Franklin






On September 1, 1953 the C&P was merged into the WM. The WM began to rid itself of duplicate lines as the Eckhart Branch was abandoned as well as 5 1/2 miles of the mainline. The track was pulled from Mt. Savage Jct. to Mt. Savage, which later became Rt. 36. The remain track was left to serve the brick works at Zihlman and Mt. Savage. The 2.6 miles of track between Borden Shaft and Grahamtown was also removed making the C&P two seperate sections of track with the western end being worked from the WM at Westernport and the eastern end being worked from the WM at Switch No.9. Much later during the early 1970's the track from No.9 to Frostburg Depot was removed due to a lumberyard on the west side of the tunnel switching from rail service to trucks. The depot would sit trackless and boarded up until arrival of the Allegany Central Tourist trains.


Looking east from Waverly Street in 1968. Look how much this location has changed compared to the photo below. (1968, Don Biggs photo)

WM crossing at Waverly St. as it curves between Westernport and Franklin. (1.14.2012)

Passing through Franklin right after the '97? flood. (Al Moran photo)

Looking west and east from the west end of the passing track at Franklin. The C&P Shop tracks and wye also branched off the siding. (1968, Don Biggs photos)

Looking east along the siding at Franklin. The track that joins from the right is the east leg of the wye. Second photo is just a little further east looking at a lone WM hopper on a shortened siding. (1968, Don Biggs photos)

Don Biggs photographed the C&P wye at Franklin first in 1968 from track level then again in 1969 from up on the road. Notice the ballast in piles on the wye tracks, perhaps ballast cars were being kept here at one time. (Don Biggs photos)

These two F7's are trapped on the C&P mainline due to a broken switch. The crew said a track switch was broke and they were unable to move up the "crick" with their hopper train. It was too big to back down to the junction with the Thomas Sub in town. They were waiting for a track crew to arrive from Cumberland in this 1976 photo. Second photo is looking west towards Westernport at the same location. To the left in the open area was once the site of the C&P shops and a wye. (1976, Don Biggs photo and 1.14.12 photo by myself)

This former bridge at Franklin once carried a branch over the creak to the large mine that worked Franklin Hill. The operation had a gravity plane coming down from a narrow guage railroad that worked the mines. Where new Rt. 36 passes through Franklin was the site of the small yard that served the mine. The second photo is looking west at the east leg of the wye. (1968, Don Biggs photos)

B880 passing houses at Franklin with loads from Consol 10. (Al Moran photo) Took a track photo about the same location in Fraklin on January 14, 2012.

Looking west and east between Franklin and Harolds Garage. This was one the east end of the passing track at Franklin. The Franklin passing track was removed in 1967. (1969, Don Biggs photos)

Looking west and east at Harolds Garage in Franklin. (1.14.2012)

Looking east across the bridge at Franklin in 1968. The bridge in the photo is silver and shows the milepost number 30.07 on it in black. Today the bridge itself is black. In 1971 a Sperry car is running west and preforming an inspection of the railroad. (Don Biggs photos)




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