Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad

by Kenneth C. Springirth

Overview

Andrew Carnegie's vision of transporting iron ore from his boats on Lake Erie to his Pittsburgh steel mills was realized when he obtained ownership of a series of railroad companies in the region. In 1900, these companies became the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, which connected the Lake Erie ports of Erie, Pennsylvania, and Conneaut, Ohio, south to North Bessemer near Pittsburgh. Through vintage photographs, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad highlights the railroad passenger excursions to Conneaut Lake Park and the steam and diesel locomotives used on the well-maintained line. The railroad continues to serve the steel industry today and in May 2004 was acquired by the Canadian National Railway.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738562667
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	02/09/2009
Series:	Images of Rail
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Kenneth C. Springirth, author of Greater Erie Trolleys, Johnstown Trolleys and Incline, Pittsburgh Streamlined Trolleys, Suburban Philadelphia Trolleys, East Broad Top Railroad, and Southeastern Pennsylvania Trolleys, has a vested interest in rail history, as his father was a trolley car motorman in Philadelphia and his grandfather was a motorman in Washington, D.C. A transportation historian, he has been documenting and chronicling the history of the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad since 1965.

Editorial Reviews

Title: Portrait of the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad's heavy duty trains and terminals
Author: Staff Writer
Publisher: O Scale Magazine
Date: 2/8/2009

The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, by Kenneth C. Springirth, the latest addition to Arcadia Publishing's Images of Rail series, provides an unvarnished look at everyday, heavy-duty freight railroading leading to the Great Lakes.

The Bessemer and Lake Erie ran north-south, in western Pennsylvania, between the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and Erie, Pennsylvania and Conneaut, Ohio. The book covers the "big steam" an diesel eras, after a brief look at the line's construction. Photo coverage extends up to the welded rail era as recently as 2006.

Whereas the photographs in some books focus on the scenery, and deluxe passenger service, The Bessemer and Lake Erie focuses on the motive power and rolling stock needed to move heavy duty freight from mines to Great Lake. The freight trains were long and heavy, and the environment could be called "grimy industrial."

Many of the best photographs in this book are waterfront scenes, including some wonderful photographs showing the Hulett automatic iron ore unloader that could grab 10 tons of ore from a ship and place it in a hopper car. The Hulett's were huge, and positively dwarfed the hoppers placed below them.

Bessemer and Lake Eric Railroad, $21.99, Arcadia Publishing. Available at local rtailers, online bookstores, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888) 313—2665.

From the Publisher