I arrived in Jefferson and checked in with Sarah Jennings who let me use her cell phone to fix a personal problem I had since Lansing. We got it taken care of thanks to Bob Alkire, Elizabeth's husband, in Lynnwood, Washington.
Our train on a cold morning in Jefferson.
A Brief HistoryThe route used by the Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson Railroad is one of the few remaining portions of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern's Franklin Division. Between 1871 and 1872, the LS&MS built the line southward out of Ashtabula to Andover, Ohio, where it connected with the Jamestown & Franklin Railroad and the Mahoning Coal Railroad. The Jamestown & Franklin Railroad, was built in 1871, was leased by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and connected to the coal and oil fields of western Pennsylvania. The route was abandoned by Conrail in the late 1980's after the closure of the last coal mine on the line.
The Mahoning Coal Railroad, built in 1872-1873, was also leased by the LS&MS and the line to the coal fields in southwestern Pennsylvania, and steel mills in Youngstown {Ohio} and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The part of the line between Andover and Brookfield {both in Ohio} was abandoned by Penn Central in the early 1970's. The rest of the Mahoning Coal Railroad line remains in operation today by Norfolk Southern.
In 1903, a double-tracked low grade line was built between Plymouth {now known as Carson} and Brookfield, Ohio. This new line designed to provide a more level route for the slow and heavy coal and ore trains operating between Ashtabula and Youngstown/Pittsburgh. At the same time, Carson Yard was constructed in Plymouth for the staging of coal trains to Ashtabula Harbor and of iron ore trains to Youngstown/Pittsburgh. After the new low grade line opened, the high grade route from Plymouth to Jefferson and on south to Brookfield became a dedicated passenger train route.
In 1913, these lines became part of the New York Central. Operations remained relatively unchanged until 1950, when train volumes began to decline and fewer trains operated over the line. In 1957, this route was known as the Lake Division High Grade Subdivision. At the time, there were only two trains using the route. They were the northbound Pittsburgh Buffalo Express 272 and the southbound Buffalo Pittsburgh Express 281. Both trains operated over this route in the middle of the night. Soon, the remaining passenger trains were diverted onto the low grade line and the track south of Jefferson was abandoned. At the same time, the line to Jefferson was designated as the Jefferson Industrial Track, and remained in use by Penn Central and later Conrail, until the line was put up for abandonment by Conrail in 1984. At that time, the line was part of the Youngstown Division.
Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson Railroad CompanyWorking with the State of Ohio, local businessmen chartered the Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson Railroad in 1984. The purpose was to save the six-mile long Conrail Jefferson Industrial Track. In 1991, the AC&J created a sister company, AC&J Scenic Line, to operate passenger excursion trains. Today, the railroad hauls fertilizer, paper for corrugated boxes and plastic pellets used in injection molding. Additionally, the AC&J trans loaded bulk commodities from rail car to truck for shipment locally. Each year, the railroad hauls approximately 1200 cars. The railroad has two locomotives in use today. They are AC&J S-2 107 built June 1950 as NKP 45, later FP&E 107 and AC&J S-1 7371, built April 1941 as US Army 7371, later Hunkey-Conkey Construction 1002.
The Train
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson S-1 7371, ex. Hunkin-Conkey Construction 1002. nee United States Army 7371 built by American Locomotive Company in 1941.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson coach 7133 "Griggs Run", ex. Long Island Railroad 7133, nee Long Island 133 built by American Car and Foundry in 1927.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson coach 7136 "Rush Creek", ex. Long Island Railroad 7136, nee Long Island 136 built by American Car and Foundry in 1927.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson coach 1022 "Mill Creek", nee Erie Railroad 2253 built by Standard Steel in 1925
AC&Y Railroad Equipment company coach 721, ex. Illinois Central 52-seat coach 2678, exx. Illinois Central divided coach 3251, nee Illinois Central 3143 built by Pullman as a divided coach in 1919. This car is painted different on each side.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson power car 201, nee Erie 201 built by American Car and Foundry in 1950
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson caboose 425, nee Nickel Plate 425 built by the railroad in 1956.
A look around Jefferson
Pennsylvania Railroad caboose 477243 built by the railroad in 1918.
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern station built in 1872 which houses the Jefferson Depot Museum.
Our train and the Jefferson Depot.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson S-1 7371.
Conrail 50 foot box car 266610.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson coach 7099, nee Long Island Railroad 99 built by American Car and Foundry in 1927. In 1974, it was sold to Steamtown Foundation, then in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Two years later, it was rebuilt into a diner and named "The Cephas Kent Inn" for use on the Vermont Bicentennial Steam Expedition and repainted into a purple & tan paint scheme. By 1983 it had been renamed the "Williams River Inn" and converted into a café car. This is where it acquired the SF lettering above the 7099 markings and was painted tuscan red with yellow pinstriping.
In 1987, it was sold to the Knox & Kane Railroad in Marienville, Pennsylvania and painted brown & orange. They converted half of the snack bar into a gift shop. In 2008, it was sold at auction to a unknown scrapper but almost immediately resold to Delta Railroad Construction. In 2009, it moved to the Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson for storage over Norfolk Southern tracks and was converted to roller bearings for the move. In 2017, it was sold to a private owner by Delta Railroad Construction then in March 2017, acquired by the Walkersville Southern and moved there.
The above information provided by David Collison on this coach's entry on the Railroad Picture Archives website.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson open car 100, ex. Knox and Kane Railroad 100 and built on a Pennsylvania Railroad caboose frame. It is privately owned.
The line of stored cars.
Two concrete whistleposts.
A switch stand.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson caboose 518573, nee Norfolk and Western 518753 built by the International Railway Car Company in 1969.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson caboose 518573 and Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson S-1 107.
Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson S-1 107, ex. Fairport, Painesville & Eastern Railroad 107, exx. Norfolk and Western 2044, nee Nickel Plate 45 built by American Locomotive Company in 1945.
View of the stored engine and caboose. I hoped our train would come all the way up here but if it did not, I would at least photograph the route back to the Jefferson Depot.
Here are three views of the route back to the Jefferson Depot.
The Jefferson Depot.
Sarah Jennings checks in one of our riders for today's trip.
Our trip
At 1:00 PM, our train departed the Jefferson Depot.
Out into the Ohio forest our train went.
An Ohio cloudy and cold early afternoon.
We crossed Perry Road.
The line has great drainage.
Another tree in bloom.
The train crossed a property access dirt road.
Ties that have been replaced.
An open area in the forest.
An old signal foundation.
The baseball diamonds along our route.
There is an airplane marker out in this opening.
Tall trees along our route.
A better view of the airplane marker.
Trees in bloom.
Crossing Mill Creek at milepost 3.2.
A fallen tree.
Some kind of marker along our route.
A concrete whistlepost.
The train crossed Griggs Creek at milepost 2.2.
We were almost to Griggs Road.
Crossing Griggs Road.
You can certainly see the railroad's drainage ditch in this picture.
The train crossed Morgan Road.
There is a lake near Morgan Road.
Morgan Road.
We ran by this farm on our way north.
We went under Ohio Highway 11.
Our train pulled into the former Lakeshore and Michigan Southern Carson Yard which is the junction between the AC&J and the Ashtabula-Youngstown mainline of Norfolk Southern.
A siding just south of the junction switch at milepost 0.3.
A series of ponds at Carson.
Santa's Toy Shop.
Views at Carson.
Another view of Santa's Toy Shop.
Cars being offloaded at Carson. This was our turn back location and I relaxed on the trip back south.
