Reading RR T1 4-8-4 No. 2124

The bright October sun lights up Reading Railroad T1-class 4-8-4 steam engine No. 2124. The T1 class was built in 1945 when Reading management ordered several 2-10-0 engines to be modified for fast freight service. The result was the T1, a large, handsome, and powerful engine. However, the T1 class served for only fifteen years before the Reading Railroad retired its steam engines from revenue service. No. 2124 pulled excursion trains for a while, but the high maintenance costs took it off the main line for good. Today it is preserved at the entrance to Steamtown National Park, a railroad museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania.