Judge Rules EBT Foundation Can Offer To Buy EBT North End

Ed Kapuscinski · **Posted:** Mon Oct 19, 2026 4:09 pm

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

So what you seem to be proposing is a connecting track through the Mt. Union public works yard and the American Legion parking lot to connect to the median track down Pennsylvania Avenue (once the PRR main line in the 1800s), presumably to give the (soon-to-be) four Amtrak trains a day a downtown station.

Tell us you don't know a thing about the current NS main line grade separation in that area without actually saying so in writing.......

It's still a better plan than the J&A nonsense.

jayrod · **Posted:** Tue Oct 20, 2026 4:02 pm

Ignoring the expense, practicality, and current property owners, the grade elevation differences aren't too severe but the degrees of curvature necessary in that S curve and overall track geometry would certainly make it a "nah, ain't gonna happen" scenario.

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1806

jayrod wrote:

Ignoring the expense, practicality, and current property owners, the grade elevation differences aren't too severe but the degrees of curvature necessary in that S curve and overall track geometry would certainly make it a "nah, ain't gonna happen" scenario.

"nah, ain't gonna happen" was said about the East Broad Top ever returning. Not that I care that much about this S curve and all. But I don't doubt they can accomplish whatever they attempt to. They've beaten all odds already and show no signs of stopping!

jayrod · **Posted:** Wed Oct 21, 2026 7:04 pm

Quote:

"nah, ain't gonna happen" was said about the East Broad Top ever returning. Not that I care that much about this S curve and all. But I don't doubt they can accomplish whatever they attempt to. They've beaten all odds already and show no signs of stopping!

I assumed the map was for getting Amtrak into downtown. It won't work. However, outside of that, I agree with you.

Chris Webster · **Joined:** Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:45 am **Posts:** 1100

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

So what you seem to be proposing is a connecting track through the Mt. Union public works yard and the American Legion parking lot to connect to the median track down Pennsylvania Avenue (once the PRR main line in the 1800s), presumably to give the (soon-to-be) four Amtrak trains a day a downtown station.

A passenger platform along the NS main would only be about 500 feet from the EBT track. That's not a very long walk. Most indoor shopping malls are longer than that - for example, the mall at Steamtown in Scranton appears to be 1000 feet long.

I am not suggesting there be a Mount Union Shopping Mall!

The_Pine29 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:55 am **Posts:** 44

What is the overall advantage of having an Amtrak station in mount union?

If someone getting off Amtrak in mount union, Then where should you go rent a car? What hotel/motel should they stay in?

Is it just that it would be closer to Orbisonia / Rockhill than if you were dropped of in Huntingdon?

Huntingdon to Mount Union Via US22 is 12miles @ about 15min

BWills · **Joined:** Thu Feb 02, 2023 1:55 pm **Posts:** 82

ya I Agree on the amtrak station, makes no sense, people aren't going "Transfer" from amtrak to the NG train. there would be near zero people from the greater population using the station, and lack of near amenities would pose a problem. would be a ton of money for not much in return.

Very exciting to see the future of the reborn EBT though, it is truly incredible to see the developments happening with it

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Fri Oct 23, 2026 12:32 pm

When Amtrak stopped at Williams Junction, Arizona for passengers "transferring" to the Grand Canyon Railway or other modes to the South Rim, my understanding (and personal observation, twice) was that transfers typically amounted daily to only 2-3 each way both boarding and discharging. Now, to be fair, these stops were in the middle of the night at a bare-bones platform with one streetlight and no shelter, to and from a van ride several miles into town, not cross-platform, and just before Xanterra took over and vastly expanded (and mostly dieselized) operations. Now, if you want to go to either the Canyon or Williams, it's a bus/van connection at Flagstaff, some 30 miles to the east.

I would love it if there were enough demand for Amtrak to even make Mt. Union a "flag stop." But that will only happen if you moved Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon (the Arizona one, not the "GC of Pennsylvania") to Orbisonia, and if you did that all the other issues with the Broad Top region--lodging, roads, dining, car rental, air travel, etc.--would instantly resolve themselves as well..........

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1806

The one time I used the Williams Jct. Amtrak stop there was indeed 1 other passenger in the van with me.

While I'm not certain on this, what I had heard was that the stop had actually become too popular in the age of social media and internet search. The Hotel wasn't wanting to run a waiting room and shuttle bus for random train riders.