Steam locomotive #2102 blasts through Glen Onoko northbound in Lehigh Gorge State Park.
Photo courtesy of Mark Turkovich
PITTSTON — The Reading & Northern Railroad Passenger Department will be boarding passengers for the second year to the 42nd Annual Pittston Tomato Festival from the Nesquehoning Regional Railroad Station to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Regional Railroad Station at Pittston aboard the massive steam locomotive #2102 on Saturday, Aug. 23.
After arriving at Pittston, passengers will then board shuttle buses for the short ride to the festival site at Downtown Pittston.
Departing Nesquehoning at 9 a.m., the trip will operate over the entire length of the Reading & Northern Lehigh Division Main Line, highlighted by #2102 blasting through the 25 miles of Lehigh Gorge State Park.
Riders may also elect to remain at the station in Pittston where a limited number of food trucks will be on hand. Steam locomotive #2102 will be serviced and then put on display and opened for cab tours during the layover.
The train will depart Pittston at 5 p.m. and arrive back at Nesquehoning at 8:00 p.m. The Black Diamond Company Store will be open for business at the Nesquehoning station before and after the ride offering an assortment of Reading & Northern Railroad-related souvenirs.
Reading & Northern Railroad, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, is a privately held railroad company serving over 80 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Wyoming).
It has expanded its operations over the last 40 years; and now transports nearly 35,000 carloads of freight (which removes over 200,000 trucks from the highway), while its Passenger Department welcomes nearly 340,000 riders annually.
Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns almost 2,000 freight cars, and employs over 350 dedicated people.
Reading & Northern has been repeatedly honored as one of the premier railroads in the nation, including being named Regional Railroad of the Year in 2020 by Railway Age magazine.
