Yea, free admission goes a long way when it comes to boosting visitation numbers...

NPS likes four-letter abbreviations for its sites; e.g. INDE = Independence. If the name has multiple words, two letters from the first word + two letters from the second.

Thus Allegheny Portage is ALPO. I kid you not.

Phil Mulligan

And another difference is that the NPS cannot advertise.

Earlier in this thread you were comparing the EBT to the D&SNG, so consider this:

Population within a 125-Mile Radius of Durango: 423,968
Population within a 125-Mile Radius of Orbisonia: 14,541,239

Source: StatsAmerica - Big Radius Tool

Chris,

Interesting tool. Does population demographics dictate ridership trends? I don't necessarily buy into it, though having a significant "localized" audience is certainly a plus! Here's some more stats. Population numbers are current. Can anyone provide updated ridership numbers for NH&I and Strasburg?

Population within a 125-Mile Radius of Williams, AZ: 569,067
Grand Canyon National Park Visitorship (2017): 330,882,751
Grand Canyon Railroad Ridership (2017): 165,400

Population within a 125-Mile Radius of New Hope, PA: 36,711,874
Ridership of New Hope & Ivyland Railroad (2011): 44,835

Population within a 125-Mile Radius of Strasburg, PA: 26,224,188
Ridership of Strasburg Railroad (2016): 300,000 (appx).

Population within a 125-Mile Radius of Keystone, SD: 286,341
Mount Rushmore National Memorial Visitorship (2016): 2,430,000
Ridership of Black Hills Central Railroad (2016): 100,000+

I am among the biggest cheerleaders of what's happening on the East Broad Top. The revitalization is possibly the most significant preservation story of the decade or Millenium so far. But, let's pretend we're 15 years down the road. It's 2038 and the No. 16's flu time is up. For argument sake, let's presume that at least two additional locomotives are running by then. Perhaps the entire route is rebuilt, with multiple trips per day. Advertising has been going strong for nearly two decades. Mssrs. Levin, Moorman, and Posner have taken the training wheels off the railroad and it's reliant on self-sufficient funding. Do we have a viable tourist railroad business or are we left with another Steamtown or a museum in need of constant donations and state/federal funding or angels to keep it afloat? I'd love to see some insight from businessmen in this group.

Here's an interesting comparison: Strasburg Railroad has an annual ridership of appx. 300,000 (2016-2017 data) and the excursion is an 8 mile round trip. EBT currently has a 9 mile round trip excursion.

One little problem...
They do not seem to be open on Sundays.
GME
Who acknowledges the fact that he is a notorious coffee addict.

That may be a good thing.
GME
In full coffee snob mode

How you tell "city slickers" in "Flyover Country":

They're flabbergasted at the concept of any place of business being closed on Sundays.

Except maybe Chik-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby, and then of COURSE you know what THAT'S all about...... [muttering something about "anti-abortion religious wack-jobs" under the breath...]

It really depends if the establishment is reacting to customer numbers for each day of the week. I can certainly understand a rural coffee place / light snack / food place not getting enough customers on a Sunday to cover the payroll, especially if there's a chain like Sheetz or Butter's within a short drive on a though road.

Most food places like that where I live take Monday and Tuesday off, but if the numbers don't crunch, then have at it. I can see how being open on "work days" would have higher customer numbers for a coffee joint.

Perhaps if EBT brings enough customers to pay the bills, they will try opening on Sundays and see if it is profitable.


You really don't want to hear my opinion about your culture war last paragraph. Still. Religious Freedom does not mean you have the right to jamb your religious bigotry down everyone else's throat. It means the Government does not have the right to put you on the rack - like a certain Inquisition Historical Event - for practicing your religious services in a building - often a church styled building if there were enough participants to fund a pretty building.


BRIAN HELFRICH

The drive-through coffee hut down the street from me does a heavy business every Sunday morning and Monday morning. I know because I pick up their spent coffee grounds to dry out for "chicky litter" in our coops.

The joke is that it's "oh-Hell-it's-Monday morning wake-up" (several large-ish employers are within the proverbial stone's throw) and "Sunday morning sermon survival" (several churches also within same throws). Just the neighborhood I'm sitting in is substantially larger than Orby/Rockhill, in population, industry, and churches, though.

Oh please Sandy...
There's really no point in trying to out curmudgeon Grandfather (After all these years I don't think its possible) on this one and put some kind of faux politix spin on on a simple statement about his ability to get a cup of non-chain coffee on a Sunday morning. The EBT hasn't operated on enough Sundays to justify posting the hours even if they do open for the EBT.
There used to be a small cafe in Richland NJ right across from the CMSL station which had a sign on the door saying "Closed Sundays" but the owner would have it open for the CMSL trains.

Wife Karen and I had breakfast at the Jenkins combination laundomat/restaurant in Orbisonia this morning. Food & service were very good and we would definitely go back.

As to potential long term ridership numbers for the EBT. The railroad will soon publish its 10 year vision and that will address many of the issues raised here.

If they attain their vision I believe that yes, despite the challenges ( and advantages) of its remoteness that they can both be strongly self supporting and achieve total ridership numbers in the 150-200k range.

Please do carefully read the 10 year vision plan when it's published.

No question in my mind that this project is head and shoulders THE railroad restoration story of the decade at least.

Ross Rowland

Where does EBT get its coal from? Any local coal being mined?

Last Sunday we stayed at The Iron Rail, bed and breakfast, right across the street from the EBT roundhouse. It was the old superintendent's residence, restored and managed by the line's book keeper during the Kovalchik period, and is very comfortable and convenient. The decor consists of mostly EBT exhibits and artwork, and the breakfast was the best I've had in years. If you're lucky, maybe you can get the proprietor to tell you a few good railroad stories. It's cheaper than a chain motel, but you must pay with cash...

I'm curious to know the current source(s) myself.

For years it was reputed the EBT burned authentic Broad Top coal sourced from a few strip mined owned by or leased from the company owned by the Kovalchicks, namely the EBT. And you could even see straight mine-run coal in the tenders if you climbed up the coal loading dock--sometimes large slabs that had to be broken up by the firemen, like I've seen in the UK. The rumors I heard were that the coal had declined in quality and production to the point where the people who were keeping the EBT alive (such as Linn Moedinger) basically forced their hands to buy better coal.