#2102

On June 22, 2024 I rode my longest and most intriguing steam train excursion so far.
Reading & Northern Railroad's Iron Horse Ramble with steam locomotive #2102 was the first train to depart from the new Nesquehoning Regional Railroad Station in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. It was a sold-out all-day excursion taking 700 passengers to Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania for the 43rd annual Founder's Day Festival.
To do this trip justice, I've broken the video into six parts to (hopefully) make each part more watchable. This first part covers Nesquehoning to the Penobscot rail yard in Mountain Top. There we stopped to add two diesel locomotives to the front of the train to use their dynamic braking to control our descent down Penobscot Mountain.
A few corrections to the video content:
The original Reading Company Iron Horse Rambles ran from 1959 to 1964, but 2102 pulled other passenger excursions after that through 1991.
I'm not sure where the southbound PIJT passed us on our northbound run. I captioned it as north of where I mentioned it, but in hindsight it may have been further south when I was looking out the running left side vestibule towards Crestwood Industrial Park.
Chasing trains and building models is hard work! You can help me refuel and support my adventures at:
www.buymeacoff...
A lot of friends were riding or chasing this train as well, so be sure to check out their videos:
‪@PANortheasternRailfan‬ ‪@LRSX‬ ‪@JPVideos81‬ ‪@rj78productions88‬ ‪@MarkRBlackwell‬ ‪@BrodieProductions412‬ ‪@maxm2317‬ (Apologies to anyone I missed, let me know and I'll add you!)

[@kackdackel9170]

Awesome to see one of the original Lackawanna MU cars having new coat of paint. They've been neglected far too long, great to see theyre getting some love now.

[@rosiemcnaughton9933]

I'm so glad that beautiful Pennsylvania is keeping the trains alive and running, and there is so much interest to participate locally. A real train ride sure is better for the kids than Disney World "train" rides. The train whistle always gives me the chills.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, Rosie! We are so fortunate to have so many operating trains, especially steam locomotives, in this part of Pennsylvania.

[@rosiemcnaughton9933]

@@JamieMakin 👍❤

[@JPVideos81]

This was great for so many reasons. We got a great look at the new station, the little store, the train pulling in and so much more. I felt like I was riding on there with you and everyone else and can't wait to see the rest of this series. I also immediately thought of Bob Barker as soon as I saw his microphone. Thanks for putting this together.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much JP! I hope this whole series will convey the joy of riding an all-day excursion like this one. Russ is such a fun guy, and there will be more to come from him and his Bob Barker mic as the series goes on. Hopefully you can ride one of these big steam excursions with us sometime.

[@PANortheasternRailfan]

Excellent Part 1 of this grand adventure Jamie! So interesting to see 2102 traveling through the Lehigh Gorge; next time I will have to grab at least one shot there!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, Collin! It was great seeing you chasing and catching you at a few places. I definitely plan to catch it somewhere in the gorge on the next one, but logistically it'll probably have to be on the return trip.

[@dennis78382]

Good morning Jamie. Thank you so very much friend. I get completely taken to another world when I watch your videos. 2 cups of coffee and a Jamie video. Perfect way to spend the day. Can't wait to come back and rewatch this. I hope you're safe and well, friend. 44:28

[@JamieMakin]

Good evening Dennis! Thanks for the kind words! Riding these trains is like a time traveling vacation for me. This particular trip was seriously the most epic one I think our railroad can realistically do for now. I enjoyed the ride itself, then got to enjoy it again through editing the video. Quite a day! Hope you're doing well too my friend!

[@henryszubielski8601]

Hello Jamie! Thanks for posting your video. The 2102 and her train look fantastic! Take care.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Henry, glad you enjoyed it!

[@EastCoast_RailFan]

It was a great experience and chase! Definitely would do it again!

[@JamieMakin]

Glad you enjoyed it, it was a fantastic day!

[@kenclifford5556]

thanks for this post . i will be looking forward to see more of this.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@CentralLehighRails]

It Happeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeend! The ramble we have all been waiting for! If this is just the first part jamie, then shoot its already great! cant wait for the other parts! Great video jamie! scott

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Scott, glad you enjoyed it!

[@CarloCabanting-u8b]

Hi, Jamie thank you for posting this video on my birthday last June 22 ☺

[@JamieMakin]

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@TimsTrainsChaser]

Fantastic Film Jamie I shot the Doubleheader at that famous spot

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! And cool about you catching the doubleheader.

[@bekleidungu.ausrustung7068]

WoW!! Outstanding Jaime! Looks like everyone was so excited to be on that trip. And I can't believe all the people who pulled over along the way to watch & wave. Can't wait for the next one. Well done!! 🚂🚃🚃🚃

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! The number of people out chasing and watching were simply amazing! It really made this a memorable excursion.

[@camhitchcock8659]

Excellent job Jamie. Thank You! 😀

[@JamieMakin]

My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@paulsmith5398]

18 sold out cars plus the generator, that equals a consist of 100 years ago, during the glory days of the pullman cars!

[@JamieMakin]

I've got to imagine this is what the golden era of railroading was like. We're so lucky to be able to still experience such things at Reading & Northern!

[@mikekay6164]

Thank you Jamie!!! I'm looking forward to parts 2-6.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! And I hope you enjoy the rest of the series too. Parts 2 and 3 are out now, 4 thru 6 will be out next week.

[@LRSX]

Awesome Video Jamie!! There sure were alot of awesome missed shots in the Gorge!! I seen alot of goof spots vacant😂. But the rock cut we sure will have about 100 shots of😂. Cam chilling on his blanket thats funny! It sure sounded good going by us! Thanks for sharing!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, Ian!! It was awesome seeing you and Cam out there, and your shot of us really came out great. I appreciate you putting the effort into getting a unique shot instead of joining the crowd in the usual spots. And Cam sure was adorable on his blanket!

[@TrainsAreReallyCool]

I am the kid in the blue shirt with the earphones on at White Haven at 32:50. This was my Dad and I's first ever chase of 2102, and I had a blast chasing the excursion. You guys have such an incredible operation, and I hope we will be able to return to chase 2102 again next year.

[@JamieMakin]

Very cool! Glad you and your dad got out to do your first chase, and I hope you'll get to do it again next year. Thanks for the kind words about our operations too!

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Good morning Jamie. Thank you so much for filming this. I really wanted to ride or chase but neither were in the cards. This by far is the next best thing, and I'm saving on gas money 😊 I am very much looking forward to the next video. If you get a chance, the Reading historical museum in Hamburg has a great display on the Reading rambles. Thanks again.

[@Conductor1991]

Yeah I'll say. I was unable to ride it. I could have chased it at Mountain Top on the South bound run. But, I headed to Pioneer Tunnel instead.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Kevin, glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, gas is getting more and more expensive, and I've been having to cut back some driving even with the ancient economy car which gets twice the mpg of my truck. I did go to the Reading Museum once with a group of KZbin friends, but would definitely like to get back on my own where I can take more time going through the exhibits.

[@JamieMakin]

@Conductor1991 Pioneer Tunnel's a fun place too! I'll have some videos coming out on the Lokie's new paint job as soon as I can find time to edit them.

[@bengone3349]

Well done Jamie.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks!

[@radarditti560]

Another great video nice job Jamie/

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@paulsmith5398]

While it was necessary to have the Fast Freight Twins for dynamic braking purposes, i did notice that they put out almost as much smoke as 2102!

[@JamieMakin]

No, that was still 2102 smoking, lol! The Fast Freight Twins smoke somewhat, but definitely not that much lol.

[@paulsmith5398]

@@JamieMakin ive been seeing quite a few R & N loaded coal hoppers going places on VRF, there must still be places where they cant burn bituminous, so anthracite is the solution!

[@sfm_ferguson5033]

YEAHHH IM IN THE BACKTOUND

[@JamieMakin]

Cool!

[@marilynscull4585]

Awesome video Jamie

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Marilyn!

Iron horse? More like an iron dragon.

[@JamieMakin]

Indeed!

[@herbgreusel4748]

Your vids rock. Any inf on 2102 doing fall excursions from Nesquehoning

[@robkrasinski6217]

I think those will be Reading to Jim Thorpe like usual.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Herb, glad you've been enjoying my videos! They haven't set the schedule for the fall excursions yet, but I do hope there will be some from Nesquehoning. I think it's quite likely in fact to help alleviate some of the parking issues in Jim Thorpe, but we'll have to wait and see. I'm sure there will still be the Reading to Jim Thorpe ones too.

[@Engineer5344]

awesome video jamie, im very impressed with the inside scoop you did on the new Nesquehoning facility, very clean, very professional. now question for this first new trip, were people allowed to park on railroad campus property or were people left on their own to find a parking spot nearby or across the tracks? and i saw boarding definitely was at the new station. im just trying to understand how this works now so if you guys offer this same steam trip again, i will have a better understanding of this area. keep the videos coming 😁

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! If you've got a ticket to ride the train, you get a free parking spot at our Nesquehoning campus. The people parked across the street were all the folks who had just come to watch it depart. Hopefully we'll be doing this trip again someday, it was a huge success!

[@MarkRBlackwell]

Great video, Jamie! My friends and I certainly certainly enjoyed going on this Ramble. Didn't see a single unhappy passenger on board. Saw a lot of old faces and made some new friends as well. So glad the company decided to run this route. The Lehigh Division has always been a favorite of mine. Thinking of purchasing another ticket for the Pittston run in August!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Mark, glad you enjoyed it! It was great to have you on board, and I'm glad you enjoyed your ride. Sorry we didn't have more time to chat, but I got kind of carried away with the filming as you can see lol. What an amazing day! And I didn't see a single unhappy passenger either. Hope to see you again in August. I'm probably chasing that one, but I'll at least be at the station in the morning to film the grand opening ceremonies.

[@robkrasinski6217]

What is the general grade through the gorge? Is it uphill to White Haven? I have a Reading and Northern route in Trainz Railroad Simulator (I'm using Trainz 2019 and have Trainz A New Era and Trainz 22) but the original creator only made the map data for the southern part of the system from Hamburg north and only the main line is done as far as north of Old Penn Haven so I added DEM map data to go beyond Tunkhannock. I have the 2102 and coaches in Trainz as well from K&L Trainz. I have track on my added map data maybe halfway to White Haven done so far, past the curved tunnel. I wanted to get the gradients as close as possible.

[@JamieMakin]

I know the D&L Trail says it's an average 2% grade up from Jim Thorpe to White Haven. I heard one of our engineers say once that our track through there tends to go through a cycle of rising, plateauing, rising, plateauing, and so on. I'm not sure exactly where the steeper grades are within the ride.

[@brianfalzon6739]

Maybe the R&N could possibly build a new regional railroad station in Tunkhannock one day!

[@JamieMakin]

Anything's possible!

[@dennis78382]

Researching friend 💙🌎💚

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Dennis!

[@acersalman8258]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@nomadsempirebuilder9461]

🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃

[@regularguy7266]

Nice video Jamie! I'm surprised that many people were able to get good videos that day because of how many people there were out there, but its going to take forever for everyone to find the great shots on the Lehigh Division lol. I also heard the A/C wasn't working on some of the cars, but im glad everyone still had a fantastic day!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I was blown away at how many railfans were out there to see us go by. I wanted to chase this one, but decided it would be better to ride so as to not have to deal with the crowds. Definitely a good decision on this trip, though I'll probably chase the next one. From what I heard they got the A/C issues sorted out during the layover, but the only A/C we had in standard coach was going through the tunnels lol. I'm not a fan of the heat, but this day was still worth enduring it for.

[@paulsmith5398]

Ive had a couple of major medical setbacks within a months time, and videos like yours and others are about the only way i can get out and enjoy the Rambles and other steam events. Is there any way i could get a nice shirt or few through mail order, etc🤔❔

[@JamieMakin]

Really sorry to hear about you having more medical setbacks. Hopefully you're going to be able to get the treatment you need so you can get out more again soon. Glad my videos are helping in the meantime though. You can mail order shirts and other merch online at store.rbmnrr.com. They don't have the Rambles t-shirt in there, but hopefully will add it. Get well soon!

[@paulsmith5398]

@@JamieMakin after hassling with my primary care person for nearly 6 weeks, i finally went to a specialist today (July 2nd). It didnt take her more than a half hour to determine what ive got is called "environmental allergies", and some of it dates waaay back into the 1950s, from breathing both my parents tobacco smoke. So, now i am on more meds to alleviate that mess 🤔🙄.

[@JamieMakin]

Sorry about your allergy diagnosis, but that sounds a lot less severe than some of the other things they said it could be. Hope the treatment helps!

[@ScramjetNY]

Sunrise over the new Nesquehoning station. Arlo Guthrie's City of New Orleans playing in the background. 2102 in all her glory - you captured so many wonderful shots! It's Joe from Binghamton Jamie. Not only are your videos so entertaining but they're also extremely informative. Also how cool that you were seated right behind Russ as he was narrating - with the Price is Right style microphone! The icing on the cake was discovering that my 2024 Iron Horse Rambles t-shirt, that I picked up in JT during my Ramble layover on Memorial Day weekend, was designed by you! Knowing that will make wearing it all the more special now!

[@JamieMakin]

Hi Joe! So glad you enjoyed the video, and I hope you're enjoying your Rambles shirt too! I've done two designs now - that one and the 40th anniversary diesel one. There will definitely be more coming!

[@thomaswellington7860]

Hi Jamie. Great video. Its like reliving the experience all over again. I didnt record anything on the way up. left that up to you and RJ. Ya'll take better videos than me. Lol🤣 Just wanted to enjoy the ride. Glad to see you on the train.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Tom, glad you enjoyed the video and the train ride! It was awesome seeing you and RJ on the train. Sorry we didn't get to chat more, but as you can tell I was pretty busy filming lol.