| By: | Kevin Painter |
| Dates: | 5/28/2022 - 5/28/2022 |
| Album Info: | Tuesday April 5th: The ex-Reading T-1 4-8-4 steams outside the Port Clinton steam shop. After an inspection and numbering on the cab sides the decision will be made about a short run tomorrow.*****
Wednesday April 6th: A round trip from Port Clinton to North Reading with an open air car & caboose turns up an issue with the #1 driver bearing above 35MPH. I drove at speeds of up to 100MPH from State College PA to Hamburg to shoot video & then Port Clinton for stills. I can't believe I pulled it off!*****
Tuesday April 26th :A test train consisting of empty hoppers and a caboose was assembled for the 4-8-4 to move from North Reading to Jim Thorpe. The cars were dropped at Tamaqua and the engine returned to Port Clinton with just the caboose. The weight of the train approximated the load of the excursion consist and the T had no issues running the trip unassisted. The gods of steam were with me again and I managed the arrival of the engine and departure from the North Reading origin point plus a track speed runby at Leesport.*****
Saturday May 28th: The 2102 powered the 18 car consist of the "Iron Horse Ramble" unassisted from North Reading PA to Jim Thorpe and return after 31 years in storage. Five years ago the restoration of the engine began and 2.4 million dollars later the first trip ran Saturday May 28th 2022. No major issues occurred and the "T Hog" was as loud as ever. We left at 9AM & returned at roughly 6:30PM smiling and covered with cinders due to riding the 4th car behind the engine with windows open. John from Jersey joined me plus George and Bert made this event their first excursion! We also made a diesel powered round trip on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic while in Jim Thorpe. Congrats to all the Reading and Northern staff involved for a job well done :) ****** Other trips for 2022 are included but I'm out of album notes space! |
