Strasburg Railroad Day Out With Thomas 6-21-2021

Strasburg Railroad Day Out With Thomas 6-21-2021.
While Thomas was never a huge interest on my railroad agenda this year, there was one railroad that has always made me want to see Thomas. The Strasburg Railroad. If I were to be brutally honest with you, Thomas is the most impressive engine at Strasburg when it comes to the stack. I have never seen a tank engine work as hard as it did.
Former "Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal" #15 was built in 1917 by the HK Porter Company as an 0-6-0 T (T stands for Tank Engine). 15 would shunt coal and other freight on the BEDT until it was retired in 1965. It was moved to the South Appalachia Railway in Burnsville NC and stayed until 1975. 15 was moved to the Toledo, Lake Erie, and Western Railway in Grand Rapids OH for static display until 1998, when the Strasburg Railroad purchased the locomotive for their regular excursions. However, this would take a sour turn. 15's water tanks would not be large enough to support the amount of water to make a full round trip between East Strasburg and Leaman Place Junction. This would cause constant water stops at the East Strasburg Station. So Strasburg was left with completely great locomotive, but with little to no use. Later that same year, Britt Alcroft was able to work with the Strasburg Railroad when filming the movie "Thomas and the Magic Railroad," that was when Strasburg had the idea of making a fully operational Thomas engine to run for special occasions. 15 was rebuilt as "Thomas the Tank Engine" and made it's debut in 1999. 15/Thomas has been in operation ever since, and has the reputation of being the only steam powered, self propelled Thomas engine in America.
Strasburg 90 was also running and she did what she does best. (As a side note, there was a woman running the 90. Shoutout to all the ladies out there too.)
While I loved Thomas as a kid, the interest of other trains has grown massive while Thomas really dwindled since. But this doesn't mean I don't like Thomas. The Strasburg Railroad had the distinction of being the only Day Out With Thomas I actually am interested in because of all the reasons above.