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Bumpy road for the T-1 engines

Much like the Reading 2102, the 2100, 2101 and 2124 moved around after its time in the Reading Lines, surviving trips to the scrap yard, fires and time.

2100According to a history of the engines on the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society website, the 2100, which was the first of the engines constructed, was stored in the Western Maryland Railroad roundhouse in Hagerstown, Maryland, for many years, being used as parts for sister engine 2101.It was sold in 1987 to the "2100 Corporation" and overhauled in 1988 at a cost that exceeded $1 million, but following the restoration, no railroad would take it, so it was donated to the Portage Ohio Regional Transportation Authority, which placed it up for sale and sold it at auction in 1998.Last year, through the efforts of the group "Fire Up 2100" and the American Steam Railroad of Mount Vernon, Ohio, the engine was moved from a storage facility in Richland, Washington, to Cleveland, Ohio, where volunteers are working to rehabilitate the engine. A fundraising campaign to fund the restoration is also currently taking place.2101The 2101's history nearly ended in 1955 after it was removed from service.According to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore,which currently owns the engine, following its decommissioning, the engine was stored as a spare locomotive on the Reading Railroad's line, but never saw action. It was officially retired in 1967 and sold to a scrap dealer, where it sat until 1975 when New York broker Ross Rowland purchased the engine for use as the eastern part of the American Freedom Train event that toured the nation during the bicentennial of the United States.The 2101 was restored and ran in this capacity until September 1976.A year later, it was renamed the Chessie Steam Special and outfitted with an auxiliary water tender and set of 19 passenger cars, which were used to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the B&O Railroad.On March 7, 1979, the 2101 was badly burned in a fire in Kentucky, where it was being stored. It was sent to Maryland, where it received cosmetic repairs and donated to the B&O Railroad Museum, where it still sits on display today.2124Unlike the 2100, 2100 and 2102, the 2124's history ended after its grand stint as the "Queen of the Iron Horse Rambles."In 1961, it was sold to Steamtown USA, Bellows Falls, Vermont, and then transported with the rest of company's collection to Scranton in 1984.Today it can be seen at Steamtown National Historic Park alongside other engines, including the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 565; Grand Trunk Western 6039, Rahway Valley 15, Bullard 2 and the Union Pacific 4012 "Big Boy," which measuring 132 feet, 9¾ inches long, dwarfs the 2124 in size by over 30 feet.According to the National Park Service website, which operates Steamtown, there are no immediate plans to restore the engine due to costs and wear and the poor condition of the engine parts and body.