Firing up CNJ

Have you ever wondered how to fire up a steam locomotive? Then join me in Minersville, Pennsylvania as the crew fires up Central Railroad of New Jersey #113 in preparation for Easter Bunny train rides the next day.
#113 is the only operating CNJ steam locomotive left. She's an 0-6-0 switcher built in June 1923 by the American Locomotive Works (Alco) in Schenectady, New York. She was later sold to the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company and worked in nearby Locust Summit until being retired in 1960.
In the 1980s Robert E. Kimmel Sr. bought the locomotive and moved her to Minersville. Restoration began in 1999. It took 10 years, 60,000 volunteer man hours, and over $600,000 to restore her to operating condition.
She is now owned and operated by Railway Restoration Project 113, a 501(c) non-profit organization dedicated to the history of railroading in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Headed by Robert E. Kimmel, Jr., a group of two dozen or so volunteers keep this locomotive on the tracks.
Thank you so much to the crew for this unique opportunity to see the work that goes into getting a century-old steam locomotive ready to run! In particular, thank you to Jerry for the invitation and Phil for the excellent explanations of so many things about the locomotive.
Learn more about CNJ #113 at www.rrproject113.org
0:00 intro
1:11 preparations
8:33 lighting the fire
14:00 locomotive controls
21:20 building pressure
31:09 loading the coal
32:40 atop the tender
33:50 ready to run
36:17 outro
(Note: short sections of music were overlaid to avoid KZbin copyright issues, but you missed no dialog in these sections.)
Chasing trains and building models is hard work! You can help me refuel and support my adventures by buying me a coffee!
www.buymeacoffee.com/jamiemakin

[@dennis78382]

Good evening Jamie. I'm so glad you had such a wonderful experience. That is a Railfans dream come true! What a process! I hope you and the boys are having a great evening

[@JamieMakin]

Thank you so much, Dennis! I learned so much, and watching this work done was a true bucket list item for me. I suspect I'm going to be getting more involved and hands-on with this engine in the future. As for the boys, they are letting me know they disapprove of my increasingly frequent outings. Either that or its a way to con me into doling out more treats ... mmm ... kind of like how Eugene cons you in to getting out the cast net ...

[@BBenoist]

After watching this video, I have a new respect for how hard these engineers and their teams work. This was truly a fascinating video. I also think there was an underlying reason for you invitation - they are providing you some on the job training - LOL!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, Bill! I definitely got some great on the job training out of it, and things are looking good to back for even more! Plus there's a few other steam engines lurking around the area that might be clamoring for their own firing up videos lol!

[@pearlesme8561]

Jamie, I’m so proud of you & your new job. I hope it brings you immense happiness!!! 💛

[@dennis78382]

❤️🇺🇸❤️

[@JamieMakin]

Thank you so much, Pearl! I've been enjoying the job very, very much! Heck, for the first time in years I can honestly say I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow lol!

[@pearlesme8561]

@@JamieMakin that’s so awesome!!!

[@flowerfolkfarm3553]

Wow Jamie! A back stage look at the firing up process!! That was pretty cool 🙌🏼 and a view into the water tank!! That’s awesome you could get that Jamie!! Hope you’re all doing well my friend!! 🌻💐🌷🚂

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, Anita! This was a truly remarkable experience for me in so many ways. I have a feeling it's just the start of even more though, so stay tuned!

[@PANortheasternRailfan]

Very awesome video Jamie!! I was looking forward to this one, it did not disappoint! Can’t wait to see other fire ups down the line lol

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, Collin! 425 and 2102 fire ups are in the works ... whenever they decide to run them again lol.

[@LRSX]

That was a sweet expierence jamie! Thanks so much for sharing it with us all! Very informative! Take care and nice work!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, Ian! This was quite an amazing day for me, and I learned so much. They've got a great group of folks taking care of that little engine.

[@paulsmith5398]

When theres a shortage of coal, wood works good too! Good use of cheap pallets!

[@JamieMakin]

We use what we've got up here lol! There's still a lot of anthracite mining in the region, but as the mentioned the quality just isn't there anymore. It's nice that they're able to run a mix of coal types though.

[@brianfalzon6739]

Glad you had wonderful experience in firing 113!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much Brian! It was a great experience!

[@henryszubielski8601]

Neat video Jamie. Thanks for sharing the process with us! Edit: I always imagined this as a long process. The crew has a good routine for getting 113 ready. You looked like you had fun as well!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, Henry! The crew definitely knows their stuff, and I very much enjoyed being there with them that day. The next video is fun too, because it starts off with the work they did the next morning before the three passenger runs. I'll be heading out to Minersville again soon for some repair work they're going to be doing.

[@paulsmith5398]

The Monticello Illinois railroad museum has an 0-6-0 similar to CNJ 113, but its only on static display due to the need of a new boiler, but it did run when they acquired it from Republic Steel in the 1970s.

[@JamieMakin]

Cool! That's a museum I definitely have to visit someday.

[@paulsmith5398]

@@JamieMakin their Republic Steel 0-6-0 was built by Baldwin to USRA specs!

[@paulsmith5398]

@@JamieMakin just saw on Google that R & N has put out the schedule for all the steam & diesel excursions for 2023.........."ALL ABOARD" ! (Hope its not a piece of wood that went in CNJ 113, its up in smoke now!😲😱❗")

[@TimsTrainsChaser]

Fantastic Film Jamie. I enjoy your videos all the time specially after me having a long day at work. Nice and relaxing to watch.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much! I'm glad I'm able to share my adventures and give you something to look forward to after work. Glad to have you aboard!

[@bpp325]

Fascinating. Excellent source about anthracite v. bituminous information. Thanx. 👍

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, Bob! Glad you enjoyed it and learnt more about the types of coal along with me.

[@1940limited]

Thanks for all the information. Great video, as usual. Congratulations, also, to the 113 crew for all their work to restore this locomotive. Maybe someday you can do a video on firing up 2102!

[@JamieMakin]

You're welcome! The 113 crew is great and really dedicated to this awesome locomotive. And I'm already working on plans for firing up videos for 425 and 2102 ... just gotta get to the part of the year that they're ready to be fired up lol.

[@1940limited]

@@JamieMakin I'll look forward to that!

[@hughwoatmeigh6999]

I can't believe they restored that locomotive without a proper engine house. Must have some really tough volunteers.

[@thetrainseekers1]

Jamie that is an amazing video! I learned a lot watching that! Appreciate the education!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it and learned a lot. It was quite educational for me too.

[@1940limited]

Fascinating video! I really enjoyed it. I've never seen 113 in person although I've known about it since its restoration. I'll have to get out there sometime and visit. Back in the mid 80s I read an article in Trains Magazine on the restoration of UP's Challenger, 3985. On that one they shoveled coal into the fire box, soaked it with diesel fuel, threw in a fusie and the fire took off. It'll be fascinating to see how 2102's fired up sometime.

[@JamieMakin]

It is cool to see how different crews fire up different engines. I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about how RBMN does it. Hope you get to see 113 soon too. There's no info yet, but hopefully they'll do something this June to celebrate her 100th birthday.

[@1940limited]

@@JamieMakin Keep us posted! :-)

[@JamieMakin]

Will do!

[@mstng100mph]

Hope someday they can get a roof built to store 113 under.

[@JamieMakin]

That would be a good upgrade for them.

[@coltonwilliamsracing7079]

I believe Minersville’s zoning laws prohibited them from doing so. But I could be wrong.

[@happyhome41]

Excellent video, and unusually, where music is almost always detracting, your choice of Kevin MacLeod's "Darkest Child" is effective, thus welcome. Also of note: highly unusual woman crew member participating substantially. Would love to hear more about her -- maybe next time (I surely hope you produce more such content.). Thank you.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed the video and found the music effective for it. I have started to see more women getting involved in railroading, particularly steam. Hope it's a trend that continues!

[@marilynscull4585]

Very cool Jamie

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Marilyn!

[@northpennvalleysteamrailroad]

Awesome video Jamie!!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much!

[@williammeszaros1671]

Beautiful video nice tutorial reminds me of my 4070 firing in Cleveland love steam switchers and video keep up the good work. BILL

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, Bill! I'll have to check out 4070 one of these days. Enjoy!

[@nomadsempirebuilder9461]

Cool!!!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Blake!

[@joegabuzda976]

What a great video!!! From a match to locomotion. Took all of your morning to make this but I am so glad you did. THANKS.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, Joe! That was a day well spent out there, awesome experience!

[@kawasakiz76]

Great video!!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks!

[@SpongeBobNumber1Fan2004]

I really love this train but last year in 2022 of December, I was on a train ride but it was so much fun

[@JamieMakin]

Cool, glad you enjoyed your train ride!

[@Midge0314]

Super interesting! Thanks.

[@JamieMakin]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@brianfalzon6739]

That CNJ Coach 98 needs to be restored, repainted and to be used for future excursions with 113 and on the R&N!

[@JamieMakin]

I was hoping that would be the case, but that doesn't sound like it's in their plans. At best they're gonna fix it up to be a tool car / workshop. Still better than nothing though.

[@brianfalzon6739]

@@JamieMakin ok so then when do they want to do it?

[@JamieMakin]

@@brianfalzon6739 I'm not sure.

[@brianfalzon6739]

@@JamieMakin Me either

[@1940limited]

@@JamieMakin I figured it must be their tool car, or will be.

[@highball5550]

113 has such a neat fire door setup. How does one get invited out to one of these? Luck by chance? I’d pay good money to have the opportunity to view and be possibly be involved with the fire up of an engine.

[@JamieMakin]

One of the volunteers reached out to me about doing this after seeing videos on my channel. The entire 113 crew is made up of volunteers, so if you're in the area all you have to do is talk to them if you want to get involved. I know they're always looking for people.

[@BeeLineEast]

Cool video. Thanks for sharing this. Maybe a 2102 fire up sometime in the future?

[@JamieMakin]

Glad you enjoyed it! And 2102 is in the works, as is 425 when the time comes!

[@BeeLineEast]

@@JamieMakin Ok Jamie Thank you. Any word on when the 2102 will make its first run of the year?

[@JamieMakin]

We're still eagerly awaiting that information. I know the railroad is still working on the steam schedule for the year, but I'm hoping they'll announce something soon.

[@BeeLineEast]

@@JamieMakin Thank you very much Jamie for the information. A lot going on on the rails on the Reading Harrisburg line. BNSF Executive unit was sited today i didn't see it a person posted it on youtube. I captured a KCS #4729 on Sunday and two U.P. units pulling intermodal no N/S in that intermodal . I got 12 on Sunday in 3 and a half hours a record for me. Four manifest trains with two DPUs on each one. Whew. I am ready as ever for the 2102 to hit the tracks again.

[@JamieMakin]

Wow, that's a lot of action on your line! Glad you caught all that. And good news if you haven't heard yet, RBMN announced this year's Iron Horse Rambles with 2102 from Reading to Jim Thorpe and back - Sat. 7/1, Sun. 8/13, and Sat. 9/2.

[@paulsmith5398]

Jamie........if you want to see what kinds of cat mischief happens on a train setup, go to Diorama Shokudo, they have a series of videos with cats interacting with trains.

[@JamieMakin]

Oh boy! I can't let my cats see that or they'll get new ideas lol!

[@paulsmith5398]

@@JamieMakin not to worry, that place is in Osaka Japan. The trains are small, they look like N scale, and theres a camera in the lead car of what looks like a multiple unit commuter train.

[@paulsmith5398]

YIKES!, smokin' like an NS diesel with a blown turbo!😁🤣🤣🤔🙄😈😲😱♥️🇺🇸👍❗

[@JamieMakin]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!! And very true!!

[@kackdackel9170]

Great, the wheels and rods could use a bit of new paint tho

[@JamieMakin]

The only sure thing about old steam engines is that they will always need some sort of work done to them.

[@wkjeeping9053]

You don't need to fire on wood for so long. I always fired on coal first thing so much easier and faster.

[@jonjeremy4778]

What year was this engine made? Awesome video

[@coltonwilliamsracing7079]

1923

[@JamieMakin]

She was built in June 2023, just celebrated her 100th birthday!

[@jonjeremy4778]

She's a beautiful engine and in great shape too. Keep up the good work

[@rudycarlson8245]

@@JamieMakin it would be nice if there was an HO scale version of the 113. If there was they could use money from the sales to maintain the engine and also put a roof over her when it’s not out on the rails is it possible to rent a stall from the Redding and blue mountain?

[@JamieMakin]

@@rudycarlson8245 I'd love to see an N scale version of 113 as well. It's probably unlikely that any model company will make it though as sales would be fairly limited. I'd love to see 113 with a roof over her, but I'm not sure if renting an RBMN stall is an option. They do have an unused stall in their steam shop right now though.