Reading & Northern Announces More 2102 Steam Excursions

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   Reading & Northern Announces More 2102 Steam Excursions
   

Published: April 30, 2026

By: Adam Burns

Port Clinton, PA – The Reading & Northern has announced its famous Reading 4-8-4 T-1, #2102, will lead three more excursions this June and July.  The coming of Union Pacific “Big Boy” #4014 in June 2026 as part of R&N’s Semiquincentennial Steam Celebration has been a well-publicized and well-received event. Ticket sales for summer excursions powered by steam locomotive #2102 featuring special appearances by the Big Boy have been brisk. Now, the Reading & Northern passenger department is pleased to announce the return of two of its own popular yearly offerings that began in 2024; along with a special addition to the schedule on the 250th anniversary of America.  For complete information about these trips and purchasing tickets please click here to visit their website.

On Saturday, June 27, 2026, a passenger excursion powered by steam locomotive #2102 from Nesquehoning Regional Railroad Station will bring guests to Tunkhannock for the town’s annual Founders Day Festival. This event, celebrating its forty-fifth year in 2026, is sponsored by the Tunkhannock Business & Professional Association, with which Reading & Northern has a long-standing working relationship. The train will depart Nesquehoning at 9:00am and arrive at Riverside Park in the early afternoon. Passengers will have a short walk from the park into the town where they will find food and craft vendors, live music, entertainment, and more; before departing on the return trip to Nesquehoning.

Saturday, July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, will feature a special passenger train excursion operating round trip from Reading Outer Station to historic Jim Thorpe, PA. Steam locomotive #2102 will do the honors. The train will depart northbound at 9:00am sharp, with a station stop in Port Clinton. Upon arrival at Jim Thorpe, passengers will have over three hours to shop, dine, and explore the town fondly known as “The Switzerland of America”. Additionally, steam locomotive #2102 will be open for cab tours just west of Jim Thorpe station upon completion of its service. Along with seeing its controls firsthand, visitors will get to meet and greet the steam crew that bring the hulking machine to life.

Saturday, August 22, 2026 will see steam locomotive #2102 leading a passenger train from Nesquehoning to Pittston for the forty-third edition of the city’s annual Tomato Festival. This too will depart Nesquehoning Regional Railroad Station at 9:00am. A summer staple in Pittston, the festival regularly attracts more than 100,000 visitors over its four-day span. 2025 was reported to be the best-attended Tomato Festival to date. Riders will be greeted with frequent shuttle service to take them to and from the Tomato Festival, where live music, arts and crafts, bingo, great food, and more await. Riders may also remain at the station in Pittston where steam locomotive #2102 will be serviced, then put on display and opened for cab tours during the layover.

Steam fans will enjoy these journeys by rail as #2102 muscles its train through the entire length of Lehigh Gorge State Park and over rugged Penobscot Mountain before descending into the Wyoming Valley on June 27 and August 22; or on July 4, through the farmlands of Berks and Schuylkill Counties into the anthracite region. The Black Diamond Company Store will once more be open for business at the Nesquehoning station before and after the June 27th and August 22nd excursions, offering an ever-expanding assortment of Reading & Northern Railroad-related souvenirs. Tickets will go on sale on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 9:00am and start at $99.00 for Standard Coach seating.

Reading & Northern Railroad, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, 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). It has expanded its operations over the last 40 years; and projects 40,000 carloads of freight in 2026 (which removes over 220,000 trucks from the highway), while its Passenger Department welcomed over 410,000 happy customers in 2025. Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns almost 2,000 freight cars, and employs over 400 dedicated people. Reading & Northern has been repeatedly honored as one of the premier railroads in the nation, including being named Regional Railroad of the Year in 2020 by Railway Age magazine.