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 Post subject: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Sun Jul 03, 2022 8:15 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:19 pm
Posts: 2557
Location: Sackets Harbor, NY
I had the pleasure of riding yesterday's 2102 powered trip and can report that it was a wonderful experience and as close to perfect as a human enterprise can come.

The 18 car train was solidly sold out in all classes, it was a perfect summer day weather wise and locomotive 2102 looked like she just came out of the assembly hall starting the journey spic & span. She ran every bit as good as she looked.

There were large crowds of onlookers all along the 60 miles of mountain railroad out to cheer us on a take our picture. I bought a quality pair of goggles and glad I did as I spent a good bit of time in our o/w coach looking 5 cars ahead at that hard working engine fight the 1.5% grade in each direction.

Our turnaround town of Jim Thorpe was alive with thousands of happy tourists and offered lots to do during the 3 hour layover.

If you love steam this is as close to the "full monty" as it gets today and I HIGHLY recommend you taking one of the remaining 2102 trips if you can get a ticket.

Thank you Andy Muller & team for a GREAT show.

Ross Rowland

P.S. I failed to mention how pleased I was to see lots and lots of youngsters on both the train and cheering us on track side. Hard to say how many new steam lovers we birthed yesterday but it was lots.


Last edited by co614 on Sun Jul 03, 2022 11:10 am, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:53 am 

Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:12 pm
Posts: 42
Wonderful to hear that the trip went well! RBM&N and Andy have done a great job with the 2102 restoration. I'm hoping to ride it sometime next year. I'm also hoping that all of the 2102 hype will relax the amount of railfans chasing the 425 next weekend so I can stay ahead of it, but we shall see!


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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:10 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2004 4:49 pm
Posts: 520
Ross:

Are you more or less anonymous on a trip like this, or do people know who you are? Do you get any recognition from the RBM&N crew, or are you just another passenger?


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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2022 10:24 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:19 pm
Posts: 2557
Location: Sackets Harbor, NY
A few folks recognized me and stopped to chat a little. To the extent it is up to me I just want to be another happy steam fan in o/w coach # 5 soaking in the magic and majesty of a big steam locomotive working full out to conquer gravity pulling a full tonnage train past lots of folks cheering us along the way.

I did get to visit with Sean Fredrickson ( Sr. Steam Hogger) and his team on the engine during the cab visit open house at Jim Thorpe and congratulated them on putting on a great show.

I also bumped into my long time friend Andy Muller amidst the crowds of tourists in Jim Thorpe and extended my thanks to him for all he is doing to keep the steam flame burning brightly with the 2102 and the 425.

Thanks for asking. Ross Rowland


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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:21 pm 

Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 10:03 pm
Posts: 84
Location: Southeast PA
I am overly excited to ride on Sept. 3rd!

What is the breakdown of the layover at Jim Thorpe?
I know there is a run-by and cab tours, but what times were these?

Trying to book a lunch reservation in town (since I expect it to be crowded with both railfans and labor day holidayers) but don't want to miss out on any of the 2102 fun!


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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:46 pm 

Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:07 pm
Posts: 1114
Location: B'more Maryland
PRR8063 wrote:
I am overly excited to ride on Sept. 3rd!

What is the breakdown of the layover at Jim Thorpe?
I know there is a run-by and cab tours, but what times were these?

Trying to book a lunch reservation in town (since I expect it to be crowded with both railfans and labor day holidayers) but don't want to miss out on any of the 2102 fun!


Not sure if they do reservations, or if the timing works for the layover, but this place is delicious. https://marionhosebar.shopsettings.com

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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 8:53 am 

Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 1:37 pm
Posts: 2213
Quote:
"Not sure if they do reservations, or if the timing works for the layover, but this place is delicious. https://marionhosebar.shopsettings.com"


Prominently displayed at the bottom of the page that opens when you click the link:

NOTE: We do not take reservations.

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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:23 am 

Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2004 10:51 pm
Posts: 212
Location: Eastern Pennsylvania
PRR8063 wrote:
I am overly excited to ride on Sept. 3rd!

What is the breakdown of the layover at Jim Thorpe?
I know there is a run-by and cab tours, but what times were these?

Trying to book a lunch reservation in town (since I expect it to be crowded with both railfans and labor day holidayers) but don't want to miss out on any of the 2102 fun!


I did the May 28th trip and I didn't have any problem getting lunch, but my son and I quickly de-trained and walked straight to an Italian restaurant up the hill. We noticed after ordering, that a waiting line had formed outside, so being quick helped us. Plenty of restaurants though.

They turned the train after the passengers got off, and they told us that we had to get off, otherwise I would have ridden the turnaround move.

After eating we wandered around the town, but that kind of town isn't really my cup of tea besides some of the historic stuff. (I'm not into fancy type bookstores and high-brow shopping.) We had plenty of time to get ice cream down by the station (where a lot of the R&N crew was also getting ice cream) then we saw that they were offering cab tours, so we got in line for that. It was getting close to departure time at that point, so they were rushing us through, but we did get into the cab.

They then backed the train south of the station and performed an impressive run-by. I would have preferred a high speed run-by at a different location than the station, but I understand how this would logistically make the most sense. The train then backed up again and we re-boarded the train.

Things I would do differently:
    Arrive to the Reading Outer Station earlier, so I wasn't in the open coach nine cars back where I couldn't hear the locomotive very well.
    Skip walking the town after lunch and go to the cab tour when it wasn't so rushed.

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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:26 am 

Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:07 pm
Posts: 1114
Location: B'more Maryland
Overmod wrote:
Quote:
"Not sure if they do reservations, or if the timing works for the layover, but this place is delicious. https://marionhosebar.shopsettings.com"


Prominently displayed at the bottom of the page that opens when you click the link:

NOTE: We do not take reservations.


Well damn, I guess I should feel terribly ashamed of trying to make a quick suggestion from memory without reading through the site. I apologize for the inconvenience I have caused the forum with my post.

I guess I'll stick to calling people out for being unhelpful jerks.

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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:34 am 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:36 pm
Posts: 217
jrevans wrote:
Then we saw that they were offering cab tours, so we got in line for that. It was getting close to departure time at that point, so they were rushing us through, but we did get into the cab.

They then backed the train south of the station and performed an impressive run-by. I would have preferred a high speed run-by at a different location than the station, but I understand how this would logistically make the most sense. The train then backed up again and we re-boarded the train.


Skip walking the town after lunch and go to the cab tour when it wasn't so rushed.[/list]


Before they back the engine down for the cab tour, you can actually freely walk up to the Jim Thorpe turntable and wander around while they are servicing the #2102. I headed up that way on a whim and saw people walking around up there. And it wasn't a case of people going where they weren't supposed to, there were R&N employees and Andy Muller himself up there allowing it. That was actually where I got to meet and speak to Mr. Muller.


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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:30 pm 

Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:46 pm
Posts: 135
co614 wrote:

There were large crowds of onlookers all along the 60 miles of mountain railroad out to cheer us on a take our picture. I bought a quality pair of goggles and glad I did as I spent a good bit of time in our o/w coach looking 5 cars ahead at that hard working engine fight the 1.5% grade in each direction.




What brand googles are they? I’m going to be on the NKP 765 trips this August and I’m currently looking for some.


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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:01 pm 

Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 1:37 pm
Posts: 2213
Quote:
"Well damn, I guess I should feel terribly ashamed of trying to make a quick suggestion from memory without reading through the site."


No shame implied: I just wanted to give a heads-up to anyone who might be disppointed if they planned to be able to make reservations closer to train time.

You DID say that you weren't sure. I just made sure.

Do you have any other recommendations in the area?

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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:13 pm 

Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:07 pm
Posts: 1114
Location: B'more Maryland
Overmod wrote:
Quote:
"Well damn, I guess I should feel terribly ashamed of trying to make a quick suggestion from memory without reading through the site."


No shame implied: I just wanted to give a heads-up to anyone who might be disppointed if they planned to be able to make reservations closer to train time.

You DID say that you weren't sure. I just made sure.

Do you have any other recommendations in the area?


There's a Harry Potter themed coffee shop that's fun if you're into that world.
https://www.mugglesmug.com/

I also had a great time hanging out at the bar at the mansion. It's somewhat fancy (and I wouldn't recommend it if you just joined the cinder catcher's club), but was beautiful.

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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:14 pm 

Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2019 8:47 pm
Posts: 216
Molly Maguire's Pub is cattycorner to the station in Jim Thorpe and has some very good food. They have a link on their website for reservations, which must be made more than 24hrs in advance. I haven't checked to see if their hours will see them open during the layover, or if the layover is even long enough to enjoy a meal there, so you'll have to research that on your own. I just have very much enjoyed both times dining there, and highly recommend it to anyone who has the time to go when they're in that area.

-Sam

Edit: Upon looking into tickets for myself sometime, I see that the layover is plenty long to fit a dine-in meal into.


Last edited by Boilermaker on Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Trip Report- 2102- Reading- Jim Thorpe, pa.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 4:25 pm 

Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 1:37 pm
Posts: 2213
Are they the pilotenfliegerbrille style (as seen on the DR 05 runs) to be ready for T1 5550? I remember you were getting prepared goggles-wise...

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