MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS

Late in the steam era, the Reading's new president, Revelle W. Brown had been impressed with the performance of the Lehigh Valley's (of which he had been president) 4-8-4's. He had concluded that such a locomotive would be the perfect choice to replace the Reading's stable of 2-8-0 I-10 locomotives. Like all railroad's, the Reading faced wartime material restrictions that could impact the design and performance of a new locomotive. To avoid these compromises and incorporate its ability to assemble its own engines, the Reading settled on rebuilding the I-10s which utilized an usually large boiler and firebox. Combining the I-10 boiler with Baldwin drive train components allowed the new T-1 locomotives, which were assembled in the Reading shops, to come in nearly 35% under the cost of a completely new locomotive. A total of 30 T-1s were built by 1947 and most were assigned freight duties. The last 10 T-1 locomotives to roll out of the shops were equipped with steam heat and air signal lines so that they could handle passenger work as well. Intricately detailed and outfitted with the power and performance of Proto-Sound 2.0, the M.T.H. Reading T-1 is the first Reading prototype to appear in the Premier Line. Like all Premier steam engines, the T-1 is equipped with synchronized puffing smoke, Proto-Speed control for incredible slow speed action and the hobby's largest variety of prototypical steam engine sounds.