PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern T-1 4-8-4 No. 2102 will power a Sept. 13, 2025, steam excursion through Lehigh Gorge sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mountain Top, the railroad has announced.
Tickets for the excursion from the R&N’s Penobscot (Mountain Top) station to Jim Thorpe, Pa., and return will go on sale Wednesday, April 16, at 9 a.m. Tickets, priced at $70, can be purchased through the Rotary Club, or on line at the Reading & Northern passenger website.
Prior editions of this excursion have featured the railroad’s 4-6-2 locomotive, No. 425. “We are pleased to offer this trip with an even bigger steam locomotive, for the same reasonable price as before,” said Tim Wright, Lehigh Division director of passenger service.
The trips will depart Mountain Top at 9:30 a.m., arriving in Jim Thorpe at 11:15 a.m. and departing at 4 p.m., returning to Mountain Top about 5:30 p.m. The trip, through the length of Lehigh Gorge State Park, will feature No. 2102 working on an uphill grade throughout the return trip.
The excursion is one of four currently scheduled for No. 2102; The others are Iron Horse Rambles excursions; one was held in February and others are set for May and June [see “First winter trip …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 28, 2024]. Additional trips with the locomotive will be part of the Reading & Northern Fall Foliage excursions to be announced later this year.
Enchanting news for the fans of this fortunately preserved T-1 class 4-8-4 “Northern” type steam locomotive.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün