Reading & Northern Railroad's F units #270 and #275 have been fan favorites since their acquisition from Norfolk Southern in December 2019. But not everyone realizes that Reading & Northern has two other F units.

On Sunday, January 14, 2024, all four F units were moved out of Port Clinton. #270 and #275 were dropped off in Jim Thorpe, and #250 and #251 were moved to the Penobscot rail yard for long-term storage. This is the only time these 4 diesels have been moved together, and it's possibly the only time they ever will be moved together, so this was a special chase for sure.

RBMN acquired #250 and #251 from the Southern Railroad of New Jersey in 2017. Originally built in 1953 for the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad as #727 and #728, these F-7a's had languished at Winslow Junction, NJ for some time.

Their time at RBMN was mostly spent behind the diesel shop until they were moved in front of the car shop in the summer of 2023. As far as I know, no work was done to them during their stay in Port Clinton.

On a cold, blustery day with weather ranging from bright, blue skies to intense snow squalls, I did the full chase from Port Clinton to the Penobscot yard in Mountain Top, PA with a brief stop in Jim Thorpe to drop off two of the F units. Running as PNEX, the motive power for this move was SD38 #2003 in the lead with SW-1500 #1546 in the rear.

I've got to give a huge thanks to my friend Collin from ‪@PANortheasternRailfan‬ for another successful collaboration on this chase which contributed several excellent clips to mine. Be sure to check out his video as well since he will have different views, including some of mine used exclusive in his video.

Although I didn't collaborate with Ian from ‪@LRSX‬, it is always fun to see him and his son, Cam, when we're out railfanning. Keep an eye out for our friends at several locations, and be sure to check out Ian's video as well.

0:00 intro
3:35 Port Clinton yard work
7:46 PNEX departure
8:53 Molino
9:53 Miller's Crossing (Collin)
10:41 New Ringgold (Collin)
11:47 Hecla
12:51 Reynolds (Collin)
13:48 Route 443, South Tamaqua
15:56 Tamaqua Station (Collin)
16:52 Tuscarora Park Road
17:38 Marian Avenue, Hometown
18:52 Lincoln Drive, Hometown (Collin)
20:38 Tippets Road, Nesquehoning
21:20 Westchester Plastics (formerly Ametek)
21:47 Route 54, Nesquehoning
22:35 Nesquehoning Tunnel
23:32 Jim Thorpe Junction / wye (Collin)
26:32 Jim Thorpe rail yard
32:30 LGSR returns thru yard
34:11 PNEX departure
35:32 Glen Onoko Rock Cut (Collin)
36:25 Bridgeport in White Haven
36:51 Church Road, Mountain Top
37:38 Penobscot yard arrival
39:17 parking the F units
39:53 outro
40:29 end screen

Chasing trains and building models is hard work! You can help me refuel and support my adventures at:
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