Welcome to Steamtown - A pair of Reading EMD F-units greet you as you arrive to the Steamtown National Historic Site.

Reading Railroad #2124 is a T1 class 4-8-4 built by the Reading Company in January 1947. The locomotive is now on static display at the Steamtown National Historic Site.

The Reading's famous Bee Line Service logo still looked pretty fresh on the side of a deadline stored Alco C630 at Collinwood in January 1981. By this time, Conrail was getting rid of Alco power a... (more)

The first movement of the Chessie Steam Special, a ferry move to Philadelphia and Baltimore, has come to a halt in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. If I recall correctly, the 2101 had an overheated ... (more)

The Chessie Steam Special makes its preinaugural ferry move south along the former Reading North Penn Branch. Here 4-8-4 2101 emerges from the south portal of the Perkasie tunnel.

The Genesis of the Chessie Steam Special

Although it won’t commence paid excursions for another two weeks, the locomotive and six cars of the Chessie Steam Special ... (more)

Ready to Go

Former Reading T-1 4-8-4 2101 has completed its metamorphosis from American Freedom Train 1 to Chessie System 2101. Here it leaves the former Reading Company Saucon rou... (more)

The Reading Company's Iron Horse Rambles utilizing T-1 class 4-8-4 No. 2124 that began in 1959 were sell out affairs and soon acquired a running mate in No. 2100. Thrilling double-header excursion... (more)

A warm August morning finds Reading SW1500 2761 on one ot the turntable tracks of Conrail’s Bethlehem engine terminal.

Reading GP39-2 3410, at the Lehigh Valley engine terminal in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, waits for the call to go west.

My father was at the exact same location of his Iron Horse Ramble 26 years laters to record this excursion with preserved Reading diesels, C630 5308 and GP30 5513. There clearly has been a lot of... (more)

From 1959 to 1964, the Reading operated a series of excursions with their T1 steam locomotives called Iron Horse Rambles. This is one of my father's photos of one of these trains running along th... (more)

Faded, and with yellow safety paint added to the handrails and journal box covers, this Reading SW1 looks otherwise the same as when it rolled out of LaGrange in 1941. It survived as one of the ol... (more)

With alternating 1970’s/1960’s paint schemes, five Reading EMD’s roll an eastbound freight on the main line at Hecla, Pennsylvania. Lead locomotive 3674 is one of five GP40-2’s underwritte... (more)