On Saturday (10-8-22), we had the perfect conditions for a Fall Foliage ramble. The weather was beautiful, the leaves were stunning and vibrant, and the energy of the RBMN staff was bolstered by our wonderful Passengers.
What could possibly go wrong?
Unfortunately, as many of you know, our newly restored 2102 steam engine suffered a minor problem at a critical area. This effectively shut down the locomotive and prevented further operation for the trip. The part in question is called a “firing table” made of a metal alloy dedicated to resist extremely hot temperatures and it crumbled. Think of this as a nail coming out of a horseshoe. It is a simple fix, but the horse would still be unable to run.
At RBMN, we try to predict every potential point of failure that would negatively impact our customers’ experiences. For example, we actually installed a brand-new firing table prior to this trip!
Needless to say, I was just as shocked and disappointed as all of you. We responded to this one-in-a-million chance breakdown of the 2102 immediately. It was taken to our shop the day of the incident and we are hard at work to get our flagship engine back in service.
Our top priority is thegoal of running 2102 still well within Fall Foliage season (prior to Oct. 30th)!
If you haven’t subscribed to our social media channels or navigated to our websites for updates, we strongly encourage you to do so; links are below.
My sincerest gratitude to everyone who has and continues to support Reading Blue Mountain and Northern and your patience as we navigate through this unprecedented and unforeseen event.
Our Passenger Department can’t wait to see you back aboard an even MORE powerful and awe-inspiring 2102 experience to come!
Lastly, the passenger department will be contacting everyone who rode the October 8th trip over the next few days.
