Grassroots Railroad Sports?

Photos have been posted of Reading & Northern working on both their steam locomotives to get ready for another year.

Reading #2102 is getting new piston rings for this season. According to those involved, the piston rings were the original set that it left the Reading shops with back during WWII when it was constructed from I10-sa Consolidation #2022. They were in decent condition during the overhaul, but when worked as hard as it was last season, a lot of the rings went up the smoke stack as tiny little bits over the season.

Meanwhile, work is progressing rapidly on the #425, which went down for it's 1472 certification at the end of last season. I had assumed that #425 would spend a year or two sitting to give them some overlap for when #2102 goes down for it's 1472 someday, but they were hydrostatic testing the boiler on #425 literally the day after it made it's last run. From what the person who grabbed these photos said, the plan is to have #425 running by fall of this year. for the Fall Foliage Excursions, #425 will handled the steam trips from Reading to Jim Thorpe, while #2102 will handle the steam trips from Pittston to Jim Thorpe.

It's pretty fitting that the #425 ended up sharing a shop with a Reading T1.

When Malcolm Oettinger rescued GM&O #425 from the wholesale scrapping at Paulsen Spence's Louisiana Eastern in 1962 (#425 was chosen over sister #426, also at the Louisiana Eastern, due to the #426 having thin flanges on her drivers), he really didn't have a solid plan of where he was going to operate a steam locomotive, he just knew that he wanted to operate a steam tourist line. He originally wanted the Reading Company's Perkiomen Branch but the Reading wasn't willing to sell that. Instead, they struck up a deal on two miles of the Pickering Valley branch, which had never been a rousing success for the Reading.

The #425 had not operated in several years, and to be certified for operation, it needed boiler work, including new flues. He ended up purchasing new, unused flues from the Reading intended for use in a T1, which had been laying around their main shops in Reading and installing them into the #425. So, yes, #425's rebirth as a tourist engine was over Reading rails and using Reading T1 parts.

Photos of the Valley Forge Scenic Railroad, as the operation was known, are incredibly rare, as it was fairly short-lived. The Pickering Valley Branch pretty much went from nowhere to nowhere, which was why the Reading had been willing to get rid of it. There hadn't been passenger service since 1934 after it made only $13.10 in seven months. It had also been largely dormant for years beforehand, and the locals were not happy about a steam locomotive suddenly running through their backyards again. There was immediate pushback from locals, which the Valley Forge Scenic fought back against, but they eventually lost when it was discovered that the Reading had filed for, and received, permission to abandon the branch a couple years before the sale. This meant that the land rights of the right of way reverted to the adjoining property owners, and the Valley Forge Scenic would either have to buy them out or get their permission to operate. That spelled the end of the Valley Forge Scenic Railroad, after six years of planning and two years of operating, and the #425, as well as the other locomotive that had been purchased for eventual operation, both went to the Wilmington & Western. The #425 never operated there, and sat until 1983, when Andy Muller purchased it and moved it to Temple to begin restoring it for operation on his Blue Mountain & Reading, which was the old PRR Blue Mountain Branch from Hamburg to Temple. Of course, the BM&R eventually became the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern, and then the Reading & Northern (they barely even operate that original segment anymore either)

An ex-Erie SW1 working on the Blue Mountain & Reading in 1984 at Shoemakersville, PA. This was part of the original PRR Schuylkill Division, thirteen miles between Hamburg and Temple, that Conrail sold to Andy Muller in 1983. The line had been pretty much dormant by that point under Penn Central/Conrail, and Muller bought it and made it actually work. The early days were a strange time, with GE U23Bs and U33Bs, ex-ATSF CF7s, PRR-painted EMD E8s, and even an ex-Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson kicking around the property. The state also had them as designated operator of three ex-Reading branches, the Colebrookdale Branch, the Allentown Branch, and the Perkiomen Branch, and they also allowed the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society to operate excursions over their rails using their EMD GP30 and Alco C630. They acquired Reading T1 #2102 in 1985, and the #2102 lead a bunch of trips off the property over Conrail rails.

Blue Mountain & Reading #425 and Reading #5513 at Shoemakersville. The #5513 was the first production GP30 and the first second-generation diesel, and is owned by the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society. They used to run their equipment on the Blue Mountain & Reading/Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern/Reading & Northern for special excursions, but I believe the last time that that was done was 2009. The RCT&HS has all their equipment stored at the museum in Hamburg these days, and the outdoor storage has taken it's toll. I believe the #5513 and the C630 still run but need work, and a bunch of their other stuff was hit was copper thieves a couple years ago. They've always hoped to find a place to call their own to operate over, rather than rely on the good graces of others. From what I've heard, they've long hoped to buy the original ex-PRR segment of the R&N, since it's pretty much dormant south of Leesport, although it needs work on the bridges. Supposedly they were also interested in trying to work out a deal with Berks County for the ex-Reading Colebrookdale Branch, after the latest operator had failed, but were beaten to the punch by Nathaniel Guest, who started his new Colebrookdale Railroad.

And, of course, #425 is still in her original, as-built appearance, with the high-mounted headlight and black paint. When Andy Muller had aqcuired the original trackage, supposedly the original plan was to recreate the PRR in steam, and someone on RYPN said that at one point they were trying to get ahold of Long Island Rail Road G5 4-6-0 #35. When they began excursion operations, there had been dreams of having two steam locomotives depart from both ends of the line and meet at the middle and couple together for a big ceremony. Muller had purchased ex-GM&N/GM&O #425 from the Wilmington & Western, where it had been stored for over a decade since the Valley Forge Scenic Railroad had folded up, and also purchased CPR streamlined 4-6-4 #2839, which had also been stored at the W&W after the Southern had stopped using it for their excursion program. The overhaul on the #425 took longer than expected, and it wasn't going to be ready for the big day, so a CF7 was to sub for the #425, but the #2839 was operational and was going to be present. From what someone who was present said, while getting the #2839 ready to go, a fireman accidentally left the stoker engaged and filled the firebox to the point that when they opened the firebox doors, coal was spilling out onto the cab deck. The #2839 wouldn't build enough steam to operate properly, so they dispatched the SW1 down to Temple to tow the #2839 and her train up to the meeting point. Not exactly an auspicious start. That was, I believe, the only time that the #2839 was operated on the BM&R. Shortly afterwards they got the #425 operating, and Reading #2102 was purchased from the group that owned it, and the #2839 was put out to pasture.

The two Pennsy-painted E8s, #5898 and #5706, passing under the old PRR signals on the Blue Mountain & Reading. Again, these were part of Andy Muller's plan to style the BM&R after the Pennsylvania Railroad, which fell by the wayside fairly early on, likely due to the 1990 acquisition of a lot of ex-Reading trackage. I believe the original line is the only trackage with Pennsylvania heritage on the whole system, and it's pretty much out of service these days. Both E8As were originally Pennsylvania Railroad units and had been sold into Amtrak service, where they had had their steam generators swapped out with Head End Power generators. When Amtrak started getting rid of the remaining E8s and E9s for F40PHs. Andy Muller purchased the #5706, while the #5898 was bought by K. Allen Keller and the late Jeff Seidel and leased to the BM&R. The pair were repainted into Pennsylvania Railroad colors and had their original numbers restored and ran into the mid-1990s. As I understand it, the lease ran out on the #5898 and the owners put it up for sale, and Andy decided to sell the #5706 off at the same time. The #5898 still runs on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, still in Tuscan red and gold, while the #5706 went down to Alabama, where it was gutted, painted in Southern colors and turned into a chapel, and then a BBQ restaurant, and was scrapped last year. According to people who operated them, the pair were very slippery to operate, since Amtrak had taken the HEP generators out of the back end of them when they sold them off, leaving them a little too light over the rear.

The two E8s headed through South Hamburg in 1986. One would swear that it was 1956.

Taken during the 1986 Blue Mountain & Reading Railfan Weekend, they had two trains are running all day long, with different power on almost every trip. In preparation for meeting a southbound train pulled by Reading #2102, the E8s brings their train into the little-used passing siding in Leesport, Pennsylvania. Although this is the former PRR Schuylkill branch, it is highly unlikely that these EMDs ever plied these rails during their original life. Passenger service on the Schuylkill Branch west of Reading ended in 1941, well over a decade before the E8s were even built.

BM&R #425 crossing the Maiden Creek Viaduct in Maiden Creek, PA in May of 1986. This viaduct is part of why there is no longer service on the southernmost end of the original Blue Mountain & Reading trackage; the viaduct approaches need work, and with no real on-line customers at that end of the line, there's no real impetus to perform work on them. The northern end of the line has, I believe, one customer and the rest of the line before the viaduct is just used for car storage.

A far cry from today's 12-18 car soldout excursions, BM&R #425 leads two passenger cars at Shoemakersville on Memorial Day weekend of '86.

BM&R #425 makes speed under the old PRR signal bridge at Glen Gary, PA. That signal bridge, while an original PRR piece, was not original to this location. It had been further down the Schuylkill Division, at Birdsboro, PA, and when Conrail was taking it down, Andy Muller had bought it and moved it north to Glen Gary and reassembled it there, again as part of his whole "revived PRR" image that he was originall going for. 

Some SEPTA commuters take a look at an unusual sight at Norristown. During the wild, free-wheeling BM&R era, their steam locomotives frequently made excursions off of company property. A common one was Philadelphia "shopper specials", where the trains would leave Hamburg, PA and run south to Temple, PA on BM&R rails, then hop on Conrail's tracks over to Norristown, PA, where passengers would swap over to SEPTA's ex-Reading Silverliner EMU cars for a ride to Philadelphia, where they would spend the day shopping, and then return the same route. Expanding BM&R/RBM&N trackage, increasingly less friendly Class Is, and a desire to keep things under one roof for logistical simplicity lead to an eventual end to these sorts of trips.

This is one of my favorites on GRM.  Keep up with the good work.  Not only is it visually pleasing, it's a reminder of our history.  Thank you.

Blue Mountain & Reading #2102 under the wires on home rails at Norristown, also handling one of the "shopper special" trips to Philadelphia. The script on the tender reads “We the People of Reading and Berks County PA Celebrate Constitution Day” and was applied for the bicentennial of the signing of the Constitution in 1787. The #2102 had been rebuilt from 2-8-0 #2044 during WWII, operated in freight service on the Reading until 1956, then was sold to Carpenter Steel Corporation as a stationary boiler, where it was used until 1960. A catastrophic fire at the plant in 1960 resulted in it going back to the Reading, where it was given an extensive overhaul and put in excursion service with the #2124 and the #2100 in 1962. The Reading ended their corporate excursions in 1964, and the four T1s were scattered to the winds, with a group out of Akron, Ohio buying the #2102. It operated sporadically from 1966-1968 under their ownership, being stored in Detroit and running trips in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. A derailment in 1968 damaged the lubricator on one axle and it sat until 1971, where it came east to West Virginia. It again operated sporadically through the '70s, including being dressed up as D&H #302 for the D&H's 150th anniversary and being part of the ill-fated doubleheader around Horseshoe Curve with GTW #4070 that ended up getting steam banned from Conrail rails for a while. It also changed hands in '74, from Rail Tours Inc. to another Ohio-based group, the Allegheny Railroad. In 1980, it was sold again, to Rails Diversified of Brownsville, Ohio. In September 1985, under the lease of the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society, #2102 traveled to the ex-Reading locomotive shops to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the debut of the Reading T-1 class. Andy Muller had brought BM&R #425 to the event as well, and while there, he struck up conversation with the financially distressed owners of #2102 and made them an offer they couldn't refuse, and Reading #2102 became Blue Mountain & Reading #2102.

BM&R #2102 crossing the Schuylkill River from Bridgeport to Norristown, PA on Conrail trackage. That "We The People" tender lettering is just the worst. At first glance it almost looks like it's been graffiti'd.

BM&R #2102 and Reading GP30 #5513 at Amtrak's ex-PRR 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, PA with an excursion in July of 1988. She must have gone a different route than the other BM&R trips to Philadelphia, because the #2102 exceeded weight limits south of Norristown, which was part of the reason for the transfer to SEPTA Silverliner EMUs. The #2102 was also too big to fit into the tunnels at the station, and there were smoke concerns as well, so they stopped it with the power outside of the tunnel.

Two of the CF7s near Port Clinton after the takeover of the Reading mainline west of Reading resulted in the name change to Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern. The CF7s, along with ex-Erie SW1 #431, were the earliest power of the BM&R, and they were painted a dark blue color with BM&R script on the nose. By 1991, the blue paint had faded to a chalky light blue/gray and they were mostly bumped down to switching and light duty. The steam locomotive that is cut in one car behind the locomotives is Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 #113, en route to Minersville. The CNJ had retired the big (and I mean big, she's a monster for an 0-6-0) in 1951, and in 1953 they sold it to Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company to use at their colliery in Locust Summit. It was used there until 1960, then stored outside, where it fell into a state of severe disrepair and vandalism. The Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company eventually decided to donate #113 to the Historic Red Clay Valley Inc., which owned and operated the Wilmington & Western, and it was moved to Wilmington, Delaware in 1980, where it sat on display, before being purchased by Robert Kimmel Jr. in 1986. In 1991, he had it moved to Minersville, PA, where he and a group of volunteers began an operational restoration that took over 20 years. 

OK Nick, here is another easy one for you:

Why do modern trains use a hybrid power train, Diesel engine generating electricity for electrically powered drive wheels?  Is it an efficiency thing? (which I would not really think since you are adding a layer of power loss) or a packaging thing (much easier to place electric motors then driveshafts etc).  A raw instant torque thing and not having to make elaborate transmissions?  Do these engine generally have any battery "reservoir" in them (to allow extra power for short bursts), or is it fully direct power to the motors?  (I am sure this has evolved a bit through the years of course)

aircooled said:

OK Nick, here is another easy one for you:

Why do modern trains use a hybrid power train, Diesel engine generating electricity for electrically powered drive wheels?  Is it an efficiency thing? (which I would not really think since you are adding a layer of power loss) or a packaging thing (much easier to place electric motors then driveshafts etc).  A raw instant torque thing and not having to make elaborate transmissions?  Do these engine generally have any battery "reservoir" in them (to allow extra power for short bursts), or is it fully direct power to the motors?  (I am sure this has evolved a bit through the years of course)

It allows them to deliver more power at lower speeds (AC traction is even better at that) and much simpler packaging and maintenance. No trying to figure out a transmission and driveshafts and gearboxes, plus generators and electric motors don't need universal joints or fluid changes or any of that. There is no sort of battery reserve or overboost power, they make what they make. Some straight electric locomotives did have an overclock function, where they could churn out quite a bit more power for a short time period, but not really a thing on diesels. There have been talks about "battery tenders" for diesel locomotives, with the idea being that in cities you can run them off the battery to cut down on smog, and then once you're out of city limits, you swap over to the diesel engine and siphon power off to recharge the "tender", but the issue with that is, you're not polluting less, you're just polluting in different areas, because you would be loading down the engine and working it harder in areas where it normally might not be working as hard. Europe does have a lot of stuff with diesel engines power hydraulic transmissions with a gearbox at the trucks, and there was even some stuff with an engine turning a hydraulic pump which powers a hydraulic motor down at the trucks. Southern Pacific tinkered with some stuff with hydraulic transmissions, at a time when the electrical components were the limiting factor on power, but none of it really ever panned out.

In 1990, Conrail was looking to divest itself of more lines in Pennsylvania coal country, and the Blue Mountain & Reading stepped up and bout 150 miles of trackage north of Reading, including the essentially abandoned facilities at Port Clinton. The railroad relocated it's headquarters from Hamburg up to Port Clinton and changed it's name from Blue Mountain & Reading to Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern. It also discontinued the regularly scheduled passenger operations between Hamburg and Temple and instead focused on occasional excursions throughout the rest of its system.

As part of their extended operations, all the way up to Locust Summit/Mt. Carmel, they needed more locomotives and more horsepower. While the RBM&N/R&N is now an all-EMD operation, they had quite a few GEs back then. They picked up ten U23Bs and five U33Bs from Conrail and they were handling most of the road freight. They would eventually be retired, but the R&N did dabble in GEs in the mid-2000s again with some GE Dash-7s of various flavors. In this photo, it's one of the U33Bs, #3301, with what is called “The Mountain Job” at Gordon, Pennsylvania after serving its westernmost customers at Mount Carmel Junction

RBM&N #3301 services Universal Forest Products in Gordon, Pennsylvania. The customer’s lumber business is located on the one-time site of a Reading locomotive facility that gained notice as the base for steam’s last stand on the Reading, when the last active T1 4-8-4s were assigned to helper service here until 1957.

Union-Pacific rail yard, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Sterling, 8ft. drive wheels!

Two of the U33Bs smoking it up at Tuckerton. The #3300 also has one of the engine doors open, so it's potentially ailing. Having been former PC units, and the fact that the U33Bs weren't particularly great units when new, it wouldn't surprise me. Those early GEs were not great units, they mostly just sold because GE was offering great financing deals and railroads saw that Alco was on the way out and didn't want EMD to have a monopoly on the locomotive markets. One of the weird features was that GE started out with a 16-notch throttle with a throttle handle that was as long as your arm. Every other notch on the throttle increased engine RPM, while the notches in between just altered field excitation. I read an account of a brakeman who was riding in a GE with a hogger who was new to running them, and the engineer had it in what he thought was Run 8 and went "Boy, these things don't pull worth a damn." The engineer then pointed out he was really only in Run 4, and had another 8 notches to go. The long throttle handles were also known to be a real hassle when doing switching, because you would smack your elbow on them when turning around. There were also gauges mounted in the bulkhead of the cab, including a fuel pressure gauge, and they would get leaking and fill the cab with diesel fumes that were overpowering. Crews complained of them being slow to load, riding poorly, having electrical fires from the aluminum wiring, awful ergonomics, and leaking fluids from just about every orifice. There was a story of a crew running a new set with a GE rep riding along and the GE rep asked a graybeard engineer what he thought, and the engineer frankly responded "I think you ought to scrap the whole damn thing and start all over again."

#3301 running long hood forward at Locust Summit, showing off those flared hammerhead radiators that became a GE trademark.