Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In the late 1970s, American railroading was celebrating its 100th birthday. The Chessie System, which could trace its history back to America’s first railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio, took notice to the occasion and celebrated by operating an excursion train systemwide known as the Chessie Steam Special.
The power for this train was ex-Reading Company T-1 4-8-4 2101, which had just come off service on the American Freedom Train in 1975 and 1976.
So successful was the first tour of the Chessie Steam Special in 1977, that another tour was run in 1978 with additional cars. This video shows the 2101 operating in 1977 and 1978 running in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The train is also seen hauled by diesel power as not everything went flawless with the operation during the two years it toured. The 2101 would be damaged by a fire in March 1979, and a new locomotive was found to pull trips on the Chessie System. The 2101 was traded for C&O 4-8-4 “Greenbrier” 614, and the program closes with the engine operating on the new Chessie Safety Express, an train operated in partnership with Operation Lifesaver from 1980-1981.
Enjoy your trip aboard the Chessie Steam Special!
Thumbnail originally from Steven J. Brown.
In the late 1970s, American railroading was celebrating its 100th birthday. The Chessie System, which could trace its history back to America’s first railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio, took notice to the occasion and celebrated by operating an excursion train systemwide known as the Chessie Steam Special.
The power for this train was ex-Reading Company T-1 4-8-4 2101, which had just come off service on the American Freedom Train in 1975 and 1976.
So successful was the first tour of the Chessie Steam Special in 1977, that another tour was run in 1978 with additional cars. This video shows the 2101 operating in 1977 and 1978 running in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The train is also seen hauled by diesel power as not everything went flawless with the operation during the two years it toured. The 2101 would be damaged by a fire in March 1979, and a new locomotive was found to pull trips on the Chessie System. The 2101 was traded for C&O 4-8-4 “Greenbrier” 614, and the program closes with the engine operating on the new Chessie Safety Express, an train operated in partnership with Operation Lifesaver from 1980-1981.
Enjoy your trip aboard the Chessie Steam Special!
Thumbnail originally from Steven J. Brown.
![[4K] Reading & Northern Doubleheader Steam Special with Reading 2102 and 425](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uNF89H1ETRE/mqdefault.jpg "[4K] Reading & Northern Doubleheader Steam Special with Reading 2102 and 425
For the first time in 34 years, former Reading Company 4-8-4 T-1 2102 and Reading & Northern 4-6-2 425 doubleheaded on an excursion steam special.
For the August 13th Iron Horse Ramble excursion, already scheduled to have Reading 2102 leading, the railroads 425 joined for an exciting day of doubleheading. With 2102 freshly restored to service earlier in 2022 after a 30-year absence, this marked the first time the two engines doubleheaded since the Blue Mountain & Reading days. The two steam engines together put on an impressive show, swiftly moving the sold-out excursion train over former Reading and CNJ trackage from Reading to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and return.
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![[4K] Pan Am Office Car Special](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/umcKXAY9QsE/mqdefault.jpg "[4K] Pan Am Office Car Special
Pan Am Railways is a freight carrier that operates a network of historic Class II railroads across the Northeastern United States. The company was founded by Timothy Mellon in 1981 as Guilford Transportation Industries and began purchasing the bankrupt Maine Central Railroad and Boston and Maine Railroad, as well as the Delaware and Hudson Railway, which it later abandoned. The company adopted its current name after purchasing the brand and graphic identity of the legendary airline which operated from 1927 until 1991. Mellon originally attempted to revive the Pan Am brand as an airline, but later applied the brand to the rail operations after the new airline failed to take off. The company was sold to CSX in 2022 and is slowly being integrated into its system.
Pam Am was known for its iconic business train, often led by a pair of ex-Canadian National GMD FP-9 locomotives built in 1954 and 1957. “The Sisters,” as they were affectionately known, previously ran excursion trains through New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch along the Conway Scenic Railroad. Pan Am acquired these units in 2010 via an exchange.
A few months prior to the CSX acquisition, Positive Train Control was implemented along portions of the line, with Pan Am opting not to equip the FP-9s with the new technology. Instead, the company used newer equipment for those segments of the trip, including the Maine Central 7542 seen in this video. This GE C40-8 was built in 1989 for CSX and has now come full circle back to the CSX roster.
Upon the sale of Pan Am to CSX, the Sisters and the OCS equipment were shipped down to Norcross, Georgia to await their future.")
![[4K] Union Pacific Big Boy - Giant of the West](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uxD9DnoWf0E/mqdefault.jpg "[4K] Union Pacific Big Boy - Giant of the West
The Union Pacific Big Boy is one of the most iconic steam locomotives in the history of American railroading. A total of 25 of these 4-8-8-4 giants were delivered to the UP in two batches in 1941 and 1944. The Big Boys were originally built to handle the strenuous demands of wartime freight traffic over the Wasatch grade between Ogden, UT and Evanston, WY, but after 1944, their operating territory was extended east to Cheyenne, WY.
After WWII, the Big Boys continued to roll up the revenue service miles hauling endless carloads of peacetime freight on the Overland Route. The 1950s were well known as the time of transition for American railroads, and the Big Boys, despite their power, were still threatened by inevitable dieselization. The Big Boy’s last revenue runs were on July 21, 1959. A total of eight Big Boys made their way into preservation, donated to museums and parks across the country.
For decades, the question was asked, would a Big Boy ever be seen in operation again. It wasnt until 2013 that all changed, when Union Pacific reacquired Big Boy 4014 for restoration. The locomotive would go from Pomona, CA back to Cheyenne, where Union Pacific steam crews restored it to run on the Union Pacific mainline in May 2019.
You’ll see the Big Boy 4014 in its first year of operation doubleheading with UP 844, as well as running over Cajon Pass, through Arizona, and across Kansas into Missouri. In 2024, the 4014 made a journey to Northern California as part of its Westward Bound Tour. Near complete coverage from 12 different cameras follow the Big Boy into Portola, through the Feather River Canyon, and then east over Donner Pass in a spectacular display of raw power!
The 8mm footage for this program is from the cameras of five different railfans and photographers, and come from the Western Railway Museum, and the collections of Hunter Lohse and Dick Donat.
Music in this video is used through Creative Commons")
![[4K] Steamtown National Historic Site](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wMusou1jKOY/mqdefault.jpg "[4K] Steamtown National Historic Site
Baldwin Locomotive Works 0-6-0 26 leads the Scranton Limited from the Scranton roundhouse to Nay Aug Tunnel. This 1929-built Baldwin switcher was retained at the BLW Eddystone, PA factory for switching around the plant, including newly constructed steam locomotives. It was utilized by Steamtown for yard demonstrations in the 1990s. Following a thorough rebuild, the 26 has been the main power for the Scranton Limited since 2016. This video presents a normal day of operations as Baldwin 26 climbs the steady 1% grade up the Lackawanna Valley.
Scranton, PA, the Electric City, is home to the Steamtown National Historic Site housed at the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad yard. The collection of F. Nelson Blount dates back to the 1960s in Vermont, which was moved to Scranton in the 1980s. Since 1995, the Steamtown collection has been part of the National Park Service as the Steamtown National Historic Site.
A select amount of the collection is shown in the video, including favorites like Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 759, Canadian Pacific 4-6-2 2317, Canadian National 2-8-2 3254, and Union Pacific Big Boy 4012.
The guest whistle on 26 is a Southern 3 chime as used on a 4-8-2 Ts class. The detail that its once again on a green painted locomotive was not lost on anybody.
0:00 Opening
Scranton Limited
Displays
Its Not")
![[4K] Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xOu5tSCZEpk/mqdefault.jpg "[4K] Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad
The Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad operates freight and tourist trains out of Middletown, Pennsylvania, operating on several miles of former Reading trackage towards Hummelstown. The M&H interchanges with Norfolk Southern and serves a number of industries in Middletown.
Tourist trains operate on select weekends throughout the year, primarily with GE centercab switchers 1 and 2. On special occasion, former Western Maryland Railway Alco S6 151 is used. Also on the roster is T6 1016, one of the last diesels built by Alco.
Throwback of Middletown & Hummelstowns 2-6-0 91 operating in 2009, which operated occasionally: https://youtu.be/HNqrDtVCeWw
0:00 Introduction
2:19 60 tonner 2 on passenger train
6:31 Western Maryland Alco S6 151 freight special")
