The "Altoona Mirror" website has an article posted about the East Broad Top RR:
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/508771.html
Altoona Mirror: Gateway to the Past - Steam locomotive at East Broad Top Railroad is link to 19th century

The article describes many of the challenges that the EBT is facing. Staff Writer Cori Bolger did a nice job writing it.

--
Chris Webster
Personal Website last updated on February 18, 1996: http://www.speakeasy.org/~cwebster

Quote from the article:



*COUGH...SPUTTER*

WHAT THE............

[wanders away from the keyboard muttering unkind thoughts.....]

Oh goody goody....Joe is out on the hunt for buyer again. Maybe the state does not want to pay the 50 million for a railroad that is only worth 8 million.

[wanders back to the keyboard]

Okay, we have here Exhibit A in "Why You Can Never Assume You're Negotiating In Good Faith".............

For the two of you newcomers who may not know.......... There has been both a Federal and a Commonwealth attempt over the decades to acquire the EBT from the Kovalchicks in good faith for long-term preservation. presumably as part of either a state/federal park or as a long-term project involving any possible combination of rail operation and trail/etc. I have the printed study reports on my shelf if you want quotes, and I'm not the only one.

The stumbling block, as far as we in the "outside world" have ever been able to determine, has ALWAYS been the unwillingness of the Kovakchicks to negotiate the terms of an agreeable transfer in good faith. We don't know whether it's the dollars, the terms, the ultimate landowner, the conditions, the dollar value, the tax write-off value, or what.

The article in this thread, assuming the reporter accurately transcribed, illustrates the owners of the EBT outright LYING IN PUBLIC. There have been, by my own count, at least THREE concerted and sincere efforts at "showing interest" in the property. Go ahead. Let's hear from Joe K. State it on the record. Did they offer him $25,000 or $250,000,000? Why was whatever offer was made rejected? Are you going to say nobody made you or your father a big, fat cash offer?

There comes a point when otherwise level-headed folks like me end up figuratively screaming at them, "Is it about the damned dollars, or is it about the damned something else?" In my own opinion, this long ago ceased to be about sheer monetary value, but instead became about power play, politics, and ultimate destination.

The spectacular efforts of the Friends of the EBT aside, I (and I'm sure many others) just can't abide expending ANY physical, figurative, or emotional effort into a privately-owned enterprise with NO absolute assurance of long-term survival. Assure the long-term preservation of the railroad via transfer or purchase, and suddenly my wife sees me one or two weekends less a month......... and I'll be carpooling with anyone else I can.....

Volunteers seem to come to a number of for-profit operations, despite the apparent disconnect between their effort and a company's gain. I have seen this at some shortlines in CA, where the enjoyment of sharing the experience of the RR was in line with the non-profit's mission, even though the ticket sales went to another entity. Yes it seemed confusing, but both groups benefited some way.

At the EBT if it were not for the FEBT many preservation and restoration activities simply would not happen. Mother Nature does not care who owns the railroad. I think the FEBT is not out to support the current EBT management, as much as they are out to preserve the EBT infrastructure against the elements. However, I think everyone appreciates the continuation of living history that is found in the personalities who run the line.

It is not the only example, but in general the private ownership of the EBT doesn't mean that it is not safe from scrapping, vs. preservation. We hope (and have seen) that that it will survive, but it could change with different owners. To the extent that preservation can be guaranteed, so be it for the better. If it is in name only (and not getting the annual physical resources needed) then I would not consider that an improvement. I think we are extremely lucky that the current owners show concern for the historical value and if possible, I hope this continues if new owners came in to play.

So, if a planned take-over of the EBT also indicated a plan for preservation and restoration, then I think it is sound. I don't know the details of previous governmental attempts, but perhaps this maintenance might have been a sticking point.

O. Anderson

Brother Anderson,

The NPS "Study of Alternatives" outlined basically every alternative from making the whole thing a bike trail to reopening the entire railroad to traffic. As I recall, the study also went into the anticipated annual maintenance costs for each alternative.

As far as I know, the only "new owners" seriously proposed have been either the Commonwealth of Pa. or the federal government. I have talked with some private parties that took a serious look at the line, the studies, etc. and ended up walking away--their basic reason for rejecting the idea was that Orbisonia is not Durango, Williams, Strasburg, or even Scranton. (The one potential investor, when he came to see and ride it, was appalled that the only real eatery in town was the pizza joint, and that the closest quality sit-down restaurant was up in Huntingdon!)

Right now, as things stand, all the current ownership is doing is letting us enjoy the time capsule for now, but stalling the inevitable. Without replica rolling stock/locomotives and a major track rebuild--a true fantasy if they can't afford a loco rebuild or track ties--there will come a day when everything the railroad has is simply unsafe or too old. (Not that EBT is alone in this quandary......) And little by little, the rest reverts to nature, burns, gets demolished, gets stolen for scrap, gets annexed by uncaring neighbors, etc. Remember, we've already lost the Saltillo depot and water tank; how long before they seal the tunnels and remove the bridges for "safety"?

The three alternatives are letting it die, finding a "sugar daddy" owner with lots of money to spend to acquire it, or letting it become a ward of government. We can't seem to find the second, and the current owners appear to utterly rule out the third alternative. What's left?

A few hearsay stories to confuse things more, some heard from Jimmy McHugh [they may or may not be true]:
Some of the Kovalchick family also bought the Erie Railroad's Kinzua viaduct, did not even remove the rails from it, and somehow ownership passed to a government entity. If this is true, then it is a case of a deal being made with some of the family.
The Kovalchicks relied on Mr. R. Wilburn and maintained him as General Manager, with a good deal of authority and decision making powers, including how to deal with railfans. Mr. Wilburn had been hired by the East Broad Top about 1920 during an episode of labor unrest, and thought he was regarded as a strikebreaker. In response, this attitude negatively affected how he regarded other railroaders, both employees and fans, and may have influenced how he advised the Kovalchicks. Personal friendship with one of the family would not overrule Mr. Wilburn's decree about how you and your requests should be treated on the railroad.
Back when the PRR's steam locomotive collection at Northumberland, Pa. was to be moved to the site of the new State Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, there were rumors of siting it in Orbisonia or Rock Hill Furnace. Mr. Kovalchick offered in some manner to lay a 3rd, standard gauge rail between the site and the interchange with the old Main Line at Mt. Union to help bring the new museum and its equipment to his property. I don't know how ironclad any of this proposal was, or who was going to pay for the ties and other track repairs.
About this time, some volunteers got the Kovalchick's permission to form motorcar and chain saw gangs to clear the line beyond Colgate Grove towards Mt. Union. Mr. Wilburn soon put a stop to this, because the cut down trees could be a tripping hazard, at least to the neighborhood deer. Mr. Kovalchick, having every confidence in his General Manager, as demonstrated by the authority that was delegated to him, would not interfere with the stopage.
Mr. Wilburn didn't hate every fan. He was quite friendly with my father, a rail and trolley fan who also knew Mr. McHugh, and Mr. Wilburn knew all of this. Some of our ancestors had been involved in the operation and ownership back in the iron ore days of the 1870s. Mr. Wilburn did know how to be nice to owners and their relatives. He recalled that when he was a new employee, the oldtimers remembered my ancestors, and that there were numerous references to them in the papers upstairs in the station.

Kovalchick Salvage bought the viaduct from the Erie in 1959 (in the days of Nick Kovalchick) and resold it to the state in 1962.



My understalding is that Mount Union (along with Altoona and Strasburg) was being considered for the museum, and that Nick Kovalchick offered to have a NG train in Mount Union by the time it was completed, should the museum be located there.

I believe the National Park Service backed away from the EBT when Steamtown was forced on them around 1990. They had gone as far as leasing the EBT for a year in the late 80's prior to disappearing. I don't think it ever came to negotiating sale terms.

The state per se was never negotiating sale of the EBT. As I recall it was Alleghenny Ridge Corporation, an independent quasi state government entity that manages the Allegheny Ridge State Heritage Park (now Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area).



Durango and Strasburg were not tourist meccas at the time their respective railroad began serious tourist operations. Services arise to meet a demand, and the demand is not sufficient in Orbisonia/Rockhill Furnace right now. Should the EBT be "throttled up" as far as patronage, there would then be enough potential return to warrant investment in service businesses.



For the record, the EBT installed 700 ties in 2006 and has installed over 300 of a planned 1000 this year. There were substantial funds invested in that, as well as the #15 inspection and repairs, The #14 driver repair, engine and gearbox work on M-7, repairs, repainting and re-roofing of the passenger cars, and the rebuilding of the Meadow Street crossing. Yes, the EBT needs a lot more, but there is investment going on.

Article from the York Daily Record

http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_10061941