In reply to NickD :
425 is an absolutely gorgeous locomotive.
In reply to NickD :
425 is an absolutely gorgeous locomotive.
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah, it's a neat little machine. I'm glad that #2102 is returning to service alongside the #425, and not replacing the #425. I know that R&N offers cab rides on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic runs, it's not on the website, you have to call ahead and talk to someone, and I'd really like to ride aboard the #425.
My own footage of #425 leaving Port Clinton last fall.
Also, my first encounter with #425 in 2020 on a Lehigh Gorge Scenic trip. I had heard that #425 was particularly loud but was not fully prepared for how loud it actually is.
In reply to NickD :
It's kind of surprising based on its relatively smaller size. Though it's difficult to call any standard gauge loco "small".
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah, exhaust noise is kind of a weird thing with steam locomotives. I think part of it comes down to design of the petticoat and blast pipe, and the size and routing of the exhaust tract, plus valve gear settings. Frisco #1522 was stated to be absurdly loud by those who saw her run. David Page Morgan recounted hearing a very loud steam locomotive at a mining operation that was out of sight, and he assumed it was some sort of Mallet until a little saddle tank 0-4-0 came into sight. It also wasn't uniform across engines of the same class: he recalled a C&O Kanawha with an exhaust that was so mushy sounding he expected geisers of water out of the stack and a CPR engine with an odd little hiccup
Getting turned on the ex-CNJ turntable at Jim Thorpe. This is with the bigger auxiliary tender, and you can see it just barely fit on there with inches to spare, which is why they prefer the smaller tender. Also, the turntable no longer has any of the motor gear, so they hook a backhoe to the turntable and pull it around.
I much prefer the newer mdeium blue with black running gear and pilot over the light blue with gold trim.
NickD said:
Wow, that really puts its size into perspective.
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:NickD said:
Wow, that really puts its size into perspective.
Also as a further point of comparison: #425 was designed for passenger usage, but has 68" drivers. NKP #765 and her ilk were all freight engines and had 69" drivers. Reading #2102 was designed primarily for freight usage and has 70" drivers. A USRA Light Pacific had 73" drivers and weighed 270,000lbs for the engine alone, while #425 weighs 213,000lbs for just the engine. It's shockingly small and light by standard gauge steam locomotive standards. And perhaps most amusing is that, when it found itself at the Wilmington & Western after Valley Forge Scenic folded up, it was never operated by the W&W because it's 42,000lb axle loadings were too high for the W&W's infrastructure.
The big news yesterday was that Reading & Northern hooked #2102 up to a string of 50 empty hopper cars and ran them from Reading to Jim Thorpe and back. While a modern coal hopper is nearly twice as big as a '50s era hopper car, roller bearings on the trucks and heavy use of aluminum in their construction means the actual effort required to move them is nearly a wash. Even so, it's pretty impressive, considering there is a near-2% grade near Haucks. R&N says that the weigh of fifty of their empy hoppers is about the same as the 18-car passenger trains that they intend to run between Reading and Jim Thorpe, so it was a good test to see if the #2102 was up to the task.
You'll need to log in to post.
