RDG 2102 Reading to Jim Thorpe, PA Excursion 9-22-85

The white balance was wrong on this sequence and the colors were so impossible to correct that I decided to make it black and white.

The train made a time consuming reversal of direction at Allentown, tying up the normal yard activity in the process. One Conrail yard towerman expressed his frustration with all the added commotion by telling a yard crew on the radio "I'll line you up just as soon as these folks stop playing choo-choo in my interlocking."

Later in the day, to add insult to injury, 2102 took water from a fire truck in Jim Thorpe that had been treated with an anti-steaming agent which is apparently good for firefighting but absolutely worthless for use in a steam locomotive.

The trip was an unmitigated disaster for the passengers who did not return to Reading until the wee hours of the following morning, well after their scheduled arrival time.

1) Arriving at CP Burn, Allentown, PA
2) Passing through Allentown Yard from the bluffs above.
3) Passing JU Tower at the East end of the yard and heading for the Reading bridge to go to Saucon and turn on the wye
4) backing into Allentown at CP Burn after turning at Saucon
5) Northampton, PA (Thanks jimbo2317 for the correction.)
6) Lehigh Gap, PA

VHS Master Recording

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• RDG
• 2102
• Reading
• Jim
• Thorpe

[jimbo2317]

Good vid...FYI #5 is NOT Catasauqua, It's Northampton.

[yankinga]

@jimbo2317 Thank you. I appreciate the correction. A lot of my descriptions are from memory as I was piss-poor about taking contemporaneous notes.

[yankinga]

That is a Hancock Long-Bell 3-Chime whistle, often referred to as a "steamboat" whistle and is the same model as used on the Daylight, but not her whistle.

This whistle is not the kind used on the Reading 2102 and her sisters during their regular Reading careers, They carried a single note Reading freight whistle which you can hear on my other 2102 video here on YouTube

[rwk360]

When was the last time a live steam train passed through Allentown, PA? It had to be 1988 because the 765 pulled two trips to Temple in July, 1988 from Bound Brook, NJ and BM&R did some trips as well to Jim Thorpe, Philly, Harrisburg, Gettysburg, all with 2102, Horseshoe Curve PRR diesels, Tamaqua Reading diesels all trips went over Conrail lines, most are Norfolk Southern now except the Tamaqua line which now belongs to the Reading and Northern. Was there any steam through Atown in the 90's?

[MD1936]

I was on this trip. What a long day it turned out to be. The chemical in the water from the fire company that turn the '02 into a rolling bubble bath is called SLIP. It is added to fire truck to increase the flow of water from the pump and hoses. And from what I understand the towerman/operator at Allentown lost his job over the turn around debacle.

[Vintage1976]

Something similar happened in '86? They dropped her fire coming out of Philly and were stuck blocking the main next to the "Sure-Kill expressway. Anybody else remember that?

[rwk360]

That was a once in a lifetime opportunity to ride steam into Conrail's Allentown Yard. BM&R repeated the trips in fall 1987, and 1988 to various destinations over Conrail. I know a man from Bethlehem who was on this train, he rode in one of the Reading coaches with the silver roofs. #2102 hasn't turned a wheel under its own power since Oct 1991 when it pulled special trips from Lansdale to Glenside on SEPTA. A month before, it pulled trips from Emmaus to Pennsburg, I was on that train.

[notalott]

holy smokes batman, JU tower still stood! that thing was shuttered in the late 40's or 50's!

[qlancer]

Not a fan of this whistle - my favorite is the rambles passenger chime

[alvintrain]

Love the video!!

[WSOR10C]

Yep. I know. I was just curious if it was the 4449's whistle. It sounds JUST like it! Again, very nice video!