by Alex Mayes/photos as noted
Following an 11 year absence, steam-powered trains carried passengers over the East Broad Top Railroad main to Colgate Grove during this year’s Winter Spectacular held February 18-19. The trains were powered by EBT’s newly restored three-foot gauge 2-8-2 No. 16, which had not run since March 29, 1956 when the EBT shut down. Shortly after the EBT was purchased by the EBT Foundation, Inc. in 2020, four of its steam engines were evaluated for restoration, and No. 16 was found to be in the best condition.
During the evaluation it was discovered that No. 16 needed boiler repair, new flues, repairs to the suspension and other work. EBT’s restoration team utilized expertise from highly skilled steam restoration experts from the Strasburg Rail Road and FMW Solutions to complete the restoration. On February 9, No. 16 finally moved on its own following the nearly three-year restoration. Shortly after this, EBT Foundation, Inc. management announced No. 16 would be powering trains at this year’s Winter Spectacular. The 107-year old Mikado, built by the Baldwin Locomotive works in Philadelphia in June 1916, powered five trains on both days of the event and it ran flawlessly.
ABOVE: The sun has shifted to the western portion of the sky, enabling photography of the 2:00 p.m. passenger train passing the Enyart Road crossing. Most serious photographers participated in the Saturday events, as the day was cloudless with bright sunshine. Sunday dawned overcast, but improved to milky sun later in the day, offering decent photo ops as well. —Adam Fletcher photo
Winter Spectacular Operations
In addition to the steam powered runs, trips with the EBT’s unique gas-electric railcar M-1, with caboose 28 coupled behind, ran both days at 11:00, 1:00 and 3:00 to Colgate Grove and back. Rides in E.B.T.’s diminutive motor car M-3 were provided both days from the EBT yard south of the Meadow Street crossing south to the Route 475 crossing over newly restored EBT trackage. The fare for these trips was $10.00. All trains were sold out for this year’s Winter Spectacular.
Infrastructure Improvements
Restoration of the E.B.T.’s historic structures and the main line south of Orbisonia continues, with significant progress made. During a conver-sation with Friends of the East Broad Top (FEBT) president Andy Van Scyoc, it was learned that restoring the main line to Robertsdale will be challenging, but not insurmountable. The bridge over Pogue Creek does need some work, including steel reinforcement of the top chord. Its concrete piers, however, are badly spalled and were battered by the two major floods from Hurricane Agnes in 1972 and Fran in September 1996. This work has been scoped and put out for bid. FEBT has committed $50,000 to support this work, and the E.B.T. Foundation has grant funds available too. Furthermore, FEBT and the E.B.T. track crew will continue working on track rehabilitation towards Pogue this year. Both organizations have committed funding to further this work.
ABOVE: East Broad Top no. 16 leads south on the 10:00 a.m. run with four sold-out passenger cars and a caboose. Hundreds of photographers captured this train passing through the open fields near Runk Road in Shirleysburg. The fresh ballast of the massive right-of-way upgrade is visible in this photo. —Jim Kleeman photo