There is some very exciting preservation news in Rockhill, Pennsylvania.

I'll let the photos posted on the railroad's facebook page tell the story... here is the link to the photo gallery:
East Broad Top Railroad - Righting of the Blacksmith Shop (Photo Gallery)
(While the photos are hosted on facebook, you do not need to have a facebook account to view them.)

This photo shows just how much jacking of the Blacksmith Shop was necessary to right it:

I can only say, AMAZING!!

It's hard to believe that much of the shop settled/decayed away over the years, and I find it amazing that what was left apparently took the strains of being righted so handily. Congratulations of the highest order are called for!!

Now, the only problem is that we've gotten so used to the shop having that lean for so long, it just won't "look right" at all!! :-)

How soon do you think it will be before someone goofy says you should have figured out how to preserve the shop with its lean? :-)

Don't worry about me, you won't hear that from here!!

Looks like it may have had a "mud sill." A problem with many old buildings.

The other year the agent's house at the Laws (Calif.) Railroad Museum was jacked up and a concrete foundation poured and then the building lowered back down.

Here's the link to a Trains newswire article by Wayne Laepple:

Repairs to East Broad Top blacksmith shop begin (Published: May 11, 2012)

You may need to be a Trains subscriber in order to read the article.

Another example of another historic railroad building that until recently was "melting into the earth" is the 1879 former Denver South Park & Pacific's Como, Colorado Depot.

I thought I should mention that the Facebook gallery has been updated with additional photos, showing particle board being used to seal the building until replacement boards can be applied.

The link again:
East Broad Top Railroad - Righting of the Blacksmith Shop (Photo Gallery)

The particle board really shows just how much jacking was necessary:

The building has a concrete foundation on the west and sleepers (long gone) around the other three sides. This explains why the building tilted as it settled.

FEBT will start siding repairs this weekend and work on the rest of the building will continue through the summer. The contractor work was funded in part by the Ticket to Preservation program and in part by Joe Kovalchick. The remainder of the work to the building will be performed by volunteers and funded by FEBT's Restoration Fund. Feel free to donate.

http://www.febt.org/donate.html

The contractor specializes in repairing post and beam buildings. When shown the state of the building they said "This isn't so bad." That was encouraging. The have lived up to their reputation.