ATTENTION!: We have recently uploaded many new older photos from the Greenville Railroad Park. Many of these photos did not have a photographers name with them. If you see anything that is yours please let us know so we can give credit where it is due and so the park can update its records. If you wish to have your photo removed, please e-mail us using the link provided on the home page.

The BLE HR History page does not offer near as much detail as these three written works. These three titles are highly recommended for anyone interested in the Bessemer & Lake Erie. Bessemer & Lake Erie 1869-1969. Roy C. Beaver 1969. (Left) B&LE In Color. Robert V. Lorenzo and Nathan S. Clark Jr 1994 (Mid) Bessemer & Lake Erie: A Tribute. Thomas K. Kraemer 2009 (Right)

In the late 1800’s and throughout 20th century steel mills dominated the Pittsburgh, PA skyline and iron was needed to produce the steel made at these mills. Railroads were the answer to move the iron from mine to mill, and one of the true ore hauling workhorses was the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad. The year 1869 saw the founding of the Shenango and Allegheny Railroad. The S&A was a subsidiary of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad (which would later become the Erie and then Erie Lackawanna). The Shenango & Allegheny primary job was to serve mines between Shenango, PA (just south of Greenville) and Pardoe, PA (near Grove City, PA). The S&A eventually became the Pittsburgh, Shenango, and Lake Erie. In 1897, Andrew Carnegie merged the PS&LE, or Pees-lee to some, and the Pittsburgh & Butler Railroad to create the Pittsburgh, Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad. In 1990, the PB&LE was renamed to the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad (B&LE) and was further taken over by U.S. Steel in 1901, following the sale of Carnegie’s steel industry. The B&LE would continue to prosper throughout the early 20th Century. Primarily steam powered, the railroad’s steam roster varied from 0-4-0 switchers to the Bessemer’s legendary 600 series, consisting of 47 (601-647) 2-10-4 Texas type locomotives, such as 647 seen at right.

The 1950’s yielded the transformation to a dieselized Bessemer roster with winged EMD F7’s (700 series) being the the stars of the B&LE’s public image of modern motive power.  EMD SD7s (450 series, 801-803) and Baldwin AS616s (401-409) were also purchased around the same time period. During the 1960’s EMD SD9s (821-847), ALCo RSD-15s (881-886), and EMD SD18s (851-857) dominated the B&LE, but throughout the 1970s the backbone of the B&LE motive power fleet became a fleet of over 20 SD38 series units (210, 658, 860-879, 890-892). At left, EMD F7 703 is on one of her first trips after purchase and is crossing over the Rt. 358 overpass on the outskirts of the Greenville, PA city limits.

Steam or diesel, locomotives had to overhauled and repaired often. Light maintenance was performed at Albion, PA, but the B&LE's main shop complex was and still is located in Greenville, PA. Complete with a turntable and a transfer table, the B&LE was fully capable of repairing and servicing many locomotives at a time. A 2-bay diesel shop was added just prior to the F7s arrival as well. Unlike many other railroads classic shop buildings, the B&LE's shop complex has, for the most part, survived, including the massive 17-stall roundhouse seen as SD38-2 878 and SD40T-3 902 move about the ready tracks.
 

Coal and Ore have been the primary materials hauled by the Bessemer. Ore traditionally originates in Minnesota’s Missabe range and Quebec’s Labrador range and is offloaded by ore boats at the Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Company (P&C) at Conneaut, OH (see AS616 404 loading ore at right). This ore is then loaded into B&LE hopper cars and travels south. At one time, raw ore was stopped in Saxonburg, PA (just south of Butler, PA) to go through the ore sintering process, but this process has been ended. Thus, ore continues straight to North Bessemer, PA (XB) where it is interchanged to the Union Railroad to proceed on to Pittsburgh’s mills.

Coal has typically been received from the Union Railroad at XB and travels north to Conneaut. To the left, SD38AC 868 is bringing one of these coal trains down the Hogback Curve and into Conneaut. Coal has, in the past, also been received from CSXT at Shenango, PA and Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad at Butler, PA. Various online coal mines also were once found along the B&LE main line and branch lines at locations such as Branchton, Red Hot, and Rural Ridge.

            Although ore and coal remained the primary commodities through the early and mid parts of the 20th century, the B&LE did handle other types of rail traffic as well. Passenger service lasted until 1954, with several excursions taking place thereafter for employees and/or historical railroad groups. Regular passenger train service ran from Erie, PA and Conneaut, OH to North Bessemer, PA. Trips were also available from points on the Bessemer system to Conneaut Lake Park near Conneaut Lake, PA along the Bessemer’s Meadville Branch. Due to the Bessemer’s small quantity of passenger equipment, other railroad’s such as the PRR and ERIE were permitted to use their equipment to travel to the park, although trains were operated by B&LE crews. After passenger service ended, passenger cars were used as Office Car Special cars (ex cars 101 and 102) and also for MOW services (kitchen, baggage, and combine cars). Below, and office car special led by Pacific type 904 poses with employees and B&LE and Union RR  coaches on an inspection trip in Conneaut, OH. Baggage car #41 is posing in the next picture near the coach shop in Greenville, PA.

                Other forms of freight were also handled by the B&LE. Coil and gondolas have been used to serve steel industries for both online (such as AK Steel in Butler, PA) and offline services. Limestone is still hauled from Conneaut, OH to Branchton, PA for Mercer Lime & Stone Co. which produces products in the lime industry. Several industries were also included in the Allegheny Industrial District, just north of the Bessemer’s Allegheny River Bridge in Harmarville, PA. In the middle of the 20th Century, the Bessemer also handled a significant amount of general merchandise and specialty goods. During this time, the B&LE ran a daily train, WX-2, that operated from North Bessemer to Wallace Jct. and consisted of extra freight that would not be found on an ore/coal train or a local. This included, but was not limited to, the Bessemer’s fleet of piggyback cars and boxcars. Piggyback facilities were located at several places along the Bessemer, including North Bessemer (see below) and Butler. Possibly due to their proximity to the popular high and wide load hauler, Erie Lackawanna, the B&LE frequently handled heavy loads, such as large engines out of Cooper-Bessemer in Grove City, PA. SD40T-3 910 and SD38AC 866 have ahold of a not so heavy load, two boxcars headed up the low-line towards destined for customers at the Allegheny Industrial District.

Fast-forward to June 2009 and the B&LE looks quite different, actually quite a bit like the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1999 and 2000 the B&LE acquired 11 Ex-SP SD45T-2 “Tunnel Motor” units (900-910), after being rebuilt to SD40T-3 specs. Three of these tunnel motors can be seen to the right, led by the 904. Canadian National purchased the railroad, along with sister railroad Duluth Missabe & Iron Range, in 2004. Today, only about two to three trains operate per day. U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson Works is the last blast furnace using Bessemer-handled or and Mercer Lime & Stone is the only other major customer along the line. Coal has not moved over the B&LE mainline since 2006.

Its an early start and this page will surely be updated as time passes by and more historical input is added. We hope you enjoyed the History section.
  

Copyright 2009 Design by Bob Brooks. Assistance by Jonathan Clark. All photos are NOT to be re-distributed. Bessemer Font by Pete Willard. The B&LE Railroad Historical and Railfan Webpage is in NO way associated with Canadian National or any incarnation of the B&LE or DM&IR.