East Broad Top Railroad Photowalk - Sponsered by the York County Camera Club

Last Update: 06-DEC-2021

OCT 2020 - East Broad Top Railroad Photo walk - Sponsored by the York County Camera Club

We attended this photo walk at the EBT which allowed us full access to the facility. In the past, Mary and I had supported the EBT as volunteers but the effort to restore this unique railroad had lost its way. Now, with considerable finical backing it looks like the historic site may be saved. It was fun to walk around the site.

The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company (EBT) is a 3 ft narrow gauge historic and heritage railroad headquartered in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania, 19 miles north of Interstate 76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike) and 11 miles south of U.S. Route 22, the William Penn Highway.

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, now preserved for use as a tourist attraction, has not operated public excursions since December 2011 and has operated no excursions since October 2013. In February 2020, it was announced that the railroad had been bought by a non-profit foundation which intends to resume operations in 2021.

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 3 ft narrow-gauge steam locomotives that operated on the railroad in its last years as a coal hauler are still on site, and some are used for the excursion trains. Other original equipment includes a 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in 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 (doodlebug) 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 use 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 all 33 miles of the railroad's original main 30 mile line is still in place, though only 5 miles are currently used. In recent years disused trackage from Rockhill Furnace southward and Robertsdale southward have been cleared and gauged for use with speeders and handcars (track-gang cars).

The EBT was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The railroad was added in 1996 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of America's Most Endangered Places. (From Wikipedia)

NOTE - It’s a difficult place to photograph as it as variable lighting, large indoor objects and items with considerable depth. I generally did not delete any of the photos we took.

On the bottom of each photo I listed who took it, the focal length, speed, the F stop, ISO and date and time.

East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company - Shop Complex Plan