Reading & Northern's new train! Part 3 of 4 - Barnesville to Nesquehoning

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Great ride Jamie! Thanks for having us along! You know, the wife and I owned a lakefront home in the Skylands of New Jersey back in th 1980s, the geography's not too much different than what you just rode through. It's wild living on a lake in winter, especially when it freezes. The noises a frozen lake makes are positively otherworldly! Yes, a frozen lake does make noise!

[@JamieMakin]

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed the ride! And wow! I never even considered that a frozen lake might make noise, that's got to be amazing.

[@TheShortlinefoamer]

Great video, Jamie! Awesome to see some footage of turning on the Haucks wye, Not many people have gotten footage of that! Even cooler from an in-cab view!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, Scott! I don't know why I hadn't realized sooner we'd be turning on the Haucks wye, but it was a really special opportunity for me to ride and film.

[@jasonoliver5388]

Good morning Jamie yet another great video.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much!

[@marilynscull4585]

Awesome video Jamie

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Marilyn!

[@StephenCarlBaldwin]

Great video! Thanks for taking us all along on this rail odyssey - bravo!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it!

[@Alcochaser]

38:55 aha! Lets read the gauges. No brake pipe reduction 90 pounds of air on the train, Andy makes a short Dynamic brake application and has 300 amps of Dynamic braking on. 3 x 100 = 300 amps.

[@JamieMakin]

Cool info, thanks!

[@87flyerfan]

Great video! I've watched this whole series and it's nice to see the M&S branch get some glory. It sucks there isn't a WYE on the branch but anything is possible in the future. I've said it in one of your previous video's...steam needs to return to this branch! It would be a total hit with railfans.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much! It would be really amazing to see steam on the M&S Branch. We'll see what the future holds.

[@Alcochaser]

42:07 the problem with the Loco jumpseat isn't the comfort.. its the fact that 600 volts is flying around about 6 inches from your behind. Often times you can feel the relays in the electrical cabinet doing their thing. It can be a little disconcerting.

[@JamieMakin]

Wow! I hadn't even thought about that!

[@dennis78382]

I hear the train a coming… 1:08:31

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks for watching my friend!

[@joegotlewski413]

Awesome video Jamie, can’t wait to see the walkthrough video. Also, I think that you and I are both “dedicated” lol!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, Joe! I had hoped to have it edited by now, but life had other plans for me as usual. Hoping to edit it today to post tomorrow morning though if all goes well. And I agree about us both being "dedicated!"

[@paulsmith5398]

Well, hey!, whats your take on the train/walmart truck wreck in Barnesville 🤔❓ good thing it wasnt the passenger special move!

[@JamieMakin]

As a full-time railroad employee, I'm going to refrain from making any comments about any incidents like this one. Hope you understand!

[@paulsmith5398]

Yes, that kinda stuff is more or less contidential, i forgot about that.

[@paulsmith5398]

#11776 & the baggage car look a little rough around the edges, but its nothing the shop cant fix!

[@Alcochaser]

11776 will definitely need shop time for Pullman body rot.

[@JamieMakin]

One by one, all the cars will eventually make their way though our paint and restoration shop.

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Interesting fact about the station house for sale at Mahanoy jct. It used to belong to Keith Bednar. I’m sure you recognize the last name.

[@JamieMakin]

I most definitely recognize the name! And that doesn't surprise me at all that one of the Bednars owned it. Thanks for letting me know that.

[@lifewithroscoe6513]

I recall riding on some of these cars back in 2019

[@JamieMakin]

Cool, glad you had a chance to do that.

[@paulsmith5398]

Just dont mess with the controls 🤣🤣❗

[@JamieMakin]

Definitely not lol!

[@raymondchason2877]

jamie have you ever gotten or been asked to cab ride 2102 or miss blue 425

[@JamieMakin]

I got a short cab ride in 2102 when she wasn't under steam, but was being moved in the yard by a diesel. That was pretty cool because I was able to sit in the engineer's seat for it. I do hope to get cab rides in both under steam eventually.

[@paulsmith5398]

They wont be running the dome cars through that tunnel, am i correct?, those icicles looked pretty scary. The Southern Pacific had reinforced steel hoops on the backs of the engines to break the icicles so they wouldnt break the front dome windows.

[@JamieMakin]

There's currently no plans to run the dome cars through that tunnel, and I don't think it's likely we ever would, especially not with the icicles.

[@DanielUnger-gn9ct]

I wonder what railroad that old bed was I see they took out the rails on that old rail bed

[@JamieMakin]

Where at?

[@DanielUnger-gn9ct]

That's my dream job to ta be a steam train engineer n have my own passenger train service n freight service

[@JamieMakin]

That's a really cool dream job!

[@brianfalzon6739]

Awesome, how do you get to ride in the locomotive’s cab on the R&N?

[@JamieMakin]

The easiest way is to go to the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway and buy a cab ride ticket for $50. You can also do a cab ride in the Bike Train for $65, which IMO is the best value our railroad has to offer. I'm fortunate as a railroad employee that I'm offered these other opportunities.

[@paulsmith5398]

Is the baggage car going to be converted into a snack car/power car? Seems like that would be necessary..........and the one car looks like a sleeper, Pullman service between Pittston & Reading 🤔❓

[@JamieMakin]

The baggage car is going to be converted into a generator car. There's no sleeper car in this new consist, but there is a crew car that we're still deciding what to do with.

[@Alcochaser]

@ The crew car on this train is actually the generator car.

[@JamieMakin]

Indeed it is, though I'm not sure if we'll be keeping the generator in it or not. One way or another we're putting a bigger generator into the baggage car.

[@dougjohnson8860]

I own that 12 acres where you saw the 2 rv trailers and the pavillion.If you ever want to film from there let me know.

[@JamieMakin]

Very cool!! Thanks for the offer, and I'll probably take you up on it on one of the steam trips!

[@Alcochaser]

Red over Flashing Yellow. = Medium Approach

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks! I need to start writing them down so I remember them lol.

[@Alcochaser]

@@JamieMakin They are easy to remember when you realize you read them, top down.. its hard to explain but once you catch on, it gets easy.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks for the tip!

[@basic186]

talk about BORING the last thing i wanna see is the ass end of a train. rather see where they're going,also rather check out the insides of the car

[@JamieMakin]

Sorry you were disappointed, but a lot of folks enjoyed this one. The next video will be the walkthrough of the cars. Figured since I had access I could do both things.