No. 2101 was sold along with No. 2100 in September 1967 to Streigel Equipment and Supply of Baltimore, Maryland, where it would be stored for the next eight years. Excursion service In 1975, the country was gearing up for America's Bicentennial and plans were underway for The American Freedom Train which would travel across the country stopping in dozens of cities and pulled by steam locomotives. Led by Ross Rowland, a nationwide search was carried out to search for locomotives in restorable condition to pull the train. Southern Pacific 4449 and Reading No. 2101 were selected for the trip (A group of dedicated preservationists in Ft. Worth also rebuilt a steam locomotive that would pull the train in Texas, Texas and Pacific 610). No. 2101 was pulled from the scrapyard and restored to operating condition on March 28, 1975 in only 30 days in the same building where it was constructed from a 2-8-0 nearly 30 years earlier—and painted as "American Freedom Train #1". No. 2101 pulled the eastern section of the trip before giving it to the SP 4449 in Chicago for the western section. On the return trip east, No. 2101 again took charge of the train at Birmingham, AL and pulled the train through much of New England, handing the train back to the SP 4449 at the Pentagon. Less than two years later, No. 2101 was repainted into a bright yellow and orange livery and pulled many excursions arranged by Ross Rowland on the Chessie System as the "Chessie Steam Special" to celebrate the 150th birthday of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad before becoming victim to a 1979 roundhouse fire in Russell, Kentucky. While most damage was cosmetic, it was damaged to such an extent that it would need a complete overhaul to be in service after the fire. Disposition After the fire incident, it was then decided that No. 2101 would be retired once again and would be traded to the B&O Railroad Museum for Chesapeake & Ohio 614 where it would haul the 1981 Chessie Safety Express from Baltimore to Hagerstown and return. Since then it has been cosmetically restored as "American Freedom Train #1" and is on static display. Upon restoration after the fire, its tender was swapped for the tender belonging to No. 2100. When locomotive No. 2100 was restored, the No. 2101 tender was also restored and converted to oil. The