Fall 2009
RR Trax Studios / Ken Kraemer Photos at Buffalo Central Terminal September 2009
The Fall train show season is
getting underway. This is a good time to get the jump on Holiday
shopping for yourself, and your railfan friends.
RR Trax Studios and Ken
Kraemer Photos will be represented at a couple of shows this Fall.
On November 14th and 15th you will be able to peruse
RR Trax Studios books and chat with author Tom Kraemer at the
Monroeville, Pennsylvania, show near Pittsburgh. There will be lots
of the new B&LE books available (get your signed copy!) along with other
RR Trax titles and 8x10 photos by Ken Kraemer.
On November 21st and 22nd
RR Trax Studios will also be represented at the Western New York
Railway Historical Society’s meet at Hamburg, New York.
See you there!
Summer 2009
RR Trax Studios' new book, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad - A Tribute, is now available. Looks pretty good on the shelf!
BESSEMER BOOK AVAILABLE NOW!
After over 30 years in the making, the next RR Trax Studios book release, Bessemer and Lake
Erie Railroad - A Tribute, is now available! The book is 142 pages and
contains over 250 photos, along with several maps and historic images. The "Add to Cart" buttons
have been activated on this website. In addition, RR Trax Studios
is offering a 10%-off-retail employee discount to any current or
former B&LE (CN), Union Railroad, or P&C Dock employees and their families.
Order now for your copy of this colorful and interesting look at the
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad.
June 2009
BESSEMER BOOK GOES TO PRESS!
The next RR Trax Studios book release, Bessemer and Lake
Erie Railroad - A Tribute, is now in the process of being
printed and bound. The book is 142 pages and contains over 250 photos,
along with several maps and historic images. As promised, a tentative
release date can now be announced: Monday, July 13, 2009. Please contact
RR Trax Studios if you wish to be notified of the book's
availability. As soon as the book is available for purchase, the "Add to
Cart" button will be activated on this website. In addition, RR Trax
Studios will be offering a 10%-off-retail employee discount to any
current or former B&LE (CN), Union Railroad, or P&C Dock employees and
their families. This offer is made in appreciation for their service, as
well as their tolerance over the years while I have been taking their
pictures!
April - May 2009
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad SD38-2 No. 878 leads a southbound ore
train across Connoquenessing Creek
just south of Butler, Pennsylvania,
in May 1998. Photo by Tom Kraemer
BESSEMER BOOK READY TO ROLL!
After several years of photography, research, layout design, image
scanning and correcting, writing, editing...and even a few trips back to
the "Route of the Bessemer" itself, the next RR Trax Studios book
release, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad - A Tribute, is
ready to go to press. The book is 144 pages and contains over 250
photos, along with several maps and historic images. The entire
railroad is well-documented, including the fascinating Western Allegheny
Branch that operated revenue coal trains with vintage cab units into the
1990s. The primary intent of the book is to provide a colorful and
personal view of the railroad's last decades of operation before it was
acquired by the Canadian National in 2004, along with continued
documentation of the railroad's operation under CN up to the present
day. A release date for the book will be announced on this site on
June 1st. Please contact
RR Trax Studios with
questions or comments, or if you'd like to receive an e-mail
notification as soon as the book is made available. Thanks, and I
look forward to hearing from you!
February - March 2009
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad SD9 No. 834 leads a pair of F-units and
another SD unit south out of
Queen Junction, Pennsylvania, in the summer
of 1971. Photo by Ken Kraemer
BESSEMER POWER!
An active roster of classic and well-maintained locomotives perhaps
topped the list of the many reasons railroad enthusiasts went out of
their way to photograph the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad in action
during its last decades. Even into the late 1990s, after most major
railroads had retired their fleets of first- and second-generation
diesels, the B&LE continued to maintain an impressive roster of such EMD
locomotives including F7s, SD9s and 18s, and a variety of SD38s.
Bessemer's last locomotive acquisition was a fleet of nine rebuilt
SD40T-3 units that proudly pulled B&LE tonnage into the 21st century
while maintaining Bessemer's classic paint scheme and image. A prominent
feature of the next RR Trax Studios book release, Bessemer
and Lake Erie Railroad - A Tribute, will be the multitude of
photographs showing these locomotives in action across the system. Most
of the SD40T-3 units and a few SD38s continue to operate as of this
writing, even though the B&LE has been under the ownership of the
Canadian National Railway since 2004.
January 2009
Bessemer and Lake Erie
Railroad No. 900, a newly rebuilt SD40T-3 locomotive, lifts a train of
hoppers
southward out of Shenango, Pennsylvania, on a January day in
2001. At that time, the railroad and its
predecessors had been serving
the area for over 130 years.
HAPPY NEW YEAR from RR Trax Studios!
A new year and a new book: RR Trax Studios is
pleased to announce its next book title release, Bessemer and Lake
Erie Railroad - A Tribute by Thomas K. Kraemer, which is
currently scheduled to be available during the first half of 2009. This
book includes photos taken by the author spanning the last years of the
railroad as an independent carrier, as well as more recent images of the
line since its acquisition by the Canadian National Railway in 2004.
Like Ken Kraemer's book, The Lehigh Valley Railroad - A Photo
Album, the focus and scope of the book is to convey the
railroad's "essence" through more of a personal view. Maps and vintage
images are also included along with some historical insight to put
things into perspective. Stay tuned to this website for the latest
updates and availability information!