Reading’s first serious foray into diesels began in 1937 with the delivery of fifteen 600-horsepower switchers from the Electro-Motive Corp. The busy World War II years found Reading well supplied with steam road power, with no new engines required, but a modest contingent of diesel switchers kept appearing on the roster. Thus for the moment, Reading’s Motive Power Department was firmly set upon a course that favored high horsepowered steam for all road work and its postwar steam program went into high gear with both rebuilds and new engines. However, despite this ambitious program, which included thirty high-capacity T-1 Northerns, 1945 saw the delivery of five four-unit 5400 horsepower FT freight locomotives built by EMD. The flexibility, reliability, lower-operating costs and advances in technology associated with the FT’s and subsequent models ultimately helped seal the fate of steam on the Reading as it was gradually phased out over the next ten years. By 1955, the T-1 Northerns were the only remaining steam on the active loco roster.*
The above photo submitted by Louis J. DiMarco (a visitor to our site who points out he is not a railfan) has a rather unique story behind its origin. His comments: “I took a picture with a box camera of one of the first diesels in Williamsport. There was a small freight yard there and they often stopped and moved some cars back and forth. They actually stopped in front of our house but they disconnected a couple of blocks east. I was able to run to it and take the picture with a cheap box camera. I figured it was really “neat” until someone pointed out that the engineer was looking back and it was probably backing up. I had tried to make it look like it was moving ahead. The diesel picture was taken between 1946 and 1948. I’m sure it was the first year that they put them on the line whenever that was.”
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*(info courtesy “Reading Company in Color,” by Bert Pennypacker, Morning Sun Books) |
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