Feb. 14—PORT CLINTON — One of the largest operating steam locomotives on the East Coast will be hauling three special passenger excursions this summer, including trips to bring visitors up to the Pittston Tomato Fest and Tunkhannock Founder’s Day Festival.

The Reading & Northern Railroad on Wednesday announced three summer 2024 “Iron Horse Ramble” excursions using T-1 class steam locomotive 2102.

“We listened to feedback from our loyal passengers and fans and decided to carry on with these great steam excursions,” said Reading & Northern Passenger Department Senior VP/General Manager Matt Fisher.

“One of the Rambles will be over the familiar Reading-to-Jim Thorpe route; but the other two will be to exciting new destinations never before visited by the 2102,” Fisher added.

Tickets for the excursions — which will take place on May 25, June 22, and Aug. 17 — go on sale at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15 by phone at 610-562-2102, or online at www.rbmnrr-passenger.com.

The trips

—Reading-Jim Thorpe, May 25:

The train will depart Reading Outer Station at 9 a.m. sharp, make a station stop at Port Clinton, and continue to Jim Thorpe, where passengers will have over four hours to explore the town, take photographs of the #2102, meet the crew, and experience a ride on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway. The train will return to Reading Outer Station in the evening.

To help make this trip even more affordable, Reading & Northern will offer Standard Coach tickets for $79 (previously $99) per passenger, and Crown Class Coach tickets for $99 (previously $110) per passenger. Additional upscale seating options will also be available by calling the ticket office.

—Nesquehoning-Tunkhannock, June 22:

On this day 2102 will power the very first steam passenger excursion from the railroad’s Nesquehoning Campus to Tunkhannock for the borough’s 43rd Annual Founder’s Day Festival.

This lively event, sponsored by the Tunkhannock Business and Professional Association, will feature food and craft vendors, live music, entertainment, and more.

Departure will be at 9 a.m., and passengers will receive ample time to enjoy the festival before returning to Nesquehoning in the evening. Along the way, railfans will marvel at the power of steam locomotive #2102 as it pulls the train upgrade through Lehigh Gorge State Park, over Penobscot Mountain, through the Wyoming Valley, and along the east bank of the Susquehanna River to Tunkhannock.

Tickets will be priced at $99 for Standard Coach and $110 for Crown Class Coach. Limited additional premium seating options will also be available by phone.

—Nesquehoning-Pittston, Aug. 17:

This trip will take visitors from Nesquehoning north to Luzerne County for the annual Pittston Tomato Festival, departing from the Nesquehoning Campus at 9 a.m. Passengers will have time to take in the Tomato Festival before returning to Nesquehoning in the evening. As with the June Ramble from Nesquehoning, tickets will be $99 for Standard Coach and $110 for Crown Class Coach. A limited number of premium seating options will be available by phone.

About the locomotive

Built in Reading in 1945, it returned to passenger excursion in 2022 after nearly 30 years.

Built in 1945 by the Reading Company at their shops in Reading, 2102 is one of four surviving T-1 class locomotives, company officials said. It hauled coal trains for the Reading until being set aside for use in its Iron Horse Rambles program at the end of the steam era in the late 1950s.

Popularly dubbed the Reading Railroad, the Reading Company connected Philadelphia and Reading with the anthracite region and beyond, carrying coal, freight and passengers. Its assets were sold to Conrail in 1976 and surviving lines have passed on to successors.

Reading & Northern, meanwhile, was founded in 1983 and has developed a substantial freight and passenger excursion business through acquisition of railroad lines throughout the region, including some former Reading Company trackage.

2102 spent several years with Steam Tours in Ohio until Reading & Northern owner and CEO Andy Muller, Jr. purchased it in 1986 and operated the engine between Temple and South Hamburg in Berks County.

It was placed in storage in 1991. In 2016, work began on rebuilding the locomotive and bringing it back to service on the Reading & Northern at the completion of a $2.4 million overhaul.

In addition to this summer’s Iron Horse Rambles, there will be steam-powered excursions to Jim Thorpe during the popular fall foliage season, but information regarding those will come at a later date, railroad officials said.

Based in Port Clinton, Berks County, Reading & Northern is a privately held railroad company serving over 80 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties: Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Wyoming.

The railroad handles nearly 40,000 carloads of freight each year, while its passenger department handles 300,000 riders annually.

Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns almost 1,800 freight cars, and employs more than 350 people.