It is absolutely incredible seeing the transformation in person.

Driving into Orbisonia and seeing a cloud of steam over the facilities was enough to give ya goosebumps.

I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings in the Aughwick Valley.

But the important detail: Where are you staying?? <:-D

The Fairfield in Huntingdon. Only like 30 mins away and perfectly serviceable. Even had a nice little suite with a sitting room.

Sadly the local cool coffee joint doesn't open until 7:30, so a swing through CP Sheetz is my best bet.

I was talking about the staff about the reason for my visit and they indicated that they were well aware of the developments a few valleys over and were definitely seeing an impact on their business.

Beautiful day,

Hugh

Glad to report that wife Karen and I were guests of the EBT for the Friday 2/17 excursion behind restored 2-8-2 # 16 and everything went perfectly, the engine ran like a Swiss watch, the new coaches road smoothly and looked great. They have " real" wood interiors, easy to operate windows that open and stay open without latches, and coal fired stoves for heat. Even though they are steel they have the look of wood.

They've done a great job with the station interior creating a first rate gift shop ( with lots of high quality clothing items carrying the EBT logo), nice ticket office etc.

They've built a separate new building to house the state of the art rest rooms which were spotless clean. Karen commented that it was the nicest ladies public restroom she had been in ever. That's a VERY important issue long term.

The new well built parking lot is both ultra convenient and nicely done.

All in all we were VERY impressed with everything they've done to date and are looking forward to watching them grow further.

If you're able please join the Friends of the EBT ( www.febt.org) and help this great project move forward.

Ross Rowland

Ross,
I just renewed my membership in the Friends of the EBT; I live in California and can not take part myself. But it is great to see all the good things happening at the last narrow gauge to operate in the eastern United States.

The first time I saw a video of the stationary steam engine turning the line shafts in the shop I almost did an Irish jig! Where else is something like that possible?!

Now a locomotive which has not turned a wheel since the 1950s is back in steam and pulling a train of new passenger cars! Wow!

Ted Miles narrow gauge fan, WW&F Member, Built 11 Contributor

I'm pleased that you joined the Friends group as they do a great job helping move this major project forward.

Yes you would have thought looking at # 16 last week that she just came out of the Baldwin plant, that's how good she looked and she ran as good as she looked.

Ross Rowland

FYI, the bathroom building is historic, not new. It was the garage where the senior staff at Rockhill could park their cars and them not get dirty from the locomotive exhaust. Was clever to repurpose it as a restroom. A better one was certainly needed.

Thanks Christopher for that correction. That's even better that they repurposed an existing structure into a critical support function for the long term. Clean restrooms are a very important component in generating repeat customers.

In an earlier post it was asked how long a train could the wye at Colgate Grove accommodate.

Saturday's and Sunday's photo freights had consists of 1 box car, 7 coal hoppers and one caboose. My estimate is that totaled approx. 500ft. in length and they turned everything on the wyes at Colgate and Rockhill. Therefore for an all passenger car consist they can turn a 9 car train ( maybe more ? ) on the existing Colgate wye and the wye at Rockhill has a mile long tail.

As the long term plan calls for 5 car long passenger consists ( 1 ADA combine, 3 coaches, 1 first class parlor/observation) which would total approx. 350 ft. turning at either Colgate or Rockhill will not be a challenge I'm confident that when they rebuild the wyes at Saltillo and Robertsdale they'll do so with plenty long tail tracks.

If you are able please consider joining the Friends of the East Broad Top
( www.febt.org) as they provide much needed support to this nationally
significant project.

Thanks, Ross Rowland

Robertsdale wye may have been for turning engines, not trains. The original half of the Colgate Grove wye was a branch to clay pits.

There are going to be tons of amazing photos from the event, but this is a gallery that I think everyone should look at.

It's a bunch of my "b roll" stuff that I took that shows the crowds of people at the event.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mpoazLWdisTEktk88

Take a look at those crowds.

See how many younger people are in those crowds?

This hobby ain't dying. It just looks a little different.

To add to your comment about the crowds, I spent Sunday at Rockhill Furnace and talked to many of those younger folks. I was impressed with this generation of railfans. Many were active volunteers for the EBT or elsewhere and almost to a person, they are posting their pictures to Facebook and Instagram and communicating among themselves via social media. For all the negatives you hear about these forums, I have found staggering amounts of high quality railroad information on Facebook. From railroad operators, restoration groups, to historical societies. The East Broad Top is fully utilizing these channels to promote the railroad with impressive results. There is no doubt that utilizing social media is going to be a significant factor in their ability to draw visitors. Plus there are hundreds of high quality photos and videos of the EBT being shared on FB in real time as they events take place. There’s no comparison to traditional websites for generating excitement, communications real time information regarding events, and garnering positive feedback for all of the shared images and videos.

Bill Vitalos.

Hats off to the EBT crews for putting on a well-attended event that lived up to it's moniker, spectacular indeed! Just like the old adage from the movie Field of Dreams, "if you build it, they will come," the same is true for steam and railroad enthusiasts!

Ed, not to be over-critical, but there are different hobbies at play. The railfanning and photography hobby has always been strong among those young and old (same with model railroading). The railfan hobby is not in any dire peril, given the crowds trackside watching and recording, whether it be the 2102, EBT, 611, 4014, etc. Contrast this with the railway preservation hobby. The amount of younger folks volunteering at a museum, restoring equipment or operating a tourist railroad is not flourishing and we're seeing a generational shift. Of course, we've discussed these issues ad nauseam (lack of finances, time, interests, good old boys club, etc). But, I think it's important to point out that just because 500 younger folks descend upon a steam operation to photograph inaugural runs, it does not equate to volunteers on your roster. One thing is for certain, railroads and steam have long interested folks and that love and interest is stronger than ever. But as the century presses on, it will be a survival of the fittest, most exciting and most relevant museums and operations. If anything, attracting the younger crowd to your operation trackside will plant the seeds to donate and volunteer if and when the time becomes appropriate.

There has been, however, a fundamental shift in the specific case of the EBT. For fifty years, volunteer opportunities were few and far between. As historic and precious as it was, it was still just a showpiece of private property. Now it's possible to go down and replace windows, work on the track, sort through the company archives, etc.

Among the remarks I've heard since the weekend were those of a slightly middle-aged associate who said on Facebook, in a post separate from all the same old shots everyone else was posting, of his railfan children--the daughter already an excellent photographer at nine--saying something to the effect of "I an SO glad I've now had the opportunity to show my children the magic of this place of my youth!"

Sigh. Yet another bull---- post from Mr. Mitchell.

The FEBT has been holding monthly 2-day long work sessions and work weeks during the summer for decades now.