Steam & Excursion > Reading Railroad T-1's

There are so many people with whom I have had recent conversations regarding the Reading Railroad and their mighty T-1's.  All I can say is that if you have not taken the time to watch any of the videos now available on here and other sights of the Reading & Northern's T-1 2102, you need to do so.  Those engines were very powerful in their days of hauling heavy freight trains for the Reading.  Of the four engines that have survived, the only one that I never had the chance to ride behind is the one in Steamtown, 2124.  I was in high school back in 1959 when she was first under steam and pulling the original "Reading Rambles."  But my first encounter was with the first T-1, the 2100 and trust me, my eyes were wide open as my first trip was down the main line of the B&O R.R. from Baltimore down to Washington, D.C. and return.  This trip was operated by the B&O in 1964 and it actually was the very last Steam Powered Passenger Train on the railroad as it ran in the exact time slot of a scheduled passenger train, making all the regular station stops along the way.  Many ordinary riders were stunned when they came to ride this train on that day as the train operated at regular passenger train speed.  Just a great memory.  Here are a couple of photos of T-1's, first the 2100 in Camden Station in Baltimore August 1964, where it operated for the B&O's "Iron Horse Days" and the second photo shows another T-1 2113 in regular freight service.  Yes, so many great memories of those wonderful engines, and I'm so glad that the 2102, owned by the Reading & Northern Railroad, is running again so that the younger generation can witness and enjoy this part of our railroad history.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

---

---

Here's a nice T-1 shot, from a High Iron (I believe) excursion over the Jersey Central.  Written on the slide mount it says February 27 1972, Annandale NJ.  This is a David LeGloahec photo from my collection.

mike woodruff
north platte ne 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/25 16:13 by swaool.

---

I road the very first "Iron Horse Ramble"excursion behind 2124, Sunday, October 25,1959. She handled the entire train with ease, and the sound was truly spectacular. I was able to spend some time in The cab with the Fireman during servicing in Shamokin. I still have my B&W negatives of those days back in the late 1950s.

That must've been an incredible experience. My only exposure, as I've said before was 2100 in Tacoma so the recent videos of 2102 on the R&N has been a real eye opener!

Cheers, Dave

Wonderful images!
Bob

I was Bill Benson's Mechanical Supervisor from 1971 to 1974,
while he was the owner of 2102.

She was a wonderful, and powerful loco.
Benson & Ross Rowland joined forces for mainline excursions
and we ran many trips on eastern RR's.

The best thing about firing the loco was the 'finger' grate bars.
The typical grate arrangements was 9 rectangular, flat 'rose-bud'
grates from the old days.  The surface of each grate segment 
was drilled with surface holes, about 10% of the surface area 
of each grate bar.

'Finger' grates were sold by 2 vendoers, and were similar, but avoided 
patent infringements.   They were composed of individual ' iron fingers',
arranged on grate-bars in groups similar to the old table-grates. 

The design was that each finger freely rocked, independently of 
of each other, as the loco rumbled down the ROW.
That tended to sift heavier ash particles into the ash-pan, but also 
the wind through the grates pulled a lot of fly-ash out of the firebed---
most effectively when hauling heavy freight trains.

The 'front-end' was a commercially manufactured arrangement 
called a ' Cyclone Front End', it was a large, steel vertical cylinder,
with a spiral of reducing radius-- so that at exhaust velocities.
any glowing coal sparks, being heavier than the combustion 
gasses, would be spun against the corrugated inner surface
of the Cyclone Drum, and would be broken and ground to fine,
cold cinders --- on the way out the stack.

The finger grates were more effective at getting higher quantities 
oxygen to the burning surfaces of the grate area.  More oxygen flow,
meant higher firebed temperatures.

With lighter excursion trains, we had to reduce the active grate area,
to allow high wind velocity through the grates.  We regulated the active 
grate area by using a large bank of coal across the back 25% to 30% 
of the grate area.  It was best when the bank of coal was 70% 
glowing fire-bed, under a thick layer of 'green-coal', not yet brought 
to incandescence.

That allowed greater wind velocity through the rest of the grate-area:
higher flame temps, and greater fly-ash towards the exhaust stack.
Of course, greater wind velocity means higher firebox temperatures,
and with lighter excursion trains, wind velocity through the active
firebed was key to easy steaming.

Loved the 2102 and her sisters..
2102 taught me many great lessons,and responded actively, when properly fired,
regardless of track profiles.... she loved fighting-up those hills and long grades.
Easy steamer, and go like the wind!

​W.



 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/25 11:16 by wcamp1472.

John,

Back in the 2102’s previous ops, late 1980’s?….on the ground, trackside, I recall the 02 heading out the Auburn branch just outside of Port Clinton yard, it may be upgrade there…they may have had her in the corner lugging down hard. The booming from the exhaust could be felt in your chest. My speculation was of the extended smokebox on the T1s acted like a kettle drum? Just a theory. If it wasn’t for the T1s my steam exposure in my early life would have been dramatically reduced. Fortunately I was able to witness the 00, 01 & 02 operate. If the 2124 becomes a DOGE casualty, hopefully some organization in the northeast can obtain her.

Posted from iPhone

Wes, do you know if there are any photos out there of the fireboxes and the smokeboxes of these Beauties? Just curious on the differences of the 2-8-4 Berks of the PM and NKP....... I always love your in depth description of everything you write. Very descriptive and it also can paint a picture of each topic. Thanks for you great narratives.
JR