Bessemer & Lake Erie Diesel Roster (All Time)

Last revised: September 18, 2026

The Bessemer dieselized for the same reason it bought Texans: traction on dense trains. A Westinghouse 65-tonner, 281, arrived in 1936 for Erie yard work. Baldwin switchers and C-C road-switchers followed in 1949–52. Then Electro-Motive took the railroad. Twenty-eight F7As and twenty-six F7Bs, 1950–53, dieselized the main. Last steam was 2-8-0 156 at Butler on May 14, 1953. After that the Bessemer learned that six motors were the answer and stayed there: SD7s, SD9s, SD18s, SD38s, SD38ACs, SD38-2s, and, at the end, rebuilt Southern Pacific tunnel motors.

Orange and black was the 1950 scheme and it stuck. U.S. Steel family trading with the Missabe and the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern filled holes the way the 2-10-4s had gone north in 1951. Canadian National closed on Great Lakes Transportation on May 10, 2004. Today, the B&LE remains a paper company although is no longer an independent system.

A pair of Bessemer and Lake Erie SD9s lead their train through the yard at North Bessemer Pennsylvania on September 4 1979

A pair of Bessemer & Lake Erie SD9s lead their train through the yard at North Bessemer, Pennsylvania, on September 4, 1979. Warren Calloway photo. Ex-Missabe six-axles were the ore power by then; the F7s were already on the branches.

On this page: At a glance · Westinghouse, Baldwin, Alco · F7s · SD7s to SD38-2s · RSD-15s, switchers, tunnel motors · All-time roster

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Bessemer & Lake Erie. Mark BLE. Company Bessemer & Lake Erie
First diesel	Westinghouse 65-ton 530-hp steeple-cab #281, 1936, Erie yard
Last steam	2-8-0 156, Butler, May 14, 1953. See the steam roster
Road dieselization	F7s 1950–53. 28 A units, 26 B units. Road trains dieselized by the end of 1952
Baldwin	DS-4-4-1000 282, 1949; seven DRS-6-6-1500s 401–407, 1949–50 (401–402 to EJ&E 1956); two AS616s 408–409, 1952. Centipedes tested, not bought
Six-axle EMD	SD7, SD9, SD18, SD38, SD38AC, SD38-2. Non-turbocharged 1,500–2,000 hp for starting tractive effort. Photo: SD9s North Bessemer
Alco road	Six RSD-15s, 881–886, ex-DM&IR 50–55, 1964–73
Last new B&LE order	SD38-2 892, March 1976, order 756069. SD40T-3 rebuilds 900–910, 1999–2000, from SP/SSW SD45T-2s
Paint	Early black and yellow; orange and black from 1950, the “butterknife” scheme
CN	Great Lakes Transportation closed May 10, 2004. BLE sublettering on CN paint from 2015

Serials and builder order numbers follow trainweb.us/emdloco, the live American-Rails tables, and the Diesel Shop DRS-6-6-1500 roster. Later numbers sit in the notes. Information compiled September 18, 2026.

281, then Baldwin, then two Alco S-4s

Westinghouse 281 was a 530-horsepower center-cab, 1936, for the Erie, Pennsylvania, yard the Bessemer reached on Nickel Plate rights. It lasted until 1955, then went to A. J. O’Neill and later United States Asphalt; retired 1962. Serious dieselization waited until 1949. Baldwin sent DS-4-4-1000 282 in March, then seven DRS-6-6-1500 C-Cs: 401–402 in January–February 1949 (to EJ&E as 500–501 in March 1956), 403 in May 1950, and 404–407 in July 1950. Two AS616s, 408–409, July 1952, finished the Baldwin road-switcher order. Orange and black went on those units. The railroad tested a pair of Baldwin Centipedes and did not buy them.

Alco S-4s 291–292, July 1952, serials 80054 and 80065, switched at Erie and later wore butterknife paint. That was the end of new Alco switchers. Six RSD-15s would come over from the Missabe in 1964.

Twenty-eight F7As, twenty-six F7Bs

Drury called the F7s a tidal wave, 1950 and 1951, with the last four As and four Bs in February 1953. Order 6118, June 1950, was 701A–707A and 701B–707B. 3085 followed in February–March 1951, 708A–714A and matching Bs. 3105 in June 1952 put 715A–724A on the road (eight Bs, 715B–722B). 3158 in February 1953 closed it: 725A–728A and 723B–726B. Classic Trains counted 28 cabs and 26 boosters. They handled the ore extras in A-B-A and A-A sets. Several As later went to the B&O (4644–4654). 715A and 719A went to the Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock. 722A is the Potomac Eagle’s B&O-lettered 722. The F7s lasted on the Western Allegheny / Kaylor side into 1992.

SD7s, then every non-turbo six-axle in the catalog

Three SD7s, 801–803, order 6436, October 1952, carried steam generators and dual control stands for the Erie–Greenville locals. Five more, 451–455, order 5212, April 1953, were long-hood-forward, no dynamic brake, for switching and locals. Passenger trains ended in 1955. The SD7s had already shown what six motors could do on ore.

From the 1960s the Bessemer standardized on low-horsepower C-Cs. Seven new SD18s, 851–857, order 5644, September 1962; 853 wore Bicentennial paint. Two more SD18s, 858–859, came off the Missabe in 1998. Twenty-seven SD9s, 821–847, were ex-DM&IR, acquired 1964–77. Three new SD38s, 861–863, order 7986, May 1967, later went to the Missabe. Six SD38ACs, 864–869, order 7327, July 1971. SD38-2s came in four bites: 870–878 order 72677, March–May 1973; 879 order 74612, February 1974; 890–891 order 74677, April 1975; 892 order 756069, March 1976. In 1980, 891 and 892 were traded for Missabe SD38-2 210 and EJ&E 658; both of those ran as B&LE for a time and went home later.

RSD-15s, SW1500s, tunnel motors

Six Alco RSD-15s, 881–886, built April 1956 as DM&IR 50–55, serials 81756–81761, came south in 1964. 2,400 horsepower, the loudest things on the roster. They went in 1973. Yard power in the last independent years included four ex-Penn Central/Conrail SW1500s, 150–153, and two ex-Union Railroad SW1500s, 160–161. An SW8, 285, and an NW2, 286, filled earlier switcher holes.

In 1999–2000 the railroad bought eleven rebuilt Southern Pacific / Cotton Belt SD45T-2 tunnel motors, numbered 900–910 as SD40T-3s, 3,000 horsepower for the ore extras CN would inherit. The 2007 photograph on the company page is that fleet, already in the CN years, still lettered for a paper subsidiary. Orange and black had been enough for fifty years.

All-time roster

Owned and lettered Bessemer & Lake Erie diesels, including long-term secondhand units that took BLE numbers. One row per builder order batch. Serial and order (EMD order / Alco construction) numbers are their own columns. Later BLE, B&O, EJ&E, and U.S. Steel numbers sit in the notes.

Westinghouse, Baldwin, Alco

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
281	65-ton	Westinghouse	—	—	1936	530 hp steeple-cab, Erie yard. Sold 1955
282	DS-4-4-1000	Baldwin	73958	—	3/1949
401, 402	DRS-6-6-1500	Baldwin	73988, 73989	—	2/1949, 1/1949	To EJ&E 500–501, 3/1956
403	DRS-6-6-1500	Baldwin	74715	—	5/1950
404–407	DRS-6-6-1500	Baldwin	74933–74936	—	7/1950
408–409	AS616	Baldwin	75757–75758	—	7/1952
291–292	S-4	Alco	80054, 80065	—	7/1952	Erie yard
881–886	RSD-15	Alco	81756–81761	—	4/1956	Ex-DM&IR 50–55, 1964. Sold 1973

EMD F7s

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
701A–707A	F7A	EMD	11809–11815	6118A	6/1950	Several to B&O 4644–4647, 4652–4654
701B–707B	F7B	EMD	11816–11822	6118B	6/1950
708A–714A	F7A	EMD	13678–13684	3085A	2/1951–3/1951	708A–711A to B&O 4648–4651; 712A–714A to Precision National 1970
708B–714B	F7B	EMD	13685–13691	3085B	2/1951	710B to B&O 5536; 712B to U.S. Steel 712
715A–724A	F7A	EMD	16587–16596	3105A	6/1952	715A and 719A to P&C Dock; 720A to TP&W 1500; 722A Potomac Eagle / B&O 722
715B–722B	F7B	EMD	16598–16605	3105B	6/1952	715B and 719B to Tennessee Central Railway Museum
725A–728A	F7A	EMD	17909–17912	3158A	2/1953	Last F7As. 725A to Coe Rail; 727A–728A to Southern Railroad of New Jersey
723B–726B	F7B	EMD	17913–17914, 17919–17920	3158B	2/1953

EMD six-axle road

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
801–803	SD7	EMD	17138–17140	6436	10/1952	Steam generators, dual control. Passenger locals
451–455	SD7	EMD	17904–17908	5212	4/1953	No dynamic brake. Long-hood forward
851–857	SD18	EMD	27721–27727	5644	9/1962	853 Bicentennial
858–859	SD18	EMD	25795, 25786	5616	4/1960	Ex-DM&IR 182, 191, 1998
861–863	SD38	EMD	33053–33055	7986	5/1967	To DM&IR
864–869	SD38AC	EMD	37703–37708	7327	7/1971
870–878	SD38-2	EMD	72677-1 thru 72677-9	72677	3/1973–5/1973	Several later URR / EJ&E
879	SD38-2	EMD	74612-1	74612	2/1974	Later URR 53
890–891	SD38-2	EMD	74677-1, 74677-2	74677	4/1975	891 traded 1980 for EJ&E 658
892	SD38-2	EMD	756069-1	756069	3/1976	Last new B&LE locomotive. Traded 1980 for DM&IR 210
210	SD38-2	EMD	74649-2	74649	3/1975	Ex-DM&IR 210, 1980. Returned 1992
658	SD38-2	EMD	73654-3	73654	1/1974	Ex-EJ&E 658, 1980. Returned 2001

EMD SD9s (ex-DM&IR) and later switchers and rebuilds

Numbers	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
821–825	SD9	EMD	23916, 23920, 23921, 23926, 23928	—	2/1958	Ex-DM&IR 136, 140, 141, 146, 148
826–830	SD9	EMD	21727–21730, 21732	—	3/1956	Ex-DM&IR 101–104, 106
831	SD9	EMD	20655	—	7/1955	Ex-DM&IR 110; built as demonstrator 5591
832	SD9	EMD	21735	—	4/1956	Ex-DM&IR 109
833–837	SD9	EMD	23101, 23102, 23107, 23110, 23111	—	2/1957	Ex-DM&IR 113, 114, 119, 122, 123
838–840	SD9	EMD	23911, 23917, 23931	—	2/1958	Ex-DM&IR 131, 137, 151
841–847	SD9	EMD	23099, 23100, 23103, 23105, 23106, 23112, 23114	—	2/1957	Ex-DM&IR 111, 112, 115, 117, 118, 124, 126
285	SW8	EMD	—	—	—	Ex-DSS&A, 1963
286	NW2	EMD	—	—	—	Ex-LT / NB, 1973
150–153	SW1500	EMD	7355-33, 7355-7, 7355-47, 7355-3	7355	2/1972–3/1972	Ex-PC/CR 9542, 9516, 9556, 9512. Mid-1990s. To U.S. Steel
160–161	SW1500	EMD	72673-1, 72673-3	72673	9/1973	Ex-Union Railroad 6, 8
900–910	SD40T-3	EMD	see notes	—	1972–1975	Rebuilt from SP/SSW SD45T-2s, 1999–2000. Serials 72625-29 (900), 72601-24 (901), 7336-24 (902), 73674-8 (903), 72625-9 (904), 72625-26 (905), 73674-5 (906), 73621-4 (907), 72625-41 (908), 72625-17 (909), 72601-21 (910)

Sources

TrainWeb / emdloco. B&LE F7 orders 6118, 3085, 3105, 3158; SD7 6436 and 5212; SD18 5644; SD38 7986; SD38AC 7327; SD38-2 72677, 74612, 74677, 756069
The Diesel Shop. DRS-6-6-1500 roster (John Komanesky). B&LE 401–407 serials 73988–73989, 74715, 74933–74936
Appalachian Railroad Modeling. B&LE diesel roster. SW8 285, NW2 286; 891–892 traded 1980 for DM&IR 210 and EJ&E 658; RSD-15s 1964–73
Lorenzo, R., and N. Clark. Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad in Color. Morning Sun, 1994
Beaver, Roy. The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, 1869–1969. Golden West, 1969
Drury, George H. Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, pp. 82–83. Westinghouse 1936; Baldwin 1949; F7s 1950–51; dieselization early 1953
Classic Trains, Winter 2017. Last steam May 14, 1953; 28 F7As and 26 F7Bs; Baldwin Centipedes tested; SD7 steam-generator passenger 1952
American-Rails.com, Bessemer & Lake Erie. Orange and black 1950; CN May 10, 2004
American-Rails.com, B&LE steam roster. Last steam 156; 18 Texas types to DM&IR

Facebook X Pinterest Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Messenger