Reading 2100 open house

nathansixchime · **Joined:** Tue Jan 25, 2005 4:03 pm **Posts:** 948

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

But my cynicism/skepticism is just such that I also have to raise the possibility, however small, that any (alleged) damage has not yet been fully diagnosed/reported, or has been understated in an effort to continue to drum up financial support.

I suspect that the reality may just happen to fall somewhere between the extremes of the rosy-sounding prognosis and the "doom and gloom" "damage reports" postulated by a crowd of rumor-mongers.

The "alleged damage" is discussed here:

http://www.fireup2100.org/2015/05/round ... e-up-2100/

and the overall condition of the engine:

http://www.fireup2100.org/2015/04/fire- ... ouncement/

Quote:

“Reading 2100 is a very low mileage locomotive in surprisingly good shape given its history,” explained Jason Sobczynski

Under or overstating the known condition of the engine (especially to try and hedge fundraising) would be fantastically irresponsible for all concerned.

What everyone forgets is that the window of opportunity to wreck the 2100 was very small given the actual number of operating days when in Washington. No doubt you can harpoon a whale in less time, but a visual inspection of the firebox really turns a lot of the doom-and-gloom about warped sidesheets and busted syphons to shame.

While you can only know 85% of what knowable without taking the boiler off the frame, suffice it to say the 2100 is probably the victim more so of mere conjecture than she is malpractice.

It appears a full mechanical assessment is being published next week: http://www.fireup2100.org/2015/08/2100- ... gust-25th/

KL

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3011

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

But my cynicism/skepticism is just such that I also have to raise the possibility, however small, that any (alleged) damage has not yet been fully diagnosed/reported, or has been understated in an effort to continue to drum up financial support.

Well, anything is possible, but I happen to think highly of the current organization and don't see them stooping to such tactics. Have all of the problems been found? (First though "Uh, have you ever worked on a steam locomotive?") No, of course not! And new ones will appear. That's why the railroads got rid of steam, it's like owning a sailboat. But I get the impression that the evaluation was thorough enough to address all major concerns.

nathansixchime wrote:

What everyone forgets is that the window of opportunity to wreck the 2100 was very small given the actual number of operating days when in Washington.

Also keep in mind that this was "Thomas the T-hog", with a diesel helper on every run. The engine was not working at maximum power by any stretch of the imagination. I am of the opinion she could have made the hill on her own but I never got the chance to try. I did work her harder than usual on the last trip up the hill, but when we got up to about 15 mph I had to back off. It still wasn't working that hard, so it wasn't being fired that hard either.

p51 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2015 12:29 pm

nathansixchime wrote:

and the overall condition of the engine:

http://www.fireup2100.org/2015/04/fire- ... ouncement/

I'm not sure how much I can take from that statement when it says stuff like this:

Quote:

After a fuel conversion, 2100 was transported to Tacoma, Washington where it operated in limited excursion service for a short line railroad until 2008.

Really? News to me. As I understand it, she ran for a brief time getting ready and then doing the "Golden Pacific" lunch trains. After that operation folded up after a few months in 2005, 2100 ran a couple of times in the yard at Tacoma, sat in the yard for a while, then was steamed up to maintain lubrication to go over the pass. 2100 then sat for a long time, cold, on the eastern side of the Cascades and that was that.
2100 sure as heck didn't run until 2008.

nathansixchime · **Joined:** Tue Jan 25, 2005 4:03 pm **Posts:** 948

Lee,

I think you just defined "limited excursion service."

KL

Mark Z. Yerkes · **Joined:** Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:47 pm **Posts:** 486

Great Western wrote:

co614 wrote:

Suffice it to again say that all of us in this industry are very fortunate that Tom Payne went broke before there was a very serious incident which could well have effected everyone. Ross Rowland

Fairly harsh comment and similar to some of the stuff that appeared elsewhere on here in the past, some of which bordered on libelous.

Someone had to say it.

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3011

Excursion service was indeed planned for the Tri-Cities area but never occurred as far as I
am aware. I seem to recall she was steamed up once or twice. One time to move to the long term storage location from where we originally parked her, the second, if it even occurred, not sure what it was.

Lincoln Penn · **Joined:** Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:40 pm **Posts:** 841

Having seen it up close and personal, I do know that a lot of non-code compliant material
was used (mainly plain old hardware store pipe and fittings) that will have to be replaced. The burner placement led to an exotic array of fuel lines run on the cab floor,
which at the very least was a stumbling hazard if not a fire hazard.

Only a good UT and visual of the crown and side sheets would reveal whether or not any damage was done, so I'm not speculating on that.

k5ahudson · **Joined:** Tue Aug 24, 2004 6:30 am **Posts:** 773

p51 wrote:

As I understand it, she ran for a brief time getting ready and then doing the "Golden Pacific" lunch trains. After that operation folded up after a few months in 2005,

2100 was still in St. Thomas, Ontario until early October of 2005.

TrainWatcher · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:02 pm

Thanks for that Kelly. I'll take a look at that.

Quick question, who started that "The Roundhouse" podcast?

TrainWatcher · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:58 pm

Also, here's a video of RDG 2100 in her excursion service out west:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1hfhrTvr3s

p51 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 21, 2015 12:20 pm

Nice video! I need to upload mine from the super 8MM videotape I took.
In all fairness, the Golden pacific operation was fun to ride. The cars were spotless, crew actually came by asking for individual feedback on what they could do better and the lunch was really good.
They did a photo runby before we boarded the train, which was great. The crew did a Q/A session and each trip took a group photo (Bob, you weren't on the crew the day I rode). I felt just fine paying $50 for the day and was going to do it again a couple of weeks later but they folded up that fast.
These days, it's tough to find people who can say they've ridden behind a T-1, even out here, as none of the railfans I know in the Tacoma/Olympia area have said they actually paid to ride that operation. I didn't encounter a single 'railfan' as we'd define it on the train. Everyone I saw was riding for the heck of it.

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3011

p51 wrote:

They did a photo runby before we boarded the train, which was great. The crew did a Q/A session and each trip took a group photo (Bob, you weren't on the crew the day I rode). I felt just fine paying $50 for the day and was going to do it again a couple of weeks later but they folded up that fast.

They really did try hard, and it had some nice features, including a pretty tasty BBQ.

I typically worked Sundays, spending Saturdays at MRSR. (Or maybe vice-versa, I can't recall.) I was there pretty much every weekend, and on both the first and last revenue runs.

The 2100 was something special to me. The 2102 was the first mainline excursion I ever rode. I did trips on it in PA and Ohio. Then I got involved with the 2101 when it ran on the Freedom Train and the Chessie Steam specials thanks to Ross. On one of the last trips in Tacoma, I recall looking at a young boy staring up into the cab as I climbed aboard for the trip up the hill. I thought "That was me as a boy... Dreaming of running an engine identical to this one, and now I'm actually doing it." Yes, I did appreciate the moment, a lot. I've been fortunate to run quite a few steam locomotives but I the 2100 is a real favorite for that reason.