For those not on Facebook:



What's happened is that RTM never had a formal agreement with the Kovalchick Family to own the land they created their museum on and also re-laid a portion of the former EBT Shade Gap Branch for operating trolleys on, in standard gauge.

Would this be a conversation if the Kovalchick's would have decided to do something like this in the years before 2020?

Just up the road in Mount Union is a scenic 44-acre site that would be perfect for a trolley museum:
Development Opportunities: Riverview Business Center/Multi-Tenant Industrial Park

The current owner(s) are marketing the land as a multi-tenant industrial park, but 44 acres is just not large enough for that IMHO.

I do not have an opinion on whether or not the RTM should relocate; I'm just pointing out that there is a nearby site that they could relocate too.

The trolley museum’s current schedule has 5 trips starting at 11:15, staggered by every 1 and 1/4 hours. Friday through Sunday only (so in any case, rail bikes on Monday-Thursday would not interfere whatsoever with trolley operations).

The new schedule starting July 1st has the trips cut down to 4 per day starting at 12:45, with trips again staggered by 1 hour and 15 minutes, again, Friday though Sunday only.

I think that there is a right for the museum to be upset that a trip is being cut and their other scheduled trips are pushed back a bit.

That being said… the release, in my opinion, makes it sound worse than it actually is, because it alludes that the museum was regularly operating throughout the days of the week (when they say “we are required to limit trolley operations to Friday though Sunday…” , when, at least for this year, they weren’t operating Monday-Thursday anyway. I can’t attest to what was done previously, so perhaps I’m wrong to think the way I do, my mind will certainly change if recent schedules included other dates and times; but bookings for June, prior to the schedule alterations, have only Friday-Sunday trips.

Worth mentioning also, the post that gained traction in the Ahead of the Torch facebook group was made by an individual who is currently in a lawsuit with the East Broad Top Foundation, which has been previously discussed on this forum. I have no idea if this individual has any direct ties to the Trolley Museum, so I will not make a claim towards either the museum, or the foundation.

BUT… I find it personally very interesting that this individual specifically is the one who is putting attention towards this topic. I will leave it at that.

I am not making any claims towards anybody. All of this information is publicly available on the Ahead of the Torch facebook group, as well as the Rockhill Trolley Museum’s home page, and regarding the lawsuit, the Trains magazine article that can be linked if desired by someone.

It is my understanding that RTM does indeed have some sort of ties to the people currently suing the EBTF.

Make of this what you will.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The EBT Foundation, Inc
June 12, 2026
In recent days the internet and social media have been awash with malicious, derogatory, and patently
false information and allegations relating to the relationship between the EBT Foundation and the
Rockhill Trolley Museum. The initiators of these unwarranted attacks on the foundation are a very small
group of malcontents who we believe have hijacked the management of the trolley museum and its
board of directors, some of whom are former employees of the Foundation who have been fired for
cause and are subject to non-disclosure and non-defamation agreements.
The EBT Foundation has no desire to litigate the veracity of these attacks on the internet, but it will take
whatever steps are necessary to set the record straight and also restrain further malicious attempts to
defame the EBT Foundation and the work it has undertaken to save, restore, and preserve the National
Historic Landmark in Huntingdon County..
In response to the referenced current campaign to damage the EBT Foundation and its reputation and
that of its officers, directors, and employees, the foundation offers its perspective as to its current
relationship with the Rockhill Trolley Museum,

1. When the EBT Foundation acquired its railroad property south of the Aughwick Creek bridge in
2020, it also acquired as lessor, the 1988 lease between the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal
Company, Inc and Railways to Yesterday Inc, a/k/a Rockhill Trolley Museum. The initial term was
for 5 years and provided that the lease shall renew automatically for successive one (1) year terms
unless either party gives the other written notice on or before the commencement of one renewal
term, that the term following next will not be renewed. The original lease has been extended
annually since 2022 as we tried to reach a conclusion in defining a new relationship between the
Foundation and the trolley museum that is consistent with the needs of the foundation which had,
and has, plans for the restoration of the railroad on a more robust scale than that of the prior
ownership..

2. For over four years the EBT Foundation has tried to negotiate a new lease that kept most of the
current language and yet accommodate some of the needs of the trolley museum, such as
extending the term to 20 years and providing new opportunities to extend the trackage for
additional trolley service. Each time we believed we have accommodated their needs, they
returned with new demands and/or failed to fulfill undertakings that they assumed to document
prior agreements. It is primarily because the of the fact the foundation firmly believes that their
Board Chairman Mr. Hamilton, was not negotiating in good faith with us, and then hired an
attorney who refused to negotiate directly with us, and who then threatened to sue us while making
unreasonable demands on us, that caused us to give her notice on behalf of her client that we
would no longer extend the lease past the end of its current term.

3. The lease that is currently in effect also has the following provisions:
a. Article 3. TERM: Lessee acknowledges that Lessor operates a railroad on premises adjoining and
surrounding the leased premises. Lessor nay from time to time adopt reasonable regulations
relating to the use of the leased premises in connection with Lessor's use of its adjoining premises
and its railroad.
b. Article 13. RIGHTS RESERVED TO LESSOR: Lessor, its officers, agents at all times during the term of
this Lease shall have the right of entry upon and ingress, egress and regress over and across the
leased premises for the purposes of inspection, use of common Lessor/Lessee facilities and any other
lawful purpose. Lessee acknowledges that Lessor has primary operating control over the use of the
railroad tracks on the leased premises which connect with railroad tracks on the Lessor's adjoining
and surrounding premises and that Lessor may in the exercise of its rights regulate Lessee's use of
the tracks and other facilities on the leased premises and Lessor's adjoining premises.

4. The EBT Foundation has given the trolley museum notice of the impending railbike operation
which will occur in accordance with our rights as set forth in the current lease. The days and hours
of operation of railbikes have been carefully crafted as not to impose a burden on the trolley
museum and are fully coordinated with their publicly published hours and days of operation. As
recently as yesterday the foundation’s general manager, Brad Esposito, accommodated the trolley
museum by modifying several of the dates when we would be operating railbikes because the
trolley museum had a few special events which were not included on their published schedule.

5. Every action that we have taken has been in strict compliance with the language of the existing
lease. We have bent over backward to accommodate RTY at every turn. At the current time we
have also placed them on notice that they have failed to maintain the buildings that they lease
from us in proper order, failed to account for and pay over nearly $100,000 in revenue sharing as
called for in the current lease, and have failed to vacate a camper site which has been a violation
of the local zoning regulations. We have also informed them that the ongoing internet campaign
of disparagement will no longer be tolerated.

6. In spite of other behavioral and management issues, the EBT Foundation has sold over $275,000
in ticket revenue on behalf of the trolley museum since 2021, and has done so at no cost to the
museum, notwithstanding the museum’s failure to account for and pay as additional rent, as called
for in the current lease.
7. Since 2021, the EBT Foundation has offered nearly $200,000 worth of investment in upgrading
museum’s electrical system, landscaping improvements, storage buildings, as well as ADA
compliant wheelchair ramps for increase visitor safety, all of which have either been ignored or
refused by the museum. The foundation has even offered to assume the responsibility for track
maintenance on the Shade Gap branch.
We have an obligation to ensure a good and robust visitor experience and we intend to do just that
going forward. We will not waste any more of our time and energy dealing with people who have other
agendas. We also believe there is a nexus between those people and the current litigation over our
rights in Mount Union.
The bottom line is very clear and very simple. We never said we were throwing the trolley
museum out............
All we said is that we were not renewing or extending the current lease at the end of its
current term which is at the end of this year, and which according to the current lease,
would give them until December 2027 to vacate, if they chose not to negotiate a new lease that
is acceptable to the EBT Foundation..

The current situation has reached this point due to the failure of their management which failed to
negotiate in good faith, and their lawyer, who has never responded to any of our letters, and has failed
to try to find common ground to reach a new lease. To be perfectly clear we agreed to almost 95% of
the changes they wanted to make prior to Mr. Hamilton, getting into the picture. We tried to deal with
him, but he never responded and ignored us. Their lawyer has precluded any rational conversation by
creating an adversarial relationship. The cabal of their members who are defaming the foundation on
the internet and over social media are destroying whatever fabric of a relationship that remains.
The EBT Foundation has a board of accomplished and professional people who have made significant
personal financial and intellectual contributions to save the EBT railroad and its shop complex as a
National Historic Landmark and a regional economic engine, without any personal gain. We have,
individually and collectively, decided that we no longer be gamed by folks at the Rockhill Trolley
Museum who are apparently clueless on how to conduct themselves as has now been proven, by not
coming to terms with us on a new lease, and then defaming us by claiming we are throwing them out.
They are doing it to themselves.
We firmly believe that only a wholesale change in their management structure will pave the way to a
resolution. Their current campaign of defamation, and threatened litigation will not get the foundation
to modify its position. We will no longer deal with this behavior, especially when they are tenants on our
property
Contacts:
Bradley Esposito, General Manager besposito@eastbroadtop.com
Bennett Levin, Chairman-Property and Facilities Committee blevin5711@gmail.com

“ On the other hand, I'm trying like heck to justify a trolley museum at locations like Durango, Cumbres, Antonito, Alna, Cass, or East Ely........... and it just doesn't compute.”

Durango had trolleys.