SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It’s officially fall, and the most scenic seat might just be aboard a train, seeing waves of gold and crimson leaves in the mountains.
Making moves at Steamtown National Historic Site, literally. Considered amongst the world’s largest steam locomotives, the Union Pacific "Big Boy" 4012 will be swapping places with the Reading T1 2124 at the park in Scranton.
“We will pull them into the roundhouse, we will separate them, so we actually have to take the tender and the locomotive apart to turn it on the turntable, and then we’ll push them back into position," said Jeremy Komasz, superintendent of Steamtown National Historic Site.
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The "Big Boy" weighs over a million pounds.
“Sure, it’s not a runner, but to see it get moved, it’s something I’ve always wanted to see," Antonio Miller of Dallas told 28/22 News.
You can imagine the moving process takes weeks of planning.
“People can’t get enough of it. It really shakes the ground, and you sort of get a glimpse of what these kinds of things were like when they were under power," Larry Scucci, park ranger at Steamtown National Historic Site, explained.
The change-up comes ahead of a busy year in 2026, with the 110th birthday of the National Park Service and 200th anniversary of railroading in America.
“There’s a lot of excitement around what trains have done for the growth of America since the early 1800s," Komasz said.
But as the leaves are changing, a big draw to the railroad is fall excursions, such as the NEPA wine train out of Carbondale on Saturday.
Mike Rinkunas is Iron Horse Society president and founder, the official philanthropic partner of Steamtown.
“It’s not like driving where you have to pay attention to the road and you can’t enjoy the scenery. You can sit, you can enjoy, talk with others, and just unplug and unwind," Rinkunas said.
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He says they’re building up to its holiday train rides that have sold out in recent years, combining learning and fun for families.
“This is about encouraging and educating folks of literally how Amazon gets their packages to us today is based off of the same railroad technologies that were generated in the 1850s," Rinkunas explained.
The NEPA Valley Wine Train in Carbondale begins at 1 p.m. Saturday. To get tickets to that excursion, visit their website.
