CNJ 113 Bobbing and Weaving to Minersville [4K]

On December 6 and 20, 2015, CNJ 113 pulls the Santa Train Excursions between Landingville and Minersville, PA, looking better than ever with the new boiler jacket in place. Unlike last year's double header, no snow accompanies the scene, but an 0-6-0 as the sole steam power ahead of a passenger consist made for an absolutely unique show. Rambling along at what is considered a high speed for a locomotive of this kind, the massive 0-6-0 seems to ride the rails like a roller coaster bobbing up, down, left and right.
Built as a switching locomotive by Schenectady Works in 1923, the anthracite burner is right at home in the Skook region of Pennsylvania with a history of hauling rich anthracite mined from the region. As an 0-6-0 switcher, or CNJ class "6S46" for '6' Wheel 'S'witcher '46',000 lb Tractive Effort, the duties were limited around yards or shops to build and break up trains; therefore, these locomotives did not require the front or rear guide trucks for the slower speed operations.
Fast forward to today, and the beautifully restored 113 now has a different life of hauling passenger coaches at a brisk pace. Aside from the lack of guiding wheels, the jointed rail only adds to the amount that the large 0-6-0 bobs and weaves across the former Reading trackage. Our camera was strategically located along the line to capture this unique journey. We hope you appreciate the immense effort put into this video to try to do justice of capturing this rare relic of anthracite history, but more importantly hold gratitude for the countless hours put in by the many volunteers over the years to see history live today.
Visit Project 113's website for more information:
www.rrproject11...
Also thanks to the Reading & Northern railroad for hosting these trips on their rails.
Visit the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway for more information about upcoming excursions:
www.lgsry.com/
Like us on Facebook at:
/ centralpennrailproduct...
Fan funding: The icon in the upper right corner allows you to make donations to this channel. We'd be more than thrilled by your extra support!
Please note that these shots are not necessary in chronological order, the detailed information is listed below:
The opening scenes include various shots of 113 getting under way at Minersville for the reverse trip down to Landingville.
1:10 - 113 storms around the bend at Landingville.
1:40 - Stack talk greets us at Cressona Yard.
2:40 - Further down along Railroad St, we get a long glimpse of 113 rocking and rolling right toward our camera.
3:30 - Further up the grade, the train rounds the bend near the green houses.
4:20 - In the woods along the West Branch of the Schuylkill River, 113 barrels along on the jointed rail toward our camera at Westwood Junction. The track on the right heads to Tremont and Good Spring, still actively served by R&N.
5:40 - The train rounds the S-curve at Marlin.
6:40 - Restarting the sequence over for the last trips of the day in lower light, we are now near the south of the line as 113 races past the station in Schuylkill Haven.
7:10 - The 3:30 train rounds the bend an hour later as the sun sets behind the West Cressona depot.
8:10 - Blue hour is among us as only the plume of steam is left visible as the train passes the Indian Run Reservoir.
8:40 - Finally, just after 5 PM, the final train of the season returns home to Minersville Station.
Thank you so much for watching!
Shot with a Sony FDR-AX100 Handycam at 4K 100 Mbps.
Edited with Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13; compressed to KZbin's 45 Mbps 4K bitrate.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

2021 Update! See more trips of CNJ here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3fSd3uHf9N7lbM

[@LegendaryCollektor]

THOSE ARE THE TINEST DRIVING WHEELS IT'S ADORABLE!

[@nathanmahoney6346]

lol so cute

[@EngineerDaylight]

Well, yes. 113 was built as a yard Switcher. She wasn't intended for Mainline running but she's out here proving she can handle it just fine

[@PowerTrain611]

She's doing the 0-6-0 dance!

[@Helvett222]

Interesting rails and locomotive route. I am surprised watching her ride that she did not derail - greetings from Poland

[@AndreiTupolev]

That's cracking on at a good speed with those little wheels.

[@tylerfenderson2500]

Highest speed we reached for the Santa trains December 6 & 20 of 2015 were 29.8 according to the diesel speedometer

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

@@tylerfenderson2500 That’s like lightspeed for a switcher

[@JerryDoesThings_1604]

this has got to be one of the most well made videos ive seen! Great work!

[@goodeye03]

Great video, thanks for sharing and the work put into making it...That sure did do a lot of Bobbing and Weaving...Love that track

[@ncplantdoctor]

Very nice video. I never thought about how the front and rear trucks could add stability, I just thought the lack of them made the engine look 'funny'.

[@christopherjohnson5236]

The Little Switcher That Could. Beautiful!

[@FDNY8231]

Awesome video ... That's my favorite steam engine ....

[@tylerfenderson2500]

Our Next run is September 24th!!! we are going to be attending the Sckuylkill Haven borough days!

[@maxrailroad]

Awesome little steamer! No doubt that the lack of a front and trailing truck is what caused most of the bobbing up and down.

[@tylerfenderson2500]

Makes it very difficult to fire too

[@daveyboy_]

Love that whistle

[@Shipwright1918]

Switcher-style steamers were notorious for having a bouncy ride at speed, but then they weren't really made to go fast to begin with, they were designed for pulling power and negotiating the tight curves and switches of rail yards. The rocking and rolling aside, it's actually dangerous to run steam engines that lack a lead truck at high rates of speed, as the drivers have a tendency to want to climb up over the rails on curves. That being said, it was not uncommon to send a switcher out to do local slow freights and other odd jobs out of the yard when nothing else was available, many dockyards and industrial lines used nothing else but switchers as their short wheelbases allowed them to work the tight curves while still being powerful enough to haul heavy loads, and several shortlines had rosters of them for use as road power, either new or bought secondhand when they were displaced by diesel switchers. Personally I love 'em, sound like they're doing a mile a minute when in reality they're hovering around 20 to 30.

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

Switchers on the mainline are like Hondas. You floor it and it sounds like you’re flying to the moon when you’re only doing 40.

[@RailFireProductions]

What a beautiful engine and whistle

[@Voucher765]

It's likely that the 113 worked with the 833 on my pfp during her time in Jersey City in what was once the Communipaw yards. The locomotive serviced larger mainline steamers not only from the CNJ but also the B&O and Reading RR at the site.

[@AnthraciteSteamHaven]

Great footage!

[@brianedward706]

I like her with the new jacket.

[@LeonardFShanerJR]

Very nice, Well edited great job. Keep up the good work.

[@TomedysTrains]

Wow that is a lot of rock 'n' roll effect going on for that locomotive and its passenger cars. But it's great that it can pull a full passenger train at speed, which is hard to believe for an 0-6-0 tender engine. I also want to say that I love the whistle on Jersey Central #113, it sounds like a Pennsylvania Railroad 3-chime whistle, and I believe I read somewhere that Jersey Central steamers also had 3-chime whistles that sounded similar to the Pennsylvania Railroad 3-chime whistles.

[@mikeggg5671]

Why does she rock so much??

[@TomedysTrains]

Could be a few possible factors. One, the conditions of the track don't look like they're in their best shape. Two, since this locomotive lacks pilot wheels and trailing wheels, it can cause more rock 'n' roll effect because the pilot wheels help to guide steam locomotives around curves and trailing wheels add support to the firebox and cab, but this locomotive lacks it. Three, because it's a steam locomotive, it creates hammer effect, where every time the side rods come down at their lowest position, it creates a lot of force onto the rails. Those are some of the factors that I believe to the best of my knowledge caused all of the rock 'n' roll effect on Jersey Central #113 in this video.

[@mikeggg5671]

I thought the lack of pilot and trailing wheels..

[@StaxRail]

It's not that uncommon for 0-6-0's to pull trains at speed in Britain

[@StaxRail]

Something else is that the piston are so big that they have so much force and are shaking the engine left and right.

[@FenderFoamer]

Awesome Video!!!!!! I am seen in the tender in a number of scenes in the Black and White coat!!! I was pushing coal!!

[@FenderFoamer]

+FenderFoamer I take it these clips were filmed on the 6th and 20th??

[@NickelPlateRoadExperience]

Great Video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@raritanriverrailroadfan4418]

You're lucky you got so much footage. I was only able to stay for the first excursion.

[@peterlombardi2263]

Omg I just noticed it's about time

[@gleanerk]

Thanks

[@denault3985]

Stunningly perfect work, how do you not get shaking and jelloing with a 4k camera and track in poor condition?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

+denault3985 Sony cameras are great at resisting shake because they use optical stabilization, not lens stabilization. So for example, Canon cameras use lens stabilization which means there is an actual lens piece in front of the sensor that moves around to stabilize your shot, say if you were shooting hand held. The downside to that is vibrations on a tripod cause that lens to move around even if the option is disabled. I get a few vibrations in my shots but that's most likely coming from the tripod head shaking from standing too close. No camera is perfect, but I have officially sold my soul to Sony from here on out.

[@joelsanfordphoto]

@@CentralPennRailProductions "lens stabilization" is optical stabilization... Reffering to optics within the lens. You're talking about in-body stabilization, which is not exclusive to Sony. In body stabilization is achieved by having the sensor suspended.

[@timothywstlwn]

love the video the tracks are terrible who replaces the tracks bouncing and bobbin in deed.

[@thestarlightalchemist7333]

It's not the tracks it's the engine

[@brycenew]

Feeling the love you have for the steam vids you make!! (sorry I'm no D/E fan) In your opinion how much of the extraordinary bobbing & weaving here is due to small driver diameter Vs lack of pony/trailing trucks Vs state of the road? I've never seen so much of it, so am curious . Thanks!

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

This locomotive was a switching engine back in the coal mining days, so it really wasn't designed for pulling passenger cars at speed. Back then it would move at relative low speeds, but the size of this engine gives it incredible tractive effort. So yes, the lack of guiding wheels, plus the old bumpy track, and the slightly faster speeds make this locomotive bob around quite a bit! Thanks for commenting and watching!

[@brycenew]

@@CentralPennRailProductions Thanks :)

[@09JDCTrainMan]

I thought they were former Reading tracks, and I was right, awesome video!

[@tylerfenderson2500]

You are correct these tracks are originally the Readings mainline to both Pottsville and Minersville branch. We just operate 113 on them. 113 post CNJ service was sold to a coal breaker 20 miles north west of Minersville where she worked until being stored and moved to NJ until 1993 when she was brought to Minersville for restoration

[@buntik1687]

Is the 0-6-0 in North Conway Scenic Railway a similar engine? Both are former CN.

[@shanewalters2565]

You're correct, they're both similar 0-6-0 engines, however, you made a mistake with both engines both being from CN, you got confused with CN and CNJ being the same thing, CN is Canadian national whilst CNJ is Central New Jersey. 7470(the locomotive on the Conway Scenic Railroad) is a former Canadian National unit whilst 113 is a former Central New Jersey unit.

[@AdmiralColdhead]

For a switcher, she's very good at maintaining balance despite her 6 drivers. If she was a 2-6-0, the bopping would've been reduced, but she still did her best, as far as Switchers go. 1:37 her whistle is stunning, but what is this whistle formation supposed to be? It's not a trademark I know that much but her driver was blowing the same verse many times. One above, second time at 3:42, and the 3rd time at 4:10, to name the few times. What is that?

[@nicholmansgarage3501]

That whistle signal is known as "shave and a hair cut", and originates from an old jingle for a barber shop. Today, many engineers blow the shave and a hair cut signal just for fun, and to give railfans a good show.

[@75Bird455]

Nice video! She needs a pilot truck though, sheesh.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Haha you would think so. It definitely was not built for passenger service, yet here we are all these years later with a beautifully restored switcher pulling coaches!

[@ALAN2DANI]

Cnj is good why sound that is the best idea

[@helmutfiedler2843]

Tolles Video. Aber was für ein Geeier auf den alten Schienen!

[@starsonraaz]

Nice video on locomotive & Beautiful area, but Railway department should tc of the out of date tracks as the whole train was dancing on it.. Very risky. Thanks

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

The train was dancing on the tracks because the steam locomotive was never designed to go more than around 10 mph (16 km/h).

[@starsonraaz]

@@blackbirdgaming8147 engine speed could be faster, but the tracks were like obstacles 🤓

[@thealmightydoge5653]

1:36 Shave and a haircut with a PRR 3-chime?? Nice!

[@nathanmahoney6346]

IKR

[@AdmiralColdhead]

I might be wrong, but I think that's a CNJ 3 Chime

[@NinjagoGuy416]

What's an 0-6-0 switcher doing out on the mainline?

[@devinfaux6987]

The best it can.

[@MasterAranimu]

I surprised she finally has a jacket to cover the boiler. Since when did they installed it?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

+MasterAranimu Sometime in November of this year, I believe.

[@FenderFoamer]

+MasterAranimu We started Installation of jacketing back in September of 2015 and finished a week before the Santa trains on December 6th. I am one of the many volunteers that made it happen. we spent 36 hours straight no sleep to get 113 ready for December 6th

[@13adam45]

Did you see a wheel train 113? I hAve see????!!!!!!! Have 3!

[@GTRFTrainCinematography]

What type of tripod do you use?

[@jacksalvin364]

CNJ 0-6-0 Switcher 113.

[@nathanmahoney6346]

what whistle was on 113 at the time?

[@AdmiralColdhead]

I believe she’s wearing her CNJ shop built 3 Chime replica

[@billsalvey]

epic

[@bucsfan7647]

How did you know the engine would be coming through

[@bucsfan7647]

+AntiqueFarmImplement ok

[@tylerfenderson2500]

We post our upcoming excursions on our Facebook page Railway Restoration Project 113 or fans of the CNJ 113 run by our crews. Or visit our website at RRproject113.com

[@georei]

A switcher that's the size of a 2-8-0 consolidation

[@nathanmahoney6346]

lol its a massive hulk of metal, steam, fire, and water

[@davehughes2424]

valve timing is out a little.

[@deaderthandead1182]

Dave Hughes It always has been. It always would be.

[@jrcrawford4]

Shimmy shimmy ko-ko bop Shimmy shimmy bop

[@neviotomola4259]

Ma che binari storti!😨

[@MarcellusPearl-n4t]

Rosenbaum Flats

[@deaderthandead1182]

This bobs and bumps because it doesn’t have the trucks.

[@StaxRail]

Jesus Christ, I know locos without pony trucks tend to ride a little rougher, but the majority of this is awful trackwork! Take a look at 4:05, if that flange gap was found here in the UK the line would be shut and the operators fined, that is asking for a derailment!

[@bolmeinheign]

looks exactly like polar express locomotive except that PE had 4 sets of main wheels not three

[@harrimanfox8961]

Bolmein Heign That looks NOTHING like the polar express.

[@NinjagoGuy416]

That thing looks less like the Polar Express than a 747 looks like an A380. For one thing, the Polar Express is modeled after Pere Marquette #1225, a 2-8-4 Berkshire locomotive, while this little teapot is an 0-6-0 switcher lettered for the Central of New Jersey.

[@nathanmahoney6346]

STACC TALCC FROM CNJ 1 1 3

[@Glaudge]

those. wheels. are. tinyyyy.

[@LauraRoss-o8r]

Jones Steven Harris Paul White Margaret

[@lloydeccleston1319]

Mm