Thanks!

Two points on 2102. First, it has plain bearings on the driving axles only. Second, a T-1's wheelbase is 96 feet and some inches. It can turn on a 100 foot turntable.

Phil Mulligan

I have a question. I took a video of it leaving Jim Thorpe and around the 1:02 mark you can see it blowing steam out of the left cylinder. They then open the cylinder cocks again, and close them and it goes away. What was the cause of that? Cylinder cocks didn't fully close?

https://youtu.be/Eux920i0gyc

I saw on Facebook where the R&N passenger department announced that the trips for July 2nd and August 13th are both completely sold out. When I talked with Andy back at the first trip, he had said that the July trip was almost sold out then.

That’s great. Does anyone know how many more cars the 2102 pulls vs. the 425?
I know the 425 trains pretty much always sold out as well so just curious how many more cars they are able to carry.

I’ll have to get up there to get a ride this year! Looking forward to it!

In terms of car count, I know when I rode the #425 fall trip last year, they had 14 cars counting the baggage/generator car, which included one of the dome cars. They also had an SD50 cut in behind the #425 and it wasn't just there for dynamic braking, I heard it throttle up at several points, especially climbing off the bridge at Hometown.

For it's inaugural trip, #2102 had 19 cars, again counting the generator car, and that included two of the ex-MILW dome cars. They had zero diesel assistance cut in on that trip (they had two SD40s following at a distance) and it never stalled. Even coming up off of Hometown High Bridge in the rain, it never lost it's footing and was accelerating the whole way up. I also don't believe that they used the trailing truck booster at all, and they did restore that to operation. Suffice to say, #2102 is a whole lot more engine than #425.

Speaking of 2102 and 425, do we have confirmation one way or the other if 425 is going to get its 1,472 overhaul or not? I asked the crew on 2102 when it was displayed in Jim Thorpe on May 28 and they said aside from the last two runs of 425 this year, no additional steam locomotive restoration news could be shared at this time, but if interest stays high and the company continues to do well, you could expect to see 2-3 steam locomotives restored and running there. I suppose those 2-3 would be the 2102, 425 and I would guess the 225 if they opted to restore it for the third.

From what I understand, the plan was not to replace #425 with #2102 but to have both operational. #2102 has the power to haul more cars and run from Reading to Jim Thorpe without an auxiliary tender and would handle long trips, while #425 would run shorter trips and Lehigh Gorge Scenic service.

I know right now #425 is getting a new stack made for it. I can't imagine they would go through the time and money to put a new stack on, just to run it two weekends this fall and then indefinitely sideline it. I did ask if it would make any Lehigh Gorge trips this year and got a "there are no other confirmed trips for #425 at this time" response.

As for #225, I know I see a lot of demand from railfans but I'm not sure. What does #225 bring to the table really?

Oddly enough, I received a photo of 425 and 2102 resting outside the Port Clinton roundhouse today… I’m not entirely sure of the source as it’s from Instagram, however I’d think they’re making good progress on the 1472.

Wait... Is 425 scheduled to run this fall?

Unfortunately the #225 really falls more into the category of "wow RBM&N has run 425 for multiple years and has finally restored 2102. But wait! There's the 225 sitting there. It can't just sit there... it has to run! How dare they not restore all of their steam locomotives!!!!"

Realistically I don't see where it brings much to the table at all. It's a 4-6-0 and would have the limitations as 425, needing an auxiliary tender and likely a diesel assist. There's nothing wrong with either of those of course, but when 425 is running and will get its 1,472, why bother with 225, which won't offer any expanded range? My friend and ironically were discussing earlier about if RBM&N for whatever reason did want a third steam locomotive, which locomotives could be suitable for longer distance trips unassisted like 2102 and he put out the N&W 1218 as a candidate. Obviously that idea in reality is outlandish and would never happen, as RBM&N has no reason to want an articulated locomotive and VMT would never part with the 1218, but it would be suited for the trackage. It could do trips at reasonable speeds and not need assistance. Like I mentioned, that will never happen, but it was an interesting conversation we had that I had never even thought about.



Yup. It would seem that the final two trips will be somewhat of a send off for the 425. It's scheduled to pull the final two Autumn Leaf Trips on November 5 and 6. I cannot get the photo of the schedule off of my phone, but you can probably search it online, but I translated it here as well:

Reading 2102 (Iron Horse Rambles):
- May 28
- July 2
- August 13
- September 3

Reading 2102 (Autumn Leaf):
- October 1
- October 8
- October 29

F-Units 270 & 275 (Autumn Leaf):
- October 2
- October 9
- October 15
- October 16
- October 22
- October 23
- October 30

RBM&N 425 (Autumn Leaf):
- November 5
- November 6

I chased 2102 on its first run on May 28 and I've blocked the 5th and 6th for 425, so now I'm just trying to pick a day to try to make the drive for the f-units.

One listing that I can happily say you're missing - and probably the reason why #425 looks ready to go...



And maybe #425 will be on point for the Schuylkill Haven Borough Days trips - that's TBD...

http://shboroughday.com/train-excursions.html

There is that other T-1 in Cleveland being restored...

Or are they counting CNJ #113 in that? R&N doesn't own or operate it, but it does run trips over their rails.

They haven't started it's 1472. It's due for that at the end of this year/beginning of next year. It's just been out of service this year waiting for the new smokestack, and I'm sure the steam crew was also focusing on having 2102 ready for it's big debut.