CNJ 113 - Santa Claus Trains on the Minersville Branch

On the perfectly cloudy day of December 1, 2018, my friends Kyle, Danny (Hector) and I got together and made the trek to Minersville, PA, in the heart of Anthracite Coal Country to chase beautifully restored Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 #113 as she took part in the weekend's Santa Claus Trains over former Reading, now RBMN rails between Minersville and Schuylkill Haven and back, with three trips throughout the day. The 113 was built in 1923 and was restored to operating condition by the dedicated team of volunteers at Railway Restoration Project 113, bringing the gift of steam to the area for years to come.

The fellas and I set-up at Maple Avenue in Minersville for the 10:30 AM departure with RBMN GP39RN 2532, which would lead the Schuylkill Haven bound leg of the three trips, we then chased them over to Beckville Road on the outskirts of Pottsville as the train approached Cressona and Schuykill Haven. After stopping around the corner from the former Reading Station in town, the 113 stomped by with the return trip, putting on quite a show, after which we chased them back to Maple Avenue to catch the steamer leading the way on the S-Curve..

Later, for the 1 PM trip, we caught the RBMN 2532 led run at Westwood Junction, where RBMN's branch to Good Spring comes in, as well as along Wilder Street and West Cressona Yard in Cressona. We then set up by West Cressona Station for the 113 to put on another impressive show of stack talk before catching them at Westwood Junction once more.

Finally, the 3:30 PM trip was greeted by the beginning of a night-long rain, seen as they skip by the now lit up station at Schuylkill Haven before chasing the 113 to Beckville Road and Minersville, where we would engage in some night photos before hitting the road..

Thank you for watching!

[gnrtool]

Great Video! Rode the 3:30 PM train on December 1st.