I looked back at a discussion thread from last month that showed a series of older photos of the EBT in decay, and read a lot of negativity and an overall un-optomistic attitude about the railroad. It reminds me of a late 1980s conversation at a local Orbisonia restaurant that I had with a leader of the Railways To Yesterday trolley group (which also is based out of Orby). I lamented that at some point, the for-profit EBT and its holding company will suddenly experience some kind of reverse of fortunes and the historic railroad's existence will be threatened. I had read the National Park Service's plan to save the line, but I was not really fond of the plans, and realized it was never going to come to existence anyway after the creation of nearby Steamtown.
The answer I got from the local preservation expert was that he too acknowleged this risk of loss, but he said that there are a core group of people who are concerned about it and will do what makes the most sense to try to save the line as best possible. This is the Friends of the East Broad Top and they have done wonders for saving the most fragile portions of the artifact we know as the EBT.
It is because of the existence of this group that I am optimistic about the future of the EBT. Those older photos don't compare to the good things you would see in Orbisonia today. I do hope their success continues, and in some fashion these solid folks will be able to be a part of an operating museum/tourist railroad that lives again along those 3-foot rails in the Broad Top foothills. Meanwhile the members of the FEBT have not given up hope, and are doing whatever they can at the moment.
In 2017, there are things that you can do to save the EBT. This is from the EBT yahoo discussion group:
Quote
Friends of East Broad Top
2017 Rockhill Work Sessions
January 21-22
February 25-26
March 25-26
April 22-23
May 20-21
May 22-26 work week
June 24-25
July 22-23
August 19-20
September 23-24
(October 6-8 FEBT Reunion - not a work session)
November 11-12
Lee Rainey
FEBT Rockhill Coordinator
Here are some useful links if you would like to put your mind, money or body to work to save the EBT:
groups.yahoo.com/group/eastbroadtop
www.febt.org/member.html
www.febt.org/volunt.html
If you care that the East Briad Top Railroad survives as a historical site and possibly even operates trains again, I suggest you be optimistic yourself and do something, even small, to help save the line. Thanks for reading.
