The East Broad Top Railroad's general manager, Stanley Hall, plans to run a special coal train for photographers and fans on Friday afternoon, October 10, as a lead-in to the railroad's annual Fall Spectacular that Saturday and Sunday. The train will leave the railroad's Orbisonia Station at 1:30 pm with No. 15 (a 1914 Baldwin Mikado) and a consist of two-, three-, and four-bay coal hoppers. Combination car No. 15 will be on the rear of the train.

In the EBT's later common-carrier years, crews preferred the railroad's combination cars to cabooses because the combination cars' passenger-style suspension offered more comfortable rides. Combine No. 15 was built for the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn and acquired by the East Broad Top about 1916.

During its approximately two-hour run, the coal train will make several photo runbys on hard-to-reach portions of the line. Tickets cost $100 each and will be limited to the first 40 purchasers. In addition to the coal train, on Friday the railroad will offer fans a once-a-year opportunity to ride its historic track speeders and its restored 1924 inspection car, M-3, on the main line to Colgate Grove for a fare of $10. A tour of the railroad's roundhouse and its historic shops complex will be available for $8.

For more information about Friday's events, call the EBT at 814-447-3011 or send e-mail to office@ebtrr.com. The Saturday and Sunday Fall Spectacular Schedule is posted on the EBT's Web site (http://ebtrr.com). To reserve a ticket for the coal train, send a check payable to the East Broad Top Railroad -- along with your address and a phone number at which you can be reached -- to:

East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company
PO Box 158
Rockhill Furnace, PA 17249

-- Lawrence Biemiller

I talked to Stanley this morning and there are still some tickets available for the Friday coal train. He clearly wants to get the Fall Spectacular off to a good start, and to offer those who buy coal-train tickets a photo session worth the $100 fare. If you're interested, call or write to the station...

-- Lawrence Biemiller