By Railfan & Railroad Staff

The popular “Iron Horse Rambles” excursions behind Reading 4-8-4 2102 are back for another season on the Reading & Northern. 

On Monday, tickets went on sale for three dates this summer, July 1, August 13, and September 2. The day-long excursions go from Reading Outer Station in Reading, Pa., to Jim Thorpe, and back. 

The “Iron Horse Rambles” were a series of steam excursions on the Reading from 1959 until 1964 that barnstormed the system behind the road’s iconic T-1 type 4-8-4s. Thirty of the Northerns were built from existing 2-8-0 locomotives from 1945 until 1947. Locomotive 2102 ended up on the Reading & Northern in the 1980s and ran for a few years until it was retired in 1991. In January 2016, the railroad announced the locomotive would return to service to run alongside its other steam locomotive, 4-6-2 425. The 4-8-4 was fired up for the first time in three decades in January 2021 and made its main line debut in 2022. 

Visit the R&N’s website for tickets and information about other excursions this year.