Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion 4-4-0 "American" Locomotives in the USA

Class 97 (Locobase 14949)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 65, pp.174+ See also James Brown, M.Ed, "A Brief History of the Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad at [] and Dr Roger B Saylor, "Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion Railroad", Chapter 26 of The Railroads of Pennsylvania (1964) archived at [] . (Apologies to James Brown for misquoting his information about the 97's final days.; Locobase has changed the engine's scrap date to five years after its retirement date.) Works number was 54886 in June 1921.

Locobase 14230 gives a brief history of this western Pennsylvania short line and notes that the railroad amassed almost a million passenger miles in the period 1921-1925. This good-sized Eight-wheeler undoubtedly hauled the lion's share of that traffic. The 97 had the biggest saturated boiler on a Baldwin 4-4-0 since 1911.

Saylor tells us that the LEF&C had secured trackage rights on 48 miles (77.3 km) of New York Central line from Sutton to Franklin and ran trains on that service from 12 June 1911 to 31 December 1924.

By September 1926, however, the need for such a locomotive apparently faded and the 97 was sold. James Brown states that the engine was scrapped "about five years later.",,

(Saylor notes that a later passenger connection between Clarion and Summerville with connections to the Pennsylvania continued until 1938.)