MODEL PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR Modeling Franklin Jct. Scratchbuilding a 1950’s interlocking tower/Chuck Davis O


ne of the most interesting places to watch trains can be at a junc- tion, particularly if different rail-


roads are involved. Junctions can be found in all shapes and sizes, from crossings of multi-track mainlines with accompanying interchange yards to simple single track branchlines. A little known junction which served the Lehigh Valley and Jersey Central railroads near Wilkes-Barre in north- east Pennsylvania, incorporated sever- al interesting features. Listed at MP (mile post) 170.41 on CNJ and MP 174.0 on Lehigh Valley timetables, Franklin Junction was always an inter- esting spot to watch the “Jersey” and the “Valley” in action. Its role was easy to understand if you consider the na- ture of rail operations that existed throughout the Wyoming Valley: coal and interchange. The Wyoming Valley was the center of the northern and richest of the an- thracite coal fields. Several major rail- roads, including the CNJ, LV, Pennsyl- vania, DL&W, Erie, D&H, NYO&W, Erie & Wyoming Valley, and Wilkes- Barre & Eastern, aggressively compet- ed and often criss-crossed each other


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for this once lucrative business. Coal and interchange freight made the area a major rail center. Franklin Junction was located be-


tween Wilkes-Barre, where small


Lehigh Valley, CNJ, D&H, and Penn- sylvania Railroad yards were located, and the CNJ’s large Ashley Yard and


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