Reading Blue Mountain & Northern 425: One Sweet O Gauge Steam Engine 

Video Notes: 1) This video has chapters if you'd like to skip around. 2) A view from the engine: 10:14 3) Sky Cam Shot: 11:20

They're not joking when they say 425 is America's loudest steam engine.

Hey Eric! The PFA sequence was entirely recorded by an RBMN employee at the MTH office. The script is extremely accurate. Please, come and ride with us next time you are in Pennsylvania!

That's what I love about Mth engines they always had that realistic talk and cab chatter sounds that's one reason why I own Mth engines..

The engine was originally a Gulf, Mobile & Ohio engine numbered 550. When the engine was retired, it was picked up by the Louisiana Eastern and numbered 4. The company was run by Paulsen Spence who had a proposed system that was to serve as an alternate line bypassing the congested rail lines in New Orleans, Louisiana. The railroad was envisioned by Paulsen Spence in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and while most US railroads had or began to replace their steam locomotives with diesel locomotives, the LE was to operate exclusively with steam locomotives which Spence had collected over time. He died in 1961, and the railroad had never fully materialized.

Cool model, the crew sounds are spot on!! I’ve ridden the train many times behind the 425 and now 2102 and it’s always a pleasure hearing Rusty’s voice as the “commentator” for the ride. If you’ve never ridden this train or this railroad you need to do it. No other place like it on the planet.

I initially wasn't a fan on the shade of blue they used, but the sounds really make this one knock it out of the park.

The whistle is fantastic! Great model

Absolutely beautiful Eric wow blown away. 🤯💙💙💙💙

Reading & Northern 425 is a great locomotive! I saw the real thing twice, one of those times was her doubling with recently restored Reading 2102. I think she may be back in service soon but who knows. Great video Eric!

Eric I wish I could afford to be a paying subscriber but I just can’t but I truly love all the good things you do for this hobby, and all the good things I learned from you thank you very much

That pfa announcement is 100%accurate have heard Russ say those exact words several times

I love the blue on this engine. It looks fantastic. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

That blue color is so striking. Stands out from all the black steam engines. Great video Eric!

I love this engine even the real one too.

In 1992, No. 425 was repainted into a new dark royal blue paint scheme as opposed to its original black livery. On May 10-11, 2008 where the engine debuted in a new lighter blue color and an above-centered headlight. I've seen this Loco over the years given my backyard is by Jim Thorpe Station

425 got its newer paint scheme in 2015. However, when they first "finished" it, there was an announcement that NKP 765 was going to be in the area and the crews were not finished with repainting the 425. So they brought it out about 2/3 repainted. The drivers, trailing truck, and air system was still in the older blue while virtually everything else had new paint. They finished it later in 2015.

I’d love one of these as Jim Thorpe is 15 minutes up the road and I’ve seen the full scale engine many times.

I used to play with an old O Scale set my dad had from his childhood when I was a a Child and man things sure are much improved... The only thing that Locomotive had as a "Feature" was an incandescent Bulb in the headlight. No sound, No Smoke, No nothing, I'm not sure what is going to happen with all of that now that he's passed away last september but I'll have to see, I don't have huge amounts of space for trains but it would be cool to assemble a loop of track and drive it with my son (I got dad a whole bunch of extra track including switches and such for $5 at a flea market once because his original loop of track and board had gone missing when I was a teenager after I used it as a tabletop for wargamming at a friends house and it never came home so I felt bad about losing it. He never did do anything with the train or the new track but hey My heart was in the right place and now its all in a box in my moms basement

I’m a native Jim Thorper. My grandad worked on the CNJ and Lehigh Valley out of Jim Thorpe. I bought the dark blue version of this engine. It is far and away my favorite train. My dad had the biggest smile on his face when he heard the PFA. Thanks for reviewing this!

Thanks so much for the video. One of the of the sound effects that MTH has always included in their steam locomotives is of the cylinder cocks being open for a few driver revolutions when starting up. This a very realistic feature which Lionel has not yet opted to do. I also prefer the more subdued finishes most MTH engines have. The Reading & Northern recently restored Reading 2102 and she is a beauty. Kudos to them for their devotion to preserving steam. Eric, you have come a long way in the 16 years since you started posting videos of your trains. Kudos to you as well for all you have done and continue to do for world of O scale trains.

That’s a beautiful engine

Yes I can confirm those passenger recordings are accurate to the real thing. I’ve ridden behind this locomotive a few times and the same guy does the announcements just like this

Love those dusk shots! She’s a beaut - sporting the paint scheme prior to the deeper blue. Love those drivers. Great sound and smoke too.

Im not lying when i say this and this was completely by coincidence. I was doing a bit of research avout the 425, 2101, and Pere Marquette N-2 Berkshires, when i got this video as a notification. This is a prime example on how your phone always monitors your every action. And i take great pride in watching this video 2 hours prior to its upload to RU-vid. And by golly what a wonderful video it is. Thanks for uploading, your channel has been giving stunning & quality video for years, and hopefully years to come ❤

Man, this was a great video. I think this loco might be a serious rival to the Blue Comet, it's a beauty. Thanks for sharing.

Striking blue.. but so much brighter than the picture of the real-life engine. The grey is lighter too.

BM&R's standard coaches consist mainly of former DL&W electric trailer coaches from NJ Transit when they were retired in 1984.

I wish MTH went the extra mile and gave this model a proper Reading 6 chime. The whistle they used here sounds more appropriate for a Chinese locomotive.

This engine was painted like this until 2015, then it was painted a darker “reading crusader” blue which is the scheme it currently have. While it’s not 100% accurate to the prototype it’s really close and vastly superior than the Lionel version which came out a year after this engine came out. The Lionel version domes are all wrong, no custom sounds, and I know this is a shocker but the paint was hideously off. MTH actually has re-released this engine since the original run with whistle steam, so if anyone is looking for one check on the newest offerings. I want to say 2020, 21 is when the new version came out, however I believe they only did the new paint scheme. MTH also released a total of 15 cars for this train, the first one was their traditional 5 pack plus 2 add ons. The second wave was 3 2 packs, separate observation, and a full length vistdome. I believe Atlas also did a run of these cars, however they just did the 5 pack. They also released a 5 pack of Lehigh Gorge cars too which is the tourist train in Jim Thorpe. Reading & Northern is one of my favorite railroads and I actually know for a fact that the steam engine crew all have one of these engines. Keep up the great work!

An amazing train

That is one beautiful blue engine! I really like the blue side rods, too. Dare I say, this blue is even nicer than The Blue Comet blue. Bravo to MTH for putting in the actual recording for the PFA! - Ryan

Nice looking locomotive....and don't know if I ever mention....your lay-out and visible collection is awesome.

That’s a sweet Blue Comet

A very nice model! Love the blue on it.

Very nice locomotive. I am from Pennsylvania and actually not that far from Jim Thorpe. I will have to check this out. Thanks for all the great reviews you do. You keep me excited about this hobby and its possibilities.

Great ride-a-long shots and aerial shot!! I know scenery on layout is one of the main attractions, but for some reason it is cool (to me at least) to see inside tunnels and the bench work inside! Oh yeah, great model too!

Very cool 😎. Thanks for sharing 👍

I have a idea to help you out with the drop plate brother, what I would do is do a construction paper cut out and measure the length of it and the width of the drop plate make a construction paper cut out and trace it out on a piece of aluminum and cut it out and build it to there you need it to sit at. That would be the easiest way to take care of that problem, and I would do that myself and I have friends that have done that in the past year's ago when I was in metal shop at school. We would fabricate our own parts if we where able to for hour different types of hobbies that we did in high school and I would do the welding if something needed welded.

Glad to see Lionel isn't the only one screwing up blue paint. The 425 has been Navy blue for since it became part of RBMN (Reading Northern) inventory. Not royal. Lionel got it wrong in their Lionchief Plus offering as well. Had it and sold it.

Nice engine . In terms of future trains to look out for, I personally recommend MTH's "I Love Toy Trains" railking freight set. its a very unique uncataloged piece that I know alot of younger viewes would find nostalgia for

Wish Lionel would make locomotives with the crew to passenger talk like that. One thing MTH has above Lionel is different voices. I own multiple different legacy engines and the voice is pretty much the same thing over and over again.

It looks even more stunning in person 😉 PFA is superb, but the whistle may have stole the show for me…but that overhead shot going through the bridge is EPIC!

Foot stumping, hip slapping! 😃👏🤝

Now, if you get a star wars 4 inch chewbacca figure or a lego star wars hoth snow beast to put inside your tunnels, that would make the cab rides more fun! Great locomotive! I have never seen one like it!

Looks awesome! The chuffing at speed leaves something to be desired. But it's a keeper.

Pretty cool Mr. Eric. 👍🏻

This train operates in my backyard. I’m thinking of getting the LionChief version of it.

Screams "IT'S BLUE!!!!" like no other...

The Guy in the Recording is an Actual worker for the railroad he does the announcements for the passenger trains

Hopefully Lionel or MTH make a 2102 Model one Day

Eric, Grew up in Reading RR ( Penn Central, Conrail, etc) RR town beginning 1952. I've read about RNBM RR over the years. The Reading moved coal to industry & consumers. The Reading RR Museum is in Hamburg.. I hope to get there one day. It's mainly volunteers who have gotten this RR back to where it can be appreciatIated. What issues make you a non-fan of RNBM RR?

Great review Eric on an older product that’s nice to see, I have several Proto three engines that don’t feature whistle smoke do they document it on the box like Lionel does just a quick question I appreciate your time.

Thanks for showing n older model of the Blue Comet. I have the first PS1 Blue comet with the passenger cars. I have the P1 upgrade to a p2. My son and I really enjoy running it. Thanks for the demonstration of the new P3 Blue Mountain. Maybe I am getting confused with yours with my Blue Comet. Are they mainly the same dies or are they different? JH

An excellent video, as always. My comment and question is about the drawbar. I have an MTH Southern Ps4 Pacific for my Southern Crescent passenger set. I'm not sure why they don't make the tender with a multi-position drawbar, it would seem rather easy. There is enough length on mine to have an extra hole set closer to the tender body. A sliding drawbar on the locomotive would probably work, also, as long as long as you have a pin, or some kind of lock, to keep it in the setting that you want. I've thought about drilling another hole in the tender drawbar to tighten-up the space. Is there a reason that they don't offer a drawbar with a multi-position feature? It would seem like a simple and logical thing to do, especially for those of us who have wider curves, so we don't have to change out the drawbar to get a more prototypical look.

Man, i need to go see the RBMN sometime. I only live an hour away from their engine shops, and they run their engines hard. It's not uncommon for 2102 to have stack talk so loud that it drowns out its own reading 6 chime

MTH might be lacking in some of the bells and whistles but moist of there engines have road name dialogue. Lionel just has the same old tracks for all there very expensive “ built to order” stuff.

Cool

What’s your favorite blue engine now Eric? This or The Blue Comet?

Do a review on the MTH daylight

Just waiting for Lionel to do RBMN 2102 Restoration Version lol

Puts the Blue in Reading Blue Mountan & Northern

Today is my birthday

What happened to the tunnel that connects your layout to rbp’s layout

👍👍

Is that locomotive perpetually depressed, or is it just shy? I can't tell with how blue it is.

That train kinda looks like Thomas

The RBMN is a cool railroad for sure. Btw. Who makes those nice Baltimore and Ohio cars behind the engine?

👍🏻✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

Have you lost weight opps cartoon figure

Finally he skips over the pointless opening the box sequence....

Hi I am one of your followers and I am looking on the legacy station website and they have a TRUMP 2024 Lionel legacy ES44AC #2024 for $749.99 if you can get that and review as well

The color doesn’t match that well doesn’t Matter to me But if that were Lionel Everybody would be Outraged Just saying

The blue is wrong ... too intense ... even for its older colors.

This engine is so blue it’s not even funny 😂