NORTH READING, Pa. — The Reading & Northern will conduct another test run of 4-8-4 No. 2102 on Tuesday, April 26, the railroad announced on the Facebook page for its passenger operations.
The test train is slated to leave North Reading at 9 a.m. en route to Jim Thorpe, Pa.
The T-1 locomotive built by the Reading Co. in 1945 returned to operation earlier this month, making its first test run April 6 between Port Clinton, Pa., and North Reading [see “Reading & Northern runs test trip …,” Trains News Wire, April 6, 2022]. That trip marked the culmination of a six-year, $1.7 million rebuild of the locomotive.
The I-10’s were in the small group pf huge 2-8-0’s on RDG, D&H and WM. They came in two groups from Baldwin: 2000-2024 in 1923 and 2025-2049 in 1925.
2000-2019 were modernized as 2-8-0’s early in WWII and were not available for the T-1 project. The T-1’s were done in two groups, 2030-2049 were rebuilt into 2100-2119 with conventional driver bearings, and 2020-2029 were rebuilt into 2120-2129 with roller driver bearings as well as steam and signal lines, for possible passenger service, probably troop trains. Only 2124 was rebuilt from the I-10 with the same last two digits.
Funny, both a T-1 and a N&W J has 27×32 cylinders and 70″ drivers but a T-1 was rated at 12,000 tons downhill or level from St. Clair to West Falls while J 610 made 114 mph testing on PRR’s Ft. Wayne Division. Fastest I rode behind a T-1 was 75 mph on RDG’s New York Branch between Woodbourne and Jenkintown. That was the maximum track speed.
And I think 611 and 2102 are currently within 150 rail miles of each other.
Gwarsh, maybe UP could find some shortline RR that knows how to manage its business to run their Big Boy while the lame executives try to decide whether they want to be a railroad or a rip track. Best of luck to feisty R&N and the always impressive RDG T-1.
Reading bought 50 I-10sa 2-8-0 Consolidations from Baldwin in 1923.
They had 61.5 inch drivers and 70,932 lbs tractive efforts with a factor of adhesion of 4.01.
30 of the class were converted to 4-8-4 T-1s in the 1940s.
Wow! 71,000 pounds TE from a Consolidation! That is impressive.
NOT Baldwin! Built in the Reading’s own Reading Shops!
Wayne, Yes, you are correct. These were rebuilds of older Reading locos. If my memory serves, and it often does not these days, the rebuilds were done using I-10 2-8-0s, built around 1915. They had huge boilers.