Historic Railroad Car Returns to Operation
Friends of East Broad Top Complete Restoration Project
The Friends of the East Broad Top, Inc. have completed the restoration of historic Caboose No. 28 of the East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Co. and the car will return to service on Saturday, August 14, 2004.
Caboose No. 28 was built in 1920 for service on the East Broad Top Railroad, which operated a high-traffic, coal-hauling narrow-gauge main line from Mount Union to Woodvale in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. The car was originally assembled in the railroad's Rockhill Furnace shops. Eighty-four years later, the historic car was reconditioned in the same shops by volunteers from the Friends of the East Broad Top.
The restoration, which involved almost 900 volunteer hours, began in December 2003 and included extensive metalwork and carpentry to prepare the car for regular operation while at the same time restoring it to its historic appearance. Before beginning the disassembly, the volunteers carefully documented the car with detailed measurements and hundreds of pictures, and then commissioned the creation of custom wood components matching the car's original specifications.
"The East Broad Top is special both for its rich history and for the completeness and integrity of what survives to be seen today," said Dr. Lee Rainey, East Broad Top historian and leader of the volunteer caboose restoration project. "We are honored to have had the opportunity to work with the railroad and its owners, the Kovalchick family, to ensure that Caboose No. 28, an important part of Pennsylvania's industrial heritage, will be available for future generations to enjoy."
Caboose No. 28 and other historic equipment dating to the 1880s can be viewed and ridden on the steam-powered, narrow-gauge tourist trains of the East Broad Top Railroad. The railroad operates on weekends from June through October. The car's return to service on August 14, 2004, coincides with the railroad's annual Community Appreciation Day.
About the Organizations
East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Co.
Originally chartered in 1856, the East Broad Top began service as a three-foot-gauge common-carrier railroad in 1873. When it ended freight operations in1956, it was the last narrow-gauge railroad east of the Mississippi. Subsequently acquired by the Kovalchick Salvage Company of Indiana, PA, limited train operation resumed in 1960, and steam tourist service has continued in every year since that time. In addition to operating the oldest surviving piece of narrow-gauge trackage in the United States, the railroad's shop complex in Rockhill Furnace, PA, is widely recognized as one of the most significant historic industrial sites in North America. In 1964, the EBT became a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The railroad was named to Preservation Pennsylvania's "Pennsylvania at Risk" list in 1992 and the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of most endangered historic sites in 1996. For additional information, visit
www.ebtrr.com or contact: East Broad Top Railroad, P. O. Box 158, Rockhill Furnace PA 17249; (814) 447-3011 (telephone); (814) 447-3256 (fax).
Friends of the East Broad Top, Inc.
Friends of the East Broad Top was founded in 1983 to encourage historical research about and to support the preservation and restoration of the East Broad Top Railroad. Currently FEBT has approximately 900 members, who live throughout the US and in several foreign countries. FEBT operates a museum in Robertsdale, PA that has been open to the public since 1991. More information about the museum, FEBT's restoration program, membership, and events can be found at the organization's at
www.febt.org. Friends of the East Broad Top, Inc. is not affiliated with the East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Co. For additional information, contact: Lee Rainey, (814) 235-8636.
