and interests of the unconstructed Clarion, Summerville, & Pittsburgh Railroad, and raise and donate to him a fund of $50,000, conditioned upon the completion of a railroad and the operation of trains for transportation of passengers and freight in and out of Clarion on or before September 1, 1904.
The $50,000 was duly raised, a small part of which was contributed by leading citizens in the borough of Strattanville and other communities adjacent to the railroad, and a railroad was constructed as the Pittsburgh, Summerville & Clarion Railroad; operation started a few days before the specified date of September 1, 1904. A complete list of subscribers to this fund would be too long to publish, but it shows $5000 contributed by F. M. Arnold, for the First National Bank; $5000 by I. M. Shannon, for Second National Bank; $5000 by T. C. Hulings for Clarion Gas Company and Pittsburgh Oil and Gas Company; $2000 by Harry R. Wilson; $1500 each by Arnold Brothers and E. H. Frank; $1000 each by A. G. Corbett, John A. Magee & Son, I. M. Shannon, Don C. Corbett for Clarion Water Company, A. W. Corbett, Ida B. Alexander Executors, and S. Win Wilson. Smaller amounts were contributed by approximately one hundred other individuals. A further contribution of $15,000 was made by the Marvin and Rulofson Company, in consideration of a branch line from Strattanville to their lumber operations at the mouth of Mill Creek on the Clarion River, as prior to the construction of the railroad this concern was dependent entirely on river transportation for their large operations.
From the beginning of operations in 1904, the railroad operated regular passenger, mail and express service, connecting with all principal trains on the Pennsylvania at Summerville; an old schedule dated May 1908 shows the following schedule:
Leave Clarion 7:50 a.m., 11:10 a.m., and 4:50 p.m.
Arrive Summerville 8:35 a.m., 11:55 a.m. and 4:50 p.m., respectively.
Trains leave Summerville 8:50 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.
Arrive in Clarion 9:35 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
During the first few years from the beginning of operation of the property lumber and other forest products, a then small glass plant owned by the Pearl Glass Company, constructed at Clarion soon after the construction of the railroad, later the Berney Bond Glass Co., now the Owens-Illinois Glass Company furnished the principal freight tonnage, but by 1910 the timber resources of the vicinity had become practically exhausted, and unless new tonnage could be created there would soon be insufficient business to continue operations of the property. At this point, General Charles Miller, of Franklin became interested in the property, and after incorporating the Pennsylvania Southern Railroad in October, 1910, leased the Pittsburgh, Summerville & Clarion Railroad property from it's president and principal stock holder, Charles F. Heidrick. General Miller was a man of some means and immediately proceeded to rehabilitate the railroad and to develop bituminous coal mining on a substantial basis. The old, secondhand sixty-pound rail of which the road was constructed was replaced by new eighty-pound rail on the entire main line between Summerville and Clarion, and the small obsolete locomotives were replaced with new heavier locomotives. Prior to this time the only connection was with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Summerville, but the New York Central Railroad extended from Franklin to Brookville had recently been completed, and a new connection was made with that line at Sutton, Pa. With this new connection through passenger and express services was inaugurated from Clarion to Franklin, with one round trip daily. This operation continued until December, 1924, by which time it had become unprofitable, due to improvements of the highway to Franklin and Oil City. This new connection also greatly improved the freight service.
General Miller became interested in the development of bituminous coal mining adjacent to the railroad and was responsible for the creation of the Pennsy Coal Company, and invested vast sums of money, the benefits of which accrued entirely to the community and other than himself as the principal of the investment was never returned to him. The economic benefits to Clarion and the surrounding community can be seen from the fact that there have been produced and transported over this railroad over 10,000,000 tons of bituminous coal.
In 1913, General Miller acquired ownership of the property then leased by the Pennsylvania Southern Railroad from the Pittsburgh Summerville & Clarion Railroad, and created the present Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion Railroad Company. This railroad has undoubtedly contributed more to the economic welfare of Clarion and the territory adjacent to its line between Clarion and Summerville, than any other single factor, other than the natural resources of the territory. The geographical location of Clarion is such as to prohibit the construction of a through trunk line railroad through the town, and without railroad facilities there would have been no substantial mining industry in the vicinity of Clarion and there would never have been a glass plant without a railroad, nor could there today, even with the improved highways, be a prosperous and continuously-expanding glass plant in Clarion without efficient and dependable railroad facilities, since the present plant of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company is dependent on the railroad for the transportation of its raw materials and a high percentage of its finished product. In fact it would be difficult to vision the town of Clarion today without the transportation facilities that have been afforded by this road through the years.
Contrary to a common feeling that the town as been handicapped in the matter of railroad facilities, such facilities have been superior to those enjoyed by other nearby communities of comparable size. In many cases rates are no higher to and from Clarion, than to and from the junction points at which it connects with other lines, and in instances where the rates are higher, the difference is so insignificant as to have no adverse influence. The connection with both the Pennsylvania and the New York Central Railroad along with prompt and dependable service to and from such lines, therefore, places Clarion in a more favorable position than other communities in the territory served by only one of these large systems.
In addition to furnishing very valuable and indispensable transportation services, this railroad has returned to the community a large proportion of the amounts paid to it for its services, in that it spends many thousands of dollars annually in salaries and wages to employees living in Clarion, and for ties produced from local forests and fuel coal from local mines. The number of employees on this railroad has varied from forty to seventy-five, depending upon industrial activity.
Annual payrolls amount to from a low of $50,000 to a high of $135,000, most of which is to employees residing in Clarion or the immediate vicinity. During the first six months of 1940 there was an average of 55 employees and payrolls were at the rate of $80,000 annually.
With the development of the modern automobile and truck, and the network of improved highways, this railroad as have all railroads lost much of its importance to the community in the matter of passenger, mail and express transportation, but it still retains its importance in the matter of heavy freight transportation and is still the foundation for much of the community's economic prosperity.
It would be unpardonable not to pay respect and tribute in this article to those public-spirited citizens who were so active in securing a railroad into Clarion and who donated their time and means toward that end, and without which the railroad probably never would have been constructed. Tribute should be paid to Charles F. Heidrick for his pioneering spirit in undertaking the construction of the road when the traffic possibilities were then limited and the prosperity of the railroad was dependent upon the development of the natural resources and the growth of the community which it served. High respect should be paid to General Charles Miller for his faith in the property and the resources of the community, and his willingness to invest substantial sums of money in the development of traffic that it might continue successful operation. In addition to Charles F. Heidrick, who was president of the Pittsburgh, Summerville & Clarion Railroad at the time of its construction until creation of the present Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion Railroad Company in November 1913, and General Charles Miller, president from that date until his death in December, 1926, many other individuals have been prominently identified with the property.
The Hon. Theo. L. Wilson (died, 1959) is general counsel and a director of the Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion Railroad, and has been connected with the property either as attorney or general counsel from the time of its inception, except for a period of eighteen months from July, 1912, to December, 1913, during the period when he was Judge of Clarion County, having been appointed to that office by the Governor of Pennsylvania on account of the death of Judge Hindman. He negotiated for and secured practically all of its rights-of-way, and handled all of its important legal matters.
Daniel Nolan was superintendent during the Pittsburgh, Summerville & Clarion Railroad period and Joel Tompkins was auditor; both played an important part in that company. During the period of the Pennsylvania Southern Railroad, which operated the property under lease from the Pittsburgh, Summerville & Clarion Railroad, H. Buckingham will be remembered as vice president and general manager. H. H. Hughes was for a number of years auditor and subsequently treasurer and general freight and passenger agent. Dan J. Nolan will be remembered by many as the pleasant and courteous passenger conductor. Gordon F. Proudfoot played an active part in the management of the property from the time General Miller first became interested in 1910 and was president from the death of General Miller, in December, 1926, until his own death in December, 1935.
L. L. Marshal, (died in 1953) who has been general superintendent of the road for many years, has played an important and active part in its operation, and H. O. Burns (died 1946), for man years as a locomotive engineer, but for the past fifteen years in charge of equipment maintenance, came to the road during its construction period; both have served it well and faithfully over the intervening period of thirty-six years. John W. Baum, who retired in 1937, and is still a resident of Clarion, also came to the road during the construction period and served it continuously in various capacities until the time of his retirement in 1937.
H. M. Johnston (died 1957), vice president and general manager in active charge of the affairs of the company since removal of the general's offices from Franklin to Clarion in the spring of 1936 has been continuously connected with the property in various capacities since December, 1908.
Many employees of the company have service records of over twenty-five years, but whose names space will not permit to be mentioned. There were others than those named as prominently identified with the company, but of whom mention cannot well be made.