425 Holiday Trains covers 2 days of Christmas trains on the Reading and Northern with their loud 4-6-2 number 425. There were 3 trips per day originating out of Tamaqua, PA. The first and third trip each day was northbound upgrade to Haucks, then down to High Bridge. A diesel on the rear then pulls it back to Tamaqua. The second trip runs south of Tamaqua then returns, and the third trip is a repeat of the first one. The engine is kept in Port Clinton, so we catch it running light to Tamaqua each morning. We begin the December 2nd trip with a cab ride from Tamaqua. This is a rainy morning, and mostly upgrade, so 425 has to work pretty good. After the cab ride we see a few scenes of the second trip, before shooting the afternoon trip trackside, again mostly upgrade. Sunday December 3rd features great lighting and cool weather as we chase the light engine to Tamaqua, including some pacing. The first trip from Tamaqua features a camera mounted on the right side cab roof, so you see the top of the boiler plus the right side of the line. We mix these in with some nice trackside locations, making this a memorable run. After shooting the second trip we again make the afternoon run to High Bridge. This segment features trackside views, plus some onboard footage from the open window coach. We splice in the two types of scenes for fun viewing, like entering the Tamaqua Tunnel from the train, then from trackside. We also have some nice morning scenes at Port Clinton, as well as the history of the engine. The trips in December of 2022 were the final trips for 425, as it is down for its 15 year form 4 boiler and rebuild work. Who knows when we may see it again, but for now enjoy this show of great steam action.
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