#113

On December 9 & 10, 2023 Railway Restoration Project's CNJ #113 steam locomotive delighted passengers and railfans alike with Santa train excursions from Minersville to Schuylkill Haven and back. Traveling along the Minersville Branch of the Reading and Northern Railroad, they ran three trips each day passing through beautiful countryside, a rail yard, and the town of Schuylkill Haven.
This video is a compilation of Friday's preparation work, Saturday's runs, and putting #113 back into the siding at Minersville Station after Sunday's last run. I worked as Car Host on the train Sunday, so I was unable to film any of those runs.
#113 wore several whistles throughout the weekend - a Southern Pacific 6-chime on Saturday, an LNE 3-chime on Sunday, and tested a paper mill whistle on Friday.
#113 is an 0-6-0 switcher built by Alco in June 1923 for the Central Railroad of New Jersey. She worked as a yard switcher until being taken out of service in 1951 and sold to the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company. She then served at the Locust Summit colliery outside of Ashland, Pennsylvania until 1960.
Robert E. Kimmel, Sr. bought her in 1986 and moved her to her current home in Minersville. The voluneteers at Railway Restoration Project 113 began refurbishing her in 1999, a project that took more than a decade and over $600,000 to complete.
Special thanks to my fellow RUclipsrs who joined me to film during the weekend - ‪@PANortheasternRailfan‬, ‪@NixCrossing‬,‪@rj78productions88‬, and ‪@emeraldsoundproductions‬.
0:00 Friday - firing up and preparing 113
5:52 Saturday intro
7:10 113 hooking up to the consist
8:40 Minersville departure
10:19 Route 901
10:31 Westwood Junction
12:58 Glenworth Road
15:37 Wilder Street, West Cressona
17:40 Schuylkill Haven Station
18:55 onboard behind 113's tender
21:49 Schuylkill Haven Station
22:52 West Cressona Yard
25:18 Glenworth Road
27:34 onboard behind 113's tender
28:39 Marlin rock cut
33:04 Minersville arrival
35:19 outro
35:50 epilogue - 113 being put away Sunday night
39:16 end screen
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