About

Farnsworth Junction on the Tionesta Valley Railroad connected to the Warren & Farnsworth Valley Railroad, one of its destinations was Rogertown. Rogers Mill was across the Allegheny River east of Warren, PA at the intersection of routes 6 & 59. Timber was brought there with the W&FV RR tracks passing under the P&E RR at Morrison Run. From North Clarendon, PA, to the oil boom towns along Farnsworth Creek, the W&FV RR hauled heavy freight to the drilling being done in the oil fields. The Town of Farnsworth is described in a item from the Warren Ledger.

My great-great grandfather was Thomas Farnsworth Jr., and his family came to Sheffield, PA in 1838. My great grandfather was Wilson J. Farnsworth born in Cherry Grove, PA and was general superintendent of the production department of the Crew Levick Oil Company. My grandfather Raymond E Farnsworth was born in Tiona, PA and worked as a pipeline regulator in the pipeline department at United Refining Co. Warren, PA until his retirement in 1956. My great maternal grandfather was Theodore A. Hahn who worked at the Hammond Iron works for about 25 years and retired as Boiler Shop Forman. Formerly he worked at Struthers Wells. His daughter, my grandmother Pearl taught me that: ‘The Sun Never Sets on a Hammond Tank’. Of note, Hammond Iron Works was acquired in 1959 by Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel, PDM. PDM built the St. Louis Arch and the tridents for the World Trade Center twin towers.

In 1948, my maternal grandfather George McClellan Brown retired as a Conductor for the Pennsylvania Railroad after 39 years of service. In the website cover photo and below, he is pictured on the day he retired, the picture was taken in front of Warren, PA yard locomotive along with the rest of his train crew. One of the major local industries they switched was the United Refining Company.

My father Wilson T Farnsworth was born in Warren PA and worked as a draftsman for Struthers Wells, a foundry and manufacturer in Warren, PA for 162 years, and another important railroad shipper including oversize loads. My mother Ann, as a railroader’s daughter was a proponent of the AAR ad campaign circa 1970: ‘America’s Railroads Who needs them? You do. We all do.’

For his ‘Last Word’ episode on Erie News Now, John Last wanted to do a segment on ‘Trains at Christmas’. He visited the Lakeshore Model Railroad Association prior to our open house in December. I had my story of my first train at Christmas to tell John.

For Christmas 2021, Erie News Now, John Last premiered his ‘Last Word’ episode on ‘Trains at Christmas’. He filmed at the Lakeshore Model Railroad Association prior to our open house last week. I like John and the interview he had with each one of us. I mentioned my Dad’s O gauge layout when Dad would have been ten years old. The picture below is exactly as I remember when he and Grandpa set up for me – I think when I was six in 1962. It was at my grandparents’ home until the house was sold in 1972. About 1969 I started an HO gauge railroad at my parents’ home and have been modeling in HO and recently N gauge too.

On February 21, 2022 I obtained the NMRA Achievement Program Chief Dispatcher designation. Below, NMRA MCR Division 12 Achievement Program Committee Chair Mike Hauk presented me with the designation at our Summer Picnic on June 11, 2022. Follow the Chief Dispatcher NMRA Achievement Program link for more on my presentation for this certification.