Reading 2100
Reading No. 2100 pulling one of the last excursion trains of the Iron Horse Rambles in September 1964
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number58330
Build dateMay 1923 (As Class I10sa 2-8-0 Consolidation #2045)
RebuilderReading Company
Rebuild dateSeptember 1945 (Rebuilt as : T1 4-8-4 Northern 2100)
Number rebuilt2100
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • WhyteNew: 2-8-0,
Rebuilt: 4-8-4
 • UICNew: 1'D
Rebuilt: 2'D'2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.70 in (1,778 mm)
Length110 ft 6 in (33.68 m)
Axle load69,550 lb (31,550 kilograms; 31.55 metric tons)
Adhesive weight278,200 lb (126,200 kilograms; 126.2 metric tons)
Loco weight441,300 lb (200,200 kilograms; 200.2 metric tons)
Total weight809,000 lb (367,000 kilograms; 367 metric tons)
Fuel typeAnthracite coal (1925–2000)
Oil (2000–2008)
Recycled vegetable oil (Post-current restoration)
Fuel capacity52,000 lb (24,000 kilograms; 24 metric tons)
Water cap.19,000 US gallons (72,000 L; 16,000 imp gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area94.5 sq ft (8.78 m2)
Boiler pressure240 lbf/in2 (1.65 MPa)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size27 in × 32 in (686 mm × 813 mm)
Performance figures
Power output5,500 hp (4,100 kW)
Tractive effortLoco: 68,000 lbf (302.5 kN),
Booster 11,100 lbf (49.4 kN),
Factor of adh.4.09
Career
OperatorsReading Company
2100 Corporation
Ohio Central Railroad
Golden Pacific Railroad
ClassNew: I-10sa
Rebuilt: T-1
NumbersRDG 2045
RDG 2100
TPHX 2100
AFT 250 (upon completion of current restoration)
Retired1956 (revenue service)
1964 (1st excursion service)
2008 (2nd excursion service)
Restored1959 (1st restoration)
1989 (2nd restoration)
Current ownerAmerican Steam Railroad Preservation Association
DispositionUndergoing restoration to operating condition

Reading 2100 is the prototype of the class "T-1" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives constructed in September 1945 for use by the Reading Company. Constructed from an earlier 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotive built in May 1923 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, No. 2100 handled heavy coal train traffic for the Reading until being retired from revenue service in 1956. Between 1959 and 1964, No. 2100 was used to pull the famed Iron Horse Rambles excursions alongside sister engine 2124, and later, 2102. After the rambles ended, 2100 was sold along with 2101 to a scrapyard Baltimore, Maryland in 1967, and it was stored there, until it was sold to Ross Rowland in 1975.

It subsequently went through several ownership changes and spent more time in storage or being towed than it did operating under its own power. In 1998, it was sold to Thomas Payne, who moved it to St. Thomas, Ontario in Canada and modified it to burn oil. It eventually made its way to the Golden Pacific Railroad in Tacoma, Washington to pull tourist trains for one year, before it sat idle in Richland. In 2015, the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association (ASRPA) acquiredNo. 2100 and moved it to the Ex-Baltimore and Ohio roundhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The ASRPA is restoring No. 2100 back to service, as of 2024.

History

Revenue service

No. 2100 was originally constructed by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 1923 as an I10sa class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotive, and it was originally numbered 2045. The Reading Company initially assigned to pull heavy freight trains on the Reading's Branch lines, and sometimes, on the Main line. In September 1945, No. 2045 became the very first I10sa to be moved inside the Reading's own locomotive shops in Reading to be rebuilt into their new T-1 class 4-8-4 "Northerns", and it was renumbered to 2100. Subsequently, it pulled heavy coal trains across the Reading's mainline, until being retired from revenue service in 1956.[1]

First restoration and second retirement

Between 1959 and 1964, No. 2100 was used to pull the famed Iron Horse Rambles excursions alongside sister engine 2124, and later, 2102.[2] After the rambles ended, 2100 was sold along with 2101 to Streigel Equipment and Supply of Baltimore, Maryland in September 1967, and spent almost a decade in the firm's scrapyard until 1975.[3] That year, it was purchased along with No. 2101 by Ross Rowland to be used as a source of spare parts for the former for his American Freedom Train (AFT).

Second excursion service and third retirement

After No. 2101 was damaged in a fire in 1979, No. 2100 swapped tenders with its sister and was stored in the former Western Maryland roundhouse in Hagerstown, Maryland until 1988. A non-profit group called the 2100 corporation, which was led by Rowland, Bill Benson, and owner and CEO of Lionel trains Richard Kughn, worked to restore 2100 to operating condition. They only used No. 2100 to run on the Winchester and Western Railroad before it was eventually donated to the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority, who in turn put it up for auction.[4] During this time in the early 1990s, it was stored at the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad shops in Brewster, Ohio.[lower-alpha 1]

Later, Jerry Jacobson, who briefly stored and test ran it on his Ohio Central Railroad, placed a bid on the locomotive to regularly use it for his own excursion trains, but he lost the bid in 1998 to Thomas Payne.[8] Payne moved No. 2100 to the former New York Central's St. Thomas, Ontario shop, where it was converted to burn oil, which proved to be successful. Payne had plans to use the locomotive to pull excursions throughout the Rocky Mountains on his own Central Western Railroad.[9] These plans never came to fruition, and in late 2005, No. 2100 was moved to Tacoma, Washington where it briefly ran on the Golden Pacific Railroad's Tacoma Sightseer trains over former Milwaukee Road trackage putting on a fantastic show for railfans and riders, especially during the runby's in Fredrickson, WA. She was then officially sidelined in 2007, when it was placed in outdoor storage in Richland, Washington.

Third restoration

In 2015, it was leased to the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association (ASR) and moved to the former Baltimore and Ohio roundhouse in Cleveland, Ohio where it is presently being restored to operating condition alongside the Midwest Railway Preservation Society's Grand Trunk Western 2-8-2 No. 4070.[10] In August 2023, the ASR announced that they and FMW Solutions would modify No. 2100's firebox to burn recycled vegetable oil fuel instead of coal.[11][12] In November, the ASR announced that once No. 2100 is restored, they will paint it in American Freedom Train (AFT) colors similar to that on No. 2101 for North America’s 250 Celebrations in 2026.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In the fall of 1991, No. 2100 was one of five mainline steam locomotives slated to be filmed around the Chicago area for Paramount Pictures in an action historical movie called Night Ride Down, and it would have been set around a 1930s Labor Union Strike and a black union leader called A. Philip Randolp—played by Harrison Ford.[5][6][7] The other four locomotives planned for filming were Nickel Plate Road 765, 587, Canadian Pacific 1238, and 1286, and while many other steam locomotives were also considered, No. 2100 was planned to be the main feature locomotive, being used for most of the mainline work.[5] Paramount executives cancelled production, due to the early 1990s recession, and when Harrison Ford left the project over script changes.[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ "Philadelphia & Reading 4-8-4 "Northern" Locomotives in the USA". www.steamlocomotive.com. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  2. ↑ "Iron Horse Rambles gallery | Classic Trains Magazine". Trains. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  3. ↑ "Striegel Supply & Equipment Corp - Railfan Guide". www.railfanguides.us. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  4. ↑ "Up Close and Personal With the Reading 2100". 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  5. 1 2 "Movie steam in Chicago". Railfan & Railroad. Carstens Publications. October 1991. p. 47.
  6. 1 2 "Chicago Movie Dropped". Railfan & Railroad. Carstens Publications. November 1991. p. 52.
  7. 1 2 Frook, John Evan. "Studio Talk of Production Cost Cuts Turns into Action". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  8. ↑ Reading T-1 No. 2100--60 MPH pacing on the Ohio Central, retrieved 2022-03-12
  9. ↑ "Tom Payne Obituary (1949 - 2017) - Tacoma, AK - News Tribune (Tacoma)". www.legacy.com. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  10. ↑ "Welding work advances Reading No. 2100 project". Trains. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  11. ↑ Franz, Justin (August 7, 2023). "Group Restoring Reading 2100 to Says Locomotive Will Burn Oil". Railfan & Railroad. White River Productions. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Berger, Eric (October 25, 2023). "American Steam Railroad to Honor Steve Wickersham". Railfan & Railroad. White River Productions. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Reading 2100 to Appear in Freedom Train Colors When Restored - Railfan & Railroad Magazine". 2023-11-01. Archived from the original on 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
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