Below is the announcement placed on Facebook.

"Well here it is. The railroad will NOT run this summer. Things could not be worked out between Mr. Kovalchick and EBTPA. We will still be offering tours of the shops and round house for groups of 20 or more people but they must call the station and make arrangements for that at 814-447-3011. This does not mean that the railroad will not open back up next year, we will be looking at all the possibilities to try and reopen in 2013. We will keep you posted as to what is going on with the railroad as the year goes by. DBG"

Despite the lack of operations this year FEBT will continue to work to preserve and restore the East Broad Top. We have a work session this weekend you are welcome to attend and assist us. The work noted here on the Blacksmith Shop as well and many other projects will continue.

http://www.febt.org/Restore/RF/next.html

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

After all the momentum they have gained over the last 3 years, in a tough economy, they are taking 5 steps backwards after taking 2 forward.

And this decision, for a summer that is looking to be the best, in terms of travel and spending, in at least 5 years.

Great Business Management!

Has there been any word about the effect that this will have on operation at the Rockhill Trolley Museum?

There was a FB post that indicated the Rockhill Trolley Museum was operating as normal.

http://www.railfan.net/lists/rshsdepot- ... 00019.html

I found this, perhaps not exactly related, but somehow I wouldn't want politicians involved here as handy and helpful as this sounds, Kovalchick shows some brevity and pro-selfishishness to keep the line private. I don't know what the operation impasse is, but lets see whats what. A local plant nursery I like to frequent near here is not open for 2012 and makes me go huh? oookay, whatup.

That article is from 2002. Accurate for history but not necessarily related to the current situation except in how it developed over time.

I see that the official announcement about the East Broad Top's 2012 Season has been posted on the railroad's website. Here's the link:
East Broad Top Railroad

While trains are not running, restoration work continues. There was a Friends of the East Broad Top (FEBT) work session this weekend (May 19-20) and the coming week (May 21-25) is the FEBT's work week.

The East Broad Top Railroad's Facebook Page has already been updated with pictures from the weekend work session. The picture below (on the Facebook page) shows Aaron Schwarz and Chris Coleman tarring the roof of the boiler shop.

So who is going to operate the railroad next year, Kovalchick or the EBTPA? Plus who will obtain the new ownership? I like both sides for the amount of effort they done to this line but for what I think who should obtain it back is the EBTPA because for the amount of great progress they done over the past 3 years of their lease. Sure I like the fact that Kovalchick Family keep the line going for such a long time and saving it from being scraped, but dont you think they operated it for quiet some time now. I think its time for the EBTPA to fill in the the family buisness on operating the EBT. Again I love both sides, but If I had to choose between the two I pick the EBTPA as the new operator

The point is: You don't get to choose. Nor does anyone else here, unless a certain railroad business owner is here "on the sly."

It's their railroad.

There was a proposal involving the National Park Service and Federal dollars in 1997-ish. It was rejected, or never even got far enough to warrant a "bargaining table." The NPS "Study of Alternatives" report remains, to this day, the definitive blueprint for pie-in-the-sky dreamers.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania followed in the 2001-2002 time frame. It, too, did not get anywhere.

Many calories, electrons, and the like have been expended on the pros and cons of both proposals, and others, to no avail over the past 20 years.

Both sides have their fair points. Those advocating government takeover can point to the physical decline of the entire property over the past 50 years; those on the railroad's side can point to several examples of government rail preservation, from Steamtown to the Texas State RR to the Sierra Railroad to the back lot of the California State RR Museum to Amtrak, as "proof' that promises go unfulfilled and consultants' studies are hogwash.

The only thing we know is that in the current economic and political climate, absent a literally unprecedented "eminent domain" seizure that would result in lawsuits aplenty, the railroad isn't being sold or given to government anytime soon.

Trains magazine subscribers can access this May 23, 2012 Trains Newswire item:
Trains.com: East Broad Top Shutdown may be Temporary

Isn't PRR 1361's boiler at EBT?

Bob

The Altoona Mirror has printed an article by William Kibler titled "EBT halts summer excursions". (I used the word "printed" because the article is not available online.)

This article gives Larry Salone's side of the story. To quote its second and third sentences:

The needed "$400,000 for safety repairs" was news to me. #15 and the train ran fine back in December, during the Polar Express runs.

The $3 million needed to conclude the purchase is supposed to come from "one, two or three donors".

Lee Rainey is also quoted in the article. Lee points out that this is probably the worst time ever to be attempting to raise money to save the EBT, and says that the EBTPA's efforts are probably the best available strategy to secure the EBT's future. (I trust Lee's judgement. He is co-author of the "Rainey & Kyper" EBT book and a driving force behind the Friends of the East Broad Top.)

While I was happy to see that the Altoona Mirror consulted Lee, I was very disappointed with the rest of the article. The author failed to mention any of the negative aspects of shutting the railroad down, including the employees being out of work.

Even stranger is how the article describes Mr. K's positions - the author never directly quotes Mr. K! One description of Mr. K's position even has the words "according to Salone" appended to it. (While I am not a journalist, I thought that having one party of a dispute describe both sides of the dispute was one of those classic no-nos you are taught not to do in Journalism 101 class.)

"Even stranger is how the article describes Mr. K's positions - the author never directly quotes Mr. K! One description of Mr. K's position even has the words "according to Salone" appended to it. (While I am not a journalist, I thought that having one party of a dispute describe both sides of the dispute was one of those classic no-nos you are taught not to do in Journalism 101 class.)"--Chris Webster

Generally speaking, that would be true, but what do you do when you attempt to contact the other side, and the other side, for whatever reason, including just wanting to retain a private life, does not respond? In that situation, and with a deadline to deal with, you have to go with what you have.

Although I haven't seen this story since it isn't available online, I think that is the situation here. Mr. K. very likely didn't respond--and from what tiny bit I understand of him, he is a very private individual--and so the story had to just run as it was.

Mr. K. has every right to this, by the way; talking to reporters carries a risk that you'll come out looking bad, it carries the risk that you become too public, with the potential harassment and general hassles that come with that. At the same time, though, NOT talking to reporters means you take a huge risk that the other people will speak falsely of you, or at least incompletely, simply because they won't always know everything, even if they are not hostile to you.

Like so many other things in life, this is a judgement call; all we can do is wait and hope things work out for the best. We do have one advantage in that I don't believe anybody wants to see the EBT go away. That could not be said of the virtually criminal dismantlement of the streetcar system in Washington, DC (precipitated by the Wolfson management's looting of the system) and the genuinely criminal scrapping of the system in Minneapolis, Minn.

Back on May 24, the The Fulton County News ran an article by Chanin Rotz-Mountz about the East Broad Top. Here's the link:

Fulton County News: East Broad Top Trains Won't Run in 2012 - Rockhill Trolley Museum stays open; historic streetcars still operating

The paper waits two weeks before posting the full versions of stories online, so the article just became available today.