Booster Engaged! Reading & Northern T-1 No. 2102 Starts 4300 Ton Frac Sand Train @ Millers Crossing!

READ: After coming to a stop to rectify a minor mechanical issue, Andy Muller raises the booster control latch to engage the trailing truck booster. What follows is an impressive display of steam power as the 2102 uses every last drop of its 79,100 lbf of tractive effort (68,000 main engine and 11,100 booster) to restart its 4,310 ton freight train (30 loads, one caboose) and accelerate back up to track speed. The booster engine exhaust is piped to an outlet just ahead of the main stack, and we can see it as a smaller white plume of steam ahead of the dark clouds of main engine exhaust. If you listen closely, you can also just make out the faster cadence of the booster exhaust right around the 3:25 to 3:30 mark. Mainline steam railroading doesn't get much better than this, so sit back, relax, and enjoy =)