Starting this weekend, newly painted SD40-2 diesel locomotive #1776 will be featured on the Reading & Northern Railroad’s all-day Pittston to Jim Thorpe round trip excursion trains for a limited time.

This follows a well-received cameo appearance on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway on Nov. 21 and 22.

Having just emerged from the paint shop two weeks ago, the locomotive has attracted quite a following. Visitors were pleasantly surprised to see the patriotically painted power in Jim Thorpe this past weekend.

Now, guests from the northern reaches of the railroad system will have a chance to marvel at this latest masterpiece.

Matt Fisher, the senior vice president and general manager of the Passenger Department, said “It is only fitting that we bring this locomotive to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, where there is so much industrial history that was vital to the evolution of this country.”

The railroad expects that #1776 will see an even larger role in passenger service in 2026, as the United States celebrates its semiquincentennial. The passenger department is already working on numerous special events to commemorate the momentous occasion, some of which will be in the Luzerne County area.

Reading & Northern Railroad, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, is a privately held railroad company serving more than 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 more than 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 more than 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.