Reading Company 902 and Reading Company 903 are two preserved ex-

Reading Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...

EMD FP7 The EMD FP7 is a , B-B dual-service passenger and freight-hauling diesel locomotive produced between June 1949 and December 1953 by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, ...

History

Reading 902 and 903 were among of the first six FP7s ordered by the railroad in March 1950 to replace passenger

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s. The two units were completed on June 1 of that year and delivered to the Reading via the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

. The pair pulled their first train on June 6. In the following years, the two locomotives sometimes worked together, and sometimes were split, depending on the size of their trains.

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

inherited the units in 1974, and they were renumbered by the new

Consolidated Rail Corporation Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It Conrail Shared Assets O ...

in 1976, with the 902 becoming 4372 and the 903 becoming 4373. During the SEPTA years, the FP7s usually operated in push-pull configuration. 903 was the first FP7 to receive the SEPTA paint scheme in February 1978. 902 was involved in a derailment in February 1978, and when it re-entered service in June, it was also repainted into the SEPTA paint. SEPTA ceased all diesel-operations in 1981, and the locomotives were retired. Both locomotives were eventually purchased by the

National Railway Historical Society The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of Rail transport, railroads. It is headquartered in Phila ...

in September 1983. 902 was obtained by the Lancaster Chapter of the NRHS, while 903 purchased by the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Chapter of the NRHS. They were stored at the

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to ro ...

. Restoration on the two began in 1986 and was completed in 1995. In January 2007, the Lancaster Chapter donated the 902 to the

Reading Company Technical and Historical Society Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. 902 and 903 operated an excursion on an ex-Reading line owned by Penn Eastern Rail Lines in October of that year, but no more trips are planned for 2008. In January 2010, the 902 and 903 were loaned to

Steamtown National Historic Site Steamtown National Historic Site (NHS) is a List of railway museums, railroad museum and Heritage railway, heritage railroad located on in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and ...

for a year to maintain the locomotives in exchange for excursion rights. Both locomotives were displayed outside near the parking lot. In September 2023, the 903 was sold to SMS Rail Lines for use on their Woodstown Central tourist railroad in New Jersey. The 902 was also leased to SMS for the same purpose. Both locomotives were moved to their new home in early 2024. Currently, No. 902 is pulling Woodstown Central passenger excursions while the railroad repairs its steam locomotive, No. 9.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reading 0902 Electro-Motive Division locomotives B-B locomotives Reading Company Individual locomotives of the United States Preserved diesel locomotives Philadelphia and Reading Railroad locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1950