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2024 NRHS Convention - East Broad Top Railroad and a Shop Tour 8/28/2024

The second day of the convention started similarly to the first as I went to Dunkin' Donuts for orange juice and choocolate donuts, while Elizabeth had her breakfast at the convention hotel. As yesterday, she would be manning the registration room today and had visited the venues last year. After doing my Internet duties, I went downstairs and waited for the bus lines to be formed and once they were made, I boarded Dan Meyer's bus for the journey to Orbisonia.

Operating from 1871 to 1956, it is one of the nation's oldest and best-preserved narrow-gauge railroads and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. The railroad is now preserved for use as a tourist attraction. After a nine-year closure, in February 2020, it was announced that the railroad had been purchased by a non-profit foundation and regular train service resumed in summer 2022.

The EBT is unusual in that it is a complete, original railroad rather than a collection of pieces from various locations, as most tourist railroads are. All six of the narrow gauge steam locomotives that operated on the railroad in its last years as a coal hauler are still on site, and some were used for the excursion trains. Other original equipment includes a standard gauge switcher steam locomotive (non-operational), operating track-gang cars, the M-3 motorcar (built from scratch by the EBT with an engine and transmission from an automobile) and the M-1, a motorcar based on scaled-down J. G. Brill and Company plans built by the EBT in 1927. The majority of rolling stock that operated on the railroad in its later coal-hauling years remains on the property in varying condition, including over a dozen flatcars, several boxcars and well over 150 hoppers. Tourist trains used original EBT passenger equipment, as well as converted EBT freight cars. The original railroad maintenance shops have a pair of Babcock & Wilcox boilers, a 19th-century stationary steam engine and an overhead line shaft system (steel shafts, wood and iron pulleys and leather and canvas belts) that powers antique machine tools, sheet-forming machines, foundry equipment, blacksmithing tools and woodworking machines. Most of the 33 miles of the railroad's original main 30 mile line is still in place, though only five miles are usable. In recent years, disused trackage from Rockhill Furnace southward and Robertsdale southward have been cleared and gauged for use with speeders and handcars.

The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company was chartered in 1856. Due to financial constraints and the American Civil War, the railroad was not built by its original charterers, but a new group of investors began to acquire right-of-way in 1867 and was able to construct the railroad as a narrow gauge line in 1872–1874. Service began from Mount Union to Orbisonia in August 1873, and to Robertsdale in November 1874. The line later was extended to Woodvale and Alvan with several short branches. At its height, it had over 60 miles of track and approximately 33 miles of main line.

The primary purpose of the railroad was to haul semi-bituminous coal from the mines on the east side of the remote Broad Top Mountain plateau. In its first few decades, the railroad hauled most of the coal to Rockhill to be coked and used in iron production in the furnaces of the Rockhill Iron and Coal Company, its sister company. It then hauled the pig iron from the furnace. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the railroad transitioned to haul most of the coal to Mount Union to be processed and transferred to the Pennsylvania Railroad. The railroad also carried substantial amounts of ganister rock, lumber and passengers with some agricultural goods, concrete, road tar and general freight.

As the iron industry in the region faded in the early 1900's, the railroad came to subsist on coal traffic for about 90 percent of its revenue. Large plants for the manufacture of silica brick were developed at Mount Union around the turn of the 20th century, and these became major customers for coal and also for ganister rock, which was quarried at multiple points along the railroad.

The EBT maintained an office in Philadelphia. An 1893 timetable lists their executive offices at 320 Walnut Street, then the main commercial area of the city. The city's business center migrated west and by 1939, the EBT's office was at 1421 Chestnut Street. EBT was generally profitable from the 1880's through the 1940's and was able to modernize its infrastructure far more than other narrow gauge railroads. The railroad's roundhouse, one of the oldest railroad roundhouses in the country still in operation, was built in 1882. A coal cleaning plant and a full maintenance shop complex were also built, bridges were upgraded from iron and wood to steel and concrete, wood rolling stock was replaced by steel, and modern high-powered steam locomotives were bought from Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia. In the post-World War II years, most railroads converted to diesel motive power but the EBT considered this switch unnecessary. Steam locomotives had proven longevity and, as EBT was a coal carrier, fuel was abundant and cheap.

In 1929 the EBT formed the East Broad Top Transit Company and operated regional bus service, acquiring the Mount Union Bus Line in 1931. In 1941 this operation was sold to the Huntingdon Bus Company.

In November 1953, the railroad's innovation earned them a cover story in an industry publication. But coal demand was already plummeting as homes and industries switched to cheap oil and gas. The last nail in the coffin came when the silica brick plants in Mount Union converted to oil and gas and not enough coal could be sold to support the mines and the railroad. The railroad closed as a coal hauler on April 14, 1956 and along with the coal-mining company, was sold for scrap to the Kovalchick Salvage Corporation.

Nick Kovalchick, president of Kovalchick Salvage, elected not to scrap the railroad right away, instead letting it sit in place. In 1960, the twin boroughs of Orbisonia and Rockhill Furnace - the latter being the operating hub for the railroad - celebrated their bicentennial and asked Kovalchick to put a train out for display. Doing them one better, he rehabilitated four miles of track and two locomotives and operated tourist train rides for several months that summer. The new attraction was so successful that the ride, extended to five miles, opened as a regular tourist operation in 1961. The railroad operated tourist trains every summer through 2011. From 1960 to 2008 the trains were operated by the EBT under Kovalchick Salvage. From 1956 until 2020, the majority of the railroad was still owned by Kovalchick Salvage, being overseen by Nick Kovalchick from 1956 to 1977 and by Nick's son, Joe, and his wife, Judy after 1977.

From May 2009 until December 2011, trains were operated under a lease to the East Broad Top Railroad Preservation Association, a non-profit founded with the intention of acquiring the railroad and reactivating all 33 miles of the railroad's original main line (only five miles operated for tourist operations). The EBTPA made a number of improvements on site as well as additional numerous special events, such as A Day Out with Thomas and Polar Express. In 2011, EBTPA extended the season and operating days of the week. The original three-year lease expired in April 2012 and Kovalchick Salvage and EBTPA were unable to reach an agreement to continue operations. As such, the lease was terminated.

From 1960 until 2011, the line operated as a heritage railway, with trains pulled by narrow gauge 2-8-2 steam engines and vintage diesels operated as backup power. Excursions generally ran May through October with special events and holidays trains ran in November and December.

The rides were ten mile round trips and took about an hour. The EBT annual Fall Spectacular, when all operating equipment was in use, was held on the Saturday and Sunday of Columbus Day weekend in October. There were also local events such as Community Appreciation Day. The train stopped at Colgate Grove, a picnic grove at the far end of the operable excursion trackage. The train was turned on a wye for the return trip. The historic railroad maintenance shops were usually open for tours when trains were running, and for group tours by arrangement. Speeder, handcar and M-3 rides were often available on the restored trackage just south of Rockhill Furnace.

During this era of operations, four of the six Mikados were in service: 12, 14, 15 and 17. 16 and 18 never operated during this era, due to finances, differing opinions and concerns about their weight on the EBT's trackage (17, of very similar size to 16 and 18, was used sparingly, typically only running during the annual fall spectaculars). There were plans at several points during this era to bring other portions of the East Broad Top back to service, most notably with the 1990 National Park Service proposal, but funding and inner politics prevented this and operational trackage was never further extended.

As the years went on, the condition of the running locomotives deteriorated, and both rising costs and stricter operational standards after the 1995 Gettysburg Railroad incident led to the eventual retirement of many of the Mikados. 12 last operated in 2000, 17 in 2001 and 14 in 2005. Only 15, which had undergone an overhaul in the early 2000's and returning to service in 2005, remained operational at the end of 2011, when the railroad was shut down.

During the closure, the railroad facilities were maintained by a skeleton paid EBT staff and Friends of the East Broad Top (FEBT) volunteers. FRA inspections and paperwork were being kept up on Locomotive 15 in preparation for a possible reopening. Although no public excursions were held from 2012 to 2019, diesel powered trains operated on October 6, 2012 and October 12, 2013 for members of the FEBT, as well as an M-1 excursion as far as McMullens Summit. Motorcar excursions were operated for members of the FEBT attending its annual Fall Reunion on Columbus Day weekends.

After the end of its operating lease, the East Broad Top Preservation Association raised enough money to purchase some portions of the EBT. On June 3, 2013, it was announced that the East Broad Top Preservation Association had purchased the first part of the East Broad Top Railroad. In two separate transactions they purchased, the old PRR/Conrail spur from the Norfolk Southern mainline to the northern end of the EBT yard from Kovlachick Salvage, and the EBT Mount Union yard from the Conrail Spur tie-in to the US 522 crossing from the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company. EBTPA subsequently purchased the line from Mount Union to Aughwick. After these initial purchases, the EBTPA was unable to fund further purchases of portions of the EBT.

The Friends of the East Broad Top continued many ongoing and new restoration projects in Rockhill Furnace throughout the closure of the railroad with the active encouragement of owner Joe Kovalchick. FEBT also assisted with routine site maintenance and repair of the EBT Facilities.

Initially tours of the Historic Shops complex were offered only for groups of 20 or more by prior arrangement with the railroad. Public tours were increasingly offered on selected summer days as the closure continued.

On Valentine's Day 2020, a press conference was held in Rockhill announcing that a new non-profit, the EBT Foundation, had purchased the railroad and planned to restart excursions in 2021. The sale included approximate 27 miles of line, the yard complex in Rockhill Furnace and all associated rolling stock and equipment. The EBTF board includes notable rail preservationists Bennett Levin and Henry Posner III, Charles "Wick" Moorman (former CEO of both Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak) and long-time EBT activists Lawrence Biemiller, Brad Esposito and David Brightbill. The sale of the railroad to the EBTF did not include portions of the railroad previously purchased by the East Broad Top Preservation Association since the two non-profits are separate and unaffiliated.

Immediately after the announcement, the EBTF began several parallel projects at the railroad to prepare for resumption of operations. All six narrow-gauge steam locomotives were thoroughly evaluated to determine their condition and which were the best candidates for return to operation. 14 and 16 were selected to be the first to be restored and were abated of asbestos and restoration work begun. Stall 8 of the Rockhill Roundhouse was rehabilitated and converted into a restoration facility for the steam locomotives. Woodford Brothers (who performed structural repairs of the Blacksmith Shop during the closure) were contracted to perform a complete structural repair on the Rockhill Shops. The FEBT Restoration crew will perform the balance of the needed work of this project. A contractor has been secured to install a fire suppression system throughout the Shops Complex and Roundhouse. Several large scale track rebuilding projects were executed around the Rockhill yard. Thousands of ties were delivered to Rockhill to rehabilitate the tourist portion of the line. In May and June 2020, restoration efforts encountered setbacks from an act of arson and a bridge was damaged by an overheight vehicle.

The East Broad Top re-opened for limited operations in May 2021 and officially reopened for its first full season in May 2022. EBT 16 returned to steam in early February 2023.

We were given green wristbands which would mean we would do the Rockhill Trolley first, followed by the shop tour and finally East Broad Top Railroad. Our group was the last of the three to leave.

The former Reading bridge across the Susquehanna River.

Reading Camp Hill {White Hill} station, year of construction unknown. We took Interstate 83 to US 11 to Pennsylvania Toll Road Interstate 76.

The straight toll road.

Tunnel number one.

Tunnel number two.

Tunnel number three. We took the toll road as far as Fannettsburg where we exited to Pennsylvania Highway 641 to US 522 in Orbisonia.

St. Mary's Covered Bridge, also known as Huntingdon County Bridge No. 8, is located on Covered Bridge Road over Shade Creek in Cromwell Township and was built in 1888. We then arrived in Orbisonia.

East Broad Top 55 ton switcher M-7 built by General Electric in 1947 as a 50 ton engine. A previous owner increased its weight to 55 tons. It is used as their heavy duty yard switcher and on rare occasion, must substitute for a steam engine. It was purchased in 1993 from an Algoma Steel mill in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, where it used to push cars with molds on them into and out of the various pouring stands.

The whole train that we would be riding last.

Our bus pulled in the station's parking lot and we waited at the picnic tables behind the station before the other two groups went off to their locations, then crossed the street to ride the Rockhill Trolley first. That story is covered in the one above this in the index. We returned to Orbisonia where I had a lunch of a chicken bacon wrap, which was very good then we waited at the table before Dan led us over to the freight house and I waited for our leaders to arrive. After that we crossed the tracks to start the shop tour.

Stepping inside the shops is akin to stepping back in time. Almost all the equipment that the East Broad Top used when they were in full operation is still here, including a crane.

Steam era equipment.

A press used in the shop.

Wheels that have been restored.

In this scene is a radial arm drill press, a small planer, a boring mill and a planer, as well as a myriad of levers and pulleys.

Our leaders who did a very good job following safety rules and giving our good information.

Wheel press.

The belts that run the shop.

East Broad Top 2-8-2 14 built by Baldwin in 1912.

More tools in the restoration shop.

That wheel press again.

Our leader always watching us.

The boiler for the shop.

The radial arm drill press.

The planer.

The horizontal boring mill.

The small planer.

Another wheel lathe.

Interior view of this remarkable shop.

East Broad Top passenger car 8 built by Laconia Car Company in 1882 in the restoration shop. Next we would be taken over to the roundhouse.

East Broad Top 12 ton switcher M-6 built by Plymouth in 1968.

East Broad Top 2-8-2 16 built by Baldwin in 1916. This had been taken out-of-service earlier in the summer and unbeknownst to us beforehand, was being tested today.

East Broad Top motorcar M1 built by the railroad in 1926 from a motorcar kit supplied by J. G. Brill and Westinghouse. Construction and testing was finished in 1927. Today, M-1 is a one-of-a-kind piece of railroad equipment. Nowhere else can you ride an original three foot gauge gas-electric motorcar on its original right-of-way with all original components. M-1 has never been restored but has had great care over the years and thus retains its historic charm.

East Broad Top 2-8-2 18 built by Baldwin in 1920.

The roundhouse, but we were not allowed to go past the can.

East Broad Top 2-8-2 12 built by Baldwin in 1911.

The Stone House is the only building on the property that pre-dates the railroad itself; it was probably built in the late 1790's and was the farmhouse for the family that owned the land. It became the master mechanic's office and two large storehouses were built connecting to it, each containing about 25 tons worth of parts. In recent restoration work, one of those storehouses had to be emptied by hand, then all the items catalogued and returned. The stone house contained an office and crew call room downstairs and some storage upstairs.

The Shop buildings.

East Broad Top 15 as we walked over to the depot, where I bought an East Broad Top T-shirt and a book on the railroad. We waited for the cleaning crew to finish and it then it was our turn to ride the East Broad Top train.

The scene after we departed the station.

Forward views until the white house and the bridge came into sight.

We went under the bridge.

The meadow that was used during the Peter Lerro charter on April 27, 2023.

The Runk Road girder bridge which was also used in that charter.

Runk Road.

The barn near Runk Road.

Rolled hay.

Another meadow.

Trees along our route.

We reached the Colgate Grove wye, where the train would be turned.

Reversing around the wye.

Altocumulous clouds.

One of the many barns along our route.

Rounding a curve.

The Runk Road bridge.

The ridge to the west.

NRHS members in the coach I was riding.

The ridge to the west.

Back to the bridge with the white house.

Renecker Ridge.

This home has a great view of the railroad.

Enyart Road, where a photo runby was performed during the Pete Lerro Charter.

Blacklog Creek.

Orbisonia station.

East Broad Top coal car 937 built by the railroad in 1919.

Curving off the wye and entering the mainline.

The train started forward.

We passed the Rockhill Trolley and returned to the Orbisonia station.

East Broad Top 55 after the trip. Everyone boarded the buses then instead of going directly back to the hotel, we were taken south along the railroad to see the progress of recreation by the Friend of the East Broad Top, stopping at Southern Huntingdon County High School where the railroad told the staff that the tracks would be restored because they had never been abandoned so the railroad could be restored. It was very impressive to see the progress made so far, and all with volunteer effort.

We returned to Harrisburg via Highway 22 to the hotel and I checked with Elizabeth to see if she wanted dinner. She had had a fulfilling lunch so I went to Subway to bring back my dinner then attended the evening seminar, which was presented by Chris Jagodzinski, the Assistant Vice-President of Amtrak Operations. His topic was Pennsylvania Railroad Electrification: The Keystone of High Speed. Elizabeth closed the registration room at 8:00 PM before she returned to our room and we called it a night.

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