Reading & Northern's steam locomotive #425 will soon go out of service for her 1,472 overhaul, but before then she will spend four days pulling Santa train rides.

This video covers Saturday, December 3th and Sunday, December 4th when the rides were based out of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. It covers the northbound runs between Tamaqua Station and Hometown High Bridge. These runs were the first and last trains of the day.

On the final Sunday run they turned the train at the Haucks wye, so there's a slight continuity issue where you'll see 425 leading the southbound train after that.

#425 is a Baldwin 4-6-2 "Light Pacific" originally built in 1928 for the Gulf, Mobile, and Northern Railroad. She has been delighting passengers for Reading & Northern (formerly Blue Mountain & Reading) since 1985. On this run she had her auxiliary tender and GP38-2 diesel #2012 at the rear. The whistle will sound different in the shots, because on Saturday she wore a Nathan 3-chime and on Sunday she wore a Southern 3-chime.

I also caught three RDCs (#9167, #9166, and #9168) on their outbound and return trips through Tamaqua Station, and I caught the North Reading Fast Freight (NRFF) passing through East Mahanoy Junction while 425 was at the wye. But keep your eyes peeled for the craziest catch of all - a subway car passing 425 through Tamaqua! Seriously!

Lots of other YouTubers were out chasing too that weekend, and I encourage you to check out my friends' channels and editions of this event at ‪@JPVideos81‬, ‪@PANortheasternRailfan‬, ‪@LRSX‬, and ‪@ThePennsylvaniaRailfan‬.

0:00 intro
3:05 RDCs northbound
5:39 425 arrives in Tamaqua
12:10 425 closeup
13:02 Tamaqua departure
17:26 Tuscarora State Park Road
19:26 Orchard Road
21:44 Route 54 pacing
22:58 Tuscarora Mountain Drive
24:13 East Mahanoy Junction
25:14 Church Road
26:49 Marian Avenue
31:19 Bernhard Road
32:48 Grier Avenue
34:01 425 East Mahanoy Junction
35:12 NRFF East Mahanoy Junction
38:04 Orchard Road
39:59 Route 54 pacing
40:08 Tuscarora State Park Road
42:37 Route 309
43:20 Rose Street
46:53 Subway?!
48:42 425 departure
49:23 RDCs southbound
52:13 outro

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