Lake Erie, Franklin, & Clarion Railroad

Chapter 26, "The Railroads Of Pennsylvania" by Dr. Roger B Saylor, 1964

The geographical location of Clarion, high above the Clarion River, makes impractical the construction of a railroad through the town, so the community could never hope for more than branch line or short line service. Prior to 1900 a narrow guage branch line connecting with the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh line between Foxburg and Kane (now part of the Baltimore & Ohio system) entered Clarion from the west. This branch line was abandoned when Clarion residents were unwilling to finance the rebuilding of an unsafe trestle, so the town found itself without even the rather unsatisfactory rail service it once had.

The idea of building a railroad from Summerville, in Jefferson County, to Clarion, in Clarion County, was considered at least as early as 1895. In 1874 the Allegheny Valley Railroad's Low Grade Line was completed from Red Bank, on the Allegheny River, to Driftwood, on Sinnemahoning Creek on the eastern side of the Allegheny Mountain summit, passing through Summerville en route. This line was leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1900. A survey of a route between Summerville and Clarion was made in 1895, and in 1900 a charter was obtained for the Clarion & Summerville Railroad Company. In May of 1901 the corporate name was changed to the Clarion, Summerville & Pittsburgh Railroad Company. A route was surveyed, a right-of-way was obtained, and some grading had taken place when the company president died. Internal dissensions followed his death, causing temporary abandonment of the project.

In 1903, a committee of Clarion citizens secured the rights and interests of the Clarion, Summerville & Pittsburgh Railroad Company and entered into an agreement with Charles F. Heidrick of Brookville. Under the agreement they would transfer to him the rights and interests of the Clarion, Summerville & Pittsburgh and donate to him $50,000, conditioned upon the completion of a railroad and the operation of it for passengers and freight in and out of Clarion by September 1, 1904. All this was accomplished, and with the name revised to the Pittsburgh, Summerville & Clarion Railroad Company, operations began August 27, 1904, between Summerville and Clarion, connecting with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Summerville.

On December 31, 1910, the road was leased to the Pennsylvania Southern Railroad Company. Soon thereafter a half-mile long branch line was constructed from Heidrick to Sutton to form a connection with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, now the New York Central, at Sutton. A branch line also was constructed from Strattanville north to the Clarion River along that river to the mouth of Mill Creek.

The Pennsylvania Southern was owned principally by General Charles Miller, of Franklin. Some time between December 31, 1910, and September 1912, General Miller and his associates incorporated the Pennsylvania Northern Railroad Company to take over a private road running along Mill Creek from the confluence of that creek and the Clarion River, and connecting with the Pittsburgh, Summerville & Clarion at that point. In September 1912, the Pittsburgh, Summerville & Clarion was reorganized as the Pittsburgh, Clarion & Franklin Railroad Company.

On November 10, 1913, the Pennsylvania Northern, the Pennsylvania Southern, and the Pittsburgh, Clarion & Franklin were consolidated to form the Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion, with General Miller as the sole owner. There were plans to extend the road to Lake Erie by way of Franklin, but this idea never materialized. The road was never built westward from Clarion, but there were a number of short branch lines built to bituminous coal mines.

The road became a very active small railroad providing freight service for bituminous coal mines and the industries of Clarion. Passenger service was operated between Clarion and Summerville, and by the use of trackage rights over the New York Central, from Clarion to Franklin via Sutton.

The Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion has always operated in Clarion and Jefferson Counties, with current operations consisting of about 13 miles in Clarion and two miles in Jefferson. (note: The L.E.F.&C. is no longer in operation) In 1924 the company was operating as much as 80 miles of road, but the main line has always been from Clarion to Summerville, about 15 miles. Branch lines, mostly short ones to coal mines, plus a relatively long one up along Mill Creek, accounted for about 17 miles of road in 1924. The remaining 48 miles operated consisted of the mileage on the New York Central over which the Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion operated passenger trains to Franklin. Part of this mileage was in Venango County. On December 31, 1924, the running of passenger trains over New York Central tracks was discontinued. The Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion, however, continued to use the New York Central tracks from Sutton to Reidsburg Junction for their freight trains until 1936. About 1925, the branch line along Mill Creek was abandoned. Since 1936, there have been few changes in the operation except in branch lines to coal mines.

The present operation consists of the main line between Clarion and Summerville, plus the half-mile branch line to Sutton. Summerville is 15 miles from Clarion and Sutton 12 miles. A connection is made at Summerville with the Pennsylvania line running from Red Bank to Driftwood of Sinnemahoning Creek. At Sutton, a connection is made with the Clearfield Branch on the New York Central, which, generally speaking, runs from Jersey Shore on the east to Polk Junction, near Franklin, on the west. These two interchange points have been about equally important to the Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion over the years.

Among the most important customers of the railroad is the Owens-Illinois Glass Company plant in Clarion, manufacture of glass bottles. Raw materials are hauled in and finished products out. Other important customers in Clarion are the Clarion Builders Supply Company and Amos L. Dolby, explosives distributor. Near the other end of the line, the Hanley Company, brick manufacturer, located one mile west of Summerville, is an important customer. Only one important mine remains active along the line and this is operated by W. P. Stahlman as a strip mine. It is located about two miles south of Corsica at a railroad point called Holden.

The general offices of the Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion are in Clarion at the end of the road, and the company's three diesel-electric locomotives are housed there also. (note: the roundhouse has now been taken over by the borough of Clarion as a maintance building) Normally, two crews are called to work each weekday, both making the round trip from Clarion to Summerville. One leaves Clarion about 4:00 p.m., and the other, approximately two hours later. The company has learned that it can best serve its customers by operating in the evening, picking up cars filled during the day and spotting those to be filled the next day. For the years 1956-1960, about 85% of the tonnage hauled was originated on the road.

The volume of traffic, as measured by ton-miles of freight hauled, has declined much less than that of most of the short line railroads in Pennsylvania. During the 1920's, the average per year was just over the four-million mark. A peak of 6.7 million was reached in 1941. The 1951-60 average was 4.2 million.

Passenger service was an important part of the road's operation at one time. The passenger-mile figures for the early 1920's were greatly affected by the 48-mile run over the New York Central under trackage rights from Sutton to Franklin, a service which was conducted from June 12, 1911 through December 31, 1924. In later years of passenger operation, the service consisted of three round trips daily between Clarion and Summerville, where connections were made with Pennsylvania trains running between Red Bank and Renovo. In 1938 the Pennsylvania discontinued passenger service between those two points, and with that development the demand for passenger service on the Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion fell off sharply. It was finally discontinued at the end of 1942.

Operating revenues were at record high levels during the later 1950's. The $700,000 mark was passed in 1957, and the 1956-1960 average was $650,000. For two reasons operating revenues have risen even though ton-miles hauled have remained fairly consistent. Freight rates have increased over the years, and much of the heavy tonnage of coal carried by the road in earlier years has gradually been replaced by almost equal tonnages of higher grade commodities.

Net incomes were negative in 12 of the 18 years from 1921 through 1938, but over the following 23 years they were all positive. The range for this period has been from $23,000 in 1945 to $173,000 in 1957. The 1956-1960 average was $126,000, over 19% of the average operating revenue for the period.

The capital stock of the Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion Railroad Company consists of 20,000 shares, authorized and outstanding, with a par value of $50. No dividends were paid from 1921 through 1956. In early years profits were seldom realized. After 1938 profits were earned regularly and at substantial levels, but they were kept as retained earnings. The first dividend payment was $1.00 per share in 1957. Since then, payments have varied from $3.00 to $4.50 per share.

Years	Average Miles Operated	Ton-Miles of Revenue Freight (thousands)	Passenger-Miles (thousands)	Operating Revenue (thousands)	Net Income (thousands)
1921-25	67	4385	957	$281	$10
1926-30	35	3750	135	232	-16
1931-35	31	1915	25	124	-29
1936-40	16	3046	12	184	16
1941-45	15	5623	6*	358	60
1946-50	15	4660	-	389	61
1951-55	15	4272	-	502	89
1956-60	15	4211	-	650	126
1960	15	3473	-	546	68
1961	15	3287	-	567	84
1962	15	4146	-	539	86

*Passenger service discontinued at the end of 1942.

 

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