Re: Well ......

Actually it’s even closer. About 20 minutes off I-70, 1-1/2 hours from Harrisburg, 2-1/2 hours from Pittsburgh.
It seems that the C&TS (last few years notwithstanding) has always been able to attract about ¼ of the ridership of the D&S, I assume because Chama is 2 hours from nowhere, i.e. not much of a destination for the average tourist.
Personally, I see no reason why the EBT shouldn’t be able to attract ¼ the ridership of the Strasburg Rail Road (which is around 350K riders annually) if built up and marketed correctly. But it’s one of those “you’ve got to spend money to make money” situations, and the plant and roster would be hard pressed to support more passengers than they do now without major upgrades.
Also, there is NO tourist infrastructure in Orbisonia. There is no sit-down restaurant in town, nor anyplace to spend the night, nor anyplace to buy gas (or at least diesel) on Sunday, all requiring a minimum 15 minute drive to achive.
In any case, the purchase price of the railroad, whatever it may be, is only the most basic down payment compared to what is needed to pull the railroad, and the local area up by its bootstraps.