Reading 902 and 903 were among of the first six FP7s ordered by the railroad in March 1950 to replace passenger
steam locomotives. The two units were completed on June 1 of that year and delivered to the Reading via the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The pair pulled their first train on June 6. In the following years, the two locomotives sometimes worked together, and sometimes were split, depending on the size of their trains.
SEPTA inherited the units in 1974, and they were renumbered by the new
Consolidated Rail Corporation in 1976, with the 902 becoming 4372 and the 903 becoming 4373. During the SEPTA years, the FP7s usually operated in push-pull configuration. 903 was the first FP7 to receive the SEPTA paint scheme in February 1978. 902 was involved in a derailment in February 1978, and when it re-entered service in June, it was also repainted into the SEPTA paint. SEPTA ceased all diesel-operations in 1981, and the locomotives were retired. In January 2010, the 902 and 903 were loaned to
Steamtown National Historic Site for a year to maintain the locomotives in exchange for excursion rights. Both locomotives were displayed outside near the parking lot. In September 2023, the 903 was sold to
SMS Rail Lines for use on their Woodstown Central tourist railroad in New Jersey. The 902 was also leased to SMS for the same purpose. Both locomotives were moved to their new home in early 2024. As of September 2025, both 902 and 903 are now operational and running, along with 0-6-0 former
US Army steam locomotive No. 9. ==References==