On a hot and humid Saturday we ventured out to the Reading & Northern Railroad to witness 2102 haul the very first Iron Horse Rambles excursion between Nesquehoning and Tunkhannock. The train consisted of 17 cars. During the northbound trip, 2102 stopped for water at Penobscot, PA where EMD SD50s 5018 and 5019 were coupled to the front of the train to assist with braking on a significant downhill portion of the trip.
At Tunkhannock, 2102 ran around the train and headed southbound tender first. 2102 ran around the wye at Pittston and ran the rest of the trip forward.
RBMN 2102 History:
2102 was originally built as I10sa 2-8-0 no. 2044 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA in 1923. 2044 would be tasked with hauling freight trains throughout the Reading system. During World War II, the Reading Company needed stronger longer locomotives to handle all the wartime freight. Due to wartime restrictions, the railroad could not build a brand-new locomotive class from scratch, however, a loophole in the restrictions allowed them to rebuild 30 of their 45 I10sa 2-8-0s into T-1 4-8-4 locomotives. 2044 was rebuilt in 1945 at the Reading shops and would be renumbered to 2102.
Following its rebuild, 2102 operated freight trains until the late 1950s when it was placed into storage, but then was temporarily brought back into service in 1962 for the Reading Company's "Iron Horse Rambles". Following the conclusion of these excursions in 1964, 2102 was retired from service.
After a lengthy excursion mainline career from 1966-1984, 2102 was sold to Andrew Muller for use on his Blue Mountain & Reading Railroad. 2102 operated on the BM&R from 1985-1991. In early 2016, Reading & Northern announced that 2102 would be restored to operational condition, with her first official test run completed on April 6, 2022.
Timestamps:
0:00 Nesquehoning
1:49 Allen Street [NB]
3:39 White Haven
4:55 Glen Summit
6:14 Laurel Run (SD50 helpers)
7:35 Ransom
9:00 Tunkhannock
11:22 Falls [SB] (Tender First)
12:21 Pittston
13:46 Mountain Top
14:50 White Haven Tunnel
16:08 Jim Thorpe Junction
Check out all the people who we were with this trip:
‪@SteelandSteamProductions‬
‪@coreypage2851‬
‪@mattsrrvideos3935‬
‪@commandingofficerkanawha7546‬
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Upcoming Events:
Thursday July 4: Wilmington & Western Railroad Hockessin Fireworks Express
Saturday August 17: Reading & Northern Iron Horse Rambles (Pittston Excursion; TBD)
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Producers: thehnw1223 and trainboy105
Video Editing/Revisions: thehnw1223
Photo & Video Credit: thehnw1223
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