Summer Vacation 2021 - Warren PA and vintage LEF&C
These slides of the Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion RR were made 05-09-1972 on a railfan trip with Lowell Suttman. We were not great photographers (Lowell used a Kodak Instamatic with color print film), and we knew only the basic information of the area we were visiting.
1. LEF&C 23 SW1500. They previously had RS-1s and would later acquire a couple of MP15s when significant coal traffic developed. Clarion PA. 05-09-1972.
2. LEF&C cab 9.
3. My notes say that cabs 8 and 9 came from the Pittsburg & Shawmut. Train Shed Cyclopedia No. 11 show a P&S and it appears identical. It was built by AC&F. LEF&C 9. View 2. Clarion PA. 05-09-1972.
4. LEF&C cab 8, ex-P&S. Clarion PA. 05-09-1972.
5. I show no. 10 as coming from the Chicago & North Western. LEF&C cab 10, ex-C&NW.
6. LEF&C cab 10. View 2.
7. Plow 501 was a former coal tender. LEF&C.
8. This LEF&C hand crane is handy for small derailments and for lifting axles, wheels, etc. Clarion PA. 05-09-1972.
9. Just west of Brookville the LEF&C connected with the Pennsy Low Grade line. Just north at Sutton it connected with the NYC LF&C branch. The LF&C under that corporate name existed from 1913 until 1993. The short line was 15 miles plus some branches. This 1:250,000 scale is from 1967. Warren, PA-NY, 1:250,000 quad, 1957, USGS. Click here for a larger image.
Anyway from Oil City, we continued up the scenic Allegheny River valley 57 miles to Warren on US 62. There were no significant towns except Tionesta and Tidioute. The PRR Salamanca Br. ran this route, and it was still shown in the Penn Central Allegheny Div. map in place from Oil City to Tidioute. Little evidence exists now.
10. PRR Northern Region employee timetable #3, PRR Salamanca Br. 04-28-1957.
11. PC Allegheny Div map. Click here for a larger image.
12. Arriving in Warren PA, we spotted this Buffalo & Pittsburgh train switching on the west end of the small yard. It started to rain heavily. The units are 2172-120-3120-2167. BPRR 2172 is ex-NS and is rated as a GP38-2. 3120 is rated as a “GP40-2”; its ancestry is ex-BPRR 6673, CSX 6673, SCL 6673 nee-SAL GP40 601. I think 2177 is the same as 2172.
13. BPRR slug 120 is ex-BPRR 305, nee-UP GP35 743. Warren PA.
14. B&P, ex-PRR, nee-Philadelphia & Erie bridge across the Allegheny River. Warren PA.
15. BPRR bridge. Warren PA. View 2.
16. BPRR bridge. Warren PA. View 3.
17. PRR depot. My back would be to the bridge here. I suspected that the present site was the location of the depot. Ca. 1910. Warren PA.
18. PRR depot. Warren PA. Ca. 1911.
19. You can see the bridge and the B&P yard just around the curve to the west. The track extending on up through town – the former NYC Dunkirk-Titusville line -- is no longer there. Warren, PA, 1:24,000 quad, 1954, USGS. Click here for a larger image.
20. BPRR Warren PA yard and shops sign.
21. BPRR 2172. Enginehouse. The crew parked their engines beside the shop and went off duty. Warren PA. The sun broke through.
22. BPRR 2172. View 2. Warren PA.
23. B&P predecessor Allegheny & Eastern MW spreader 801. Warren PA.
24. BPRR MW 801. View 2. Warren PA.
25. Genesee & Wyoming system timetable #2. Cover. 1999.
26. The K&K (Knox & Kane) ended operations in 2006. G&W #2 1999. Click here for a larger image.
27. G&W Allegheny & Eastern.
28. PRR Northern Region #3. PRR Main Line Erie.
29. Penn Central employee timetable. 1975. PC Corry, Emporium Erie Sec.
30. NYC Erie Div. map 1951 showing Dunkirk to Titusville including Warren. It also shows the LEF&C from Sutton to Clarion. Click here for a larger image.
31. NYC Erie Div. employee timetable. 1951. Dunkirk-Titusville.
From Warren we followed the B&P to Kane, spending the night in Bradford.
Train images used by permission of Everett N Young