PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern accumulated more break-in mileage for its former Reading Co. T-1 steam locomotive No. 2102 on a short freight movement Friday (May 20, 2022), ferrying 100 empty coal hoppers to be delivered to an anthracite shipper near Tamaqua, Pa. It was a follow-up to the April 26 break-in run with 50 empty hoppers from North Reading, Pa., to Jim Thorpe, Pa., which is a prelude to a sold-out May 28 passenger excursion over the same route.
No. 2102 coupled on to the 100-car train at R&N’s headquarters and steam shop at Port Clinton and moved them 20 miles to Tamaqua. There, it cut off while two SD40-2s pulled the train north and shoved it eastward on the former Lehigh & New England Railroad to LNE’s Arlington Yard to be spotted for loading. Running tender-first, No. 2102 then returned to Port Clinton pulling 50 hoppers loaded with anthracite and destined for delivery to Norfolk Southern at North Reading.
“Plandampf”
With the price of diesel fuel going through the roof, it would be interesting to see what kind of operating economics that the R&N is seeing from using 2102 on a revenue movement.
Amazing! Pulling 50 loaded coal hoppers must have been a train of over 5,000 tons! Apparently, this was without helpers.
A 4-8-4 pulling revenue freight in the 21st Century. Sublimely epic!