Steam enthusiasts, rejoice.

A Reading Company Class T-1 4-8-4 Northern locomotive that has not been seen on the rails in nearly a quarter century will soon rise like a phoenix out of the ashes to again take its rightful place in the railroading industry.Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad in Port Clinton announced this past week that it has begun working on restoring the Reading 2102, one of four remaining T-1 4-8-4 engines in the world.Andy Muller Jr., owner and CEO of RBMN, anticipates that the T-1 will be operational by mid-2017.Matt Fisher, general manager of the railroad’s passenger division, said that the decision to restore this iron horse came after an impressive year in passenger service, showing that there is a growing interest in steam-powered trains.“Impressive ridership numbers along with the amount of teamwork and determination by employees of the railroad has made it a perfect time to begin working on no. 2102,” he said. “The opportunities are endless to use No. 2102 in special excursion service on both the RBMN and related tourist railroad Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway (in Jim Thorpe).”Over the next two years, the engine will receive a complete overhaul as it is returned to its former glory.The tender has already been split from the locomotive and work to restore the behemoth commenced earlier this month.According to Fisher, the cab, along with all jacketing, piping, superheater units, tubes and flues will be removed, and the locomotive will be dissembled far enough to perform a complete ultrasonic testing and inspection.A class of its ownThe 2102 has a rich history that dates back to the 1940s.According to an article published in the Times News in 1991, the engine was constructed in October 1945 by the Reading Locomotive shops in Reading using parts from a former 76-foot Class I-10sa Consolidation, a 1923 Baldwin locomotive, as part of a fleet of 30 middleweight engines in the T-1 series, capable of hauling both freight and passengers. The Baldwin locomotives were converted from a 2-8-0 to 4-8-4 wheel arrangements by redesigning and lengthening the smoke box and replacing shorter parts with longer extensions, in addition to doing a complete overhaul of the undercarriage.Over the next decade, the engine pulled both freight and coal hoppers through Schuylkill County along the Reading Lines.Many still remember the sound of the 2102, a musical mixture of chugs and puffs as the wheels pushed against the cold steel of the rails and the steam hissed from the boiler. The combination of mechanical engineering perfection and a time long ago, when coal was king and iron horses raced across the region, echoed through valleys as she glided along her path, being heard miles away before she was seen.Many of 2102’s sister engines fell to time and deterioration, and by 1958, most had been put into storage where they rusted and crumbled to the elements, were picked clean for parts and later scrapped.But not the 2102.The engine, along with T-1s 2100, 2101 and 2124, still had stories to tell.Following the decommission from freight, 2102 moved to passenger excursions, where it led a number of “Iron Horse Rambles” with 2100 and 2124 until the very popular outings ceased as a result of track deterioration and high locomotive repair costs in October 1964.Bounced aroundThe 2102 called a number of railroads in Ohio and western Pennsylvania home over the decades before finally returning to its roots in the eastern part of the state, finding a home at Reading Blue Mountain and Northern in Port Clinton.According to the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society, in 1966 the engine was sold to Steam Tours, where it operated under various sponsors until 1974, when it was sold to the Allegheny Railroad in Ohio.Three years later, it was sold to Rail Diversified of Ohio, where it ran until 1985.The 2102 then returned to Reading by the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the T-1 debut.A lasting homeWhile in Reading, Muller, who was just beginning his venture in the railroad industry, saw the potential in this engine and purchased it from the society.It became the crown jewel of the fledgling railroad and popularity in steam again began to grow.Most notably for the 2102 and the area happened in August 1991, when the engine led the “Anthracite Express” — a 4½-hour, 75-mile round-trip excursion from Tamaqua to Port Clinton and Reading, that was sponsored by the Tamaqua Historical Society.According to an article published in the Times News following the monumental event, the express was the first train to leave the borough in 25 years and was held in honor of the 160th anniversary of the Little Schuylkill Navigation Railroad, the first railroad in the United States to haul coal with a steam locomotive.Nearly 800 passengers from all over the tri-state area, as well as rail enthusiasts from as far away as Connecticut and Florida, graced the seats of the excursion.Four years later, Muller moved the engine to Steamtown in Scranton for minor restoration.The 2102 was brought back to Port Clinton in 1998 for display at the railroad’s open house and then stored alongside steam locomotive 425.Until now, rail enthusiasts have wondered if the 2102 would ever find her purpose again, pulling passenger cars along the old Reading Lines.Rumors have floated through the air that Muller was looking to restore this once pristine beauty back to operational status, but the railroad chief stayed mum until now.Muller has finally decided that the time has come to answer the call of the 2102, which has sat patiently, waiting for the chance to again be loved, to again be a shining star of the rail line, to again take her place as one of the crown jewels in Muller’s growing collection.