Table of Contents
One Day at Orbisonia Station
One Day at Orbisonia Station
One Day at Orbisonia Station
An old photograph tells us more about the EBT in its common carrier years. Click on the photo to see more.
Photos of Locos & Equipment
One Day at Orbisonia Station
One Day at Orbisonia Station
Click on the photo to view pictures and short essays on the EBT's locomotives & other equipment.
EBT Branch Lines
One Day at Orbisonia Station
Rockhill Iron & Coal Company
Click on the map to download illustrated articles in PDF format about the branch lines of the EBT.
Rockhill Iron & Coal Company
Rockhill Iron & Coal Company
Rockhill Iron & Coal Company
Click on this photo for illustrated essays about the EBT's sister corporation.
Coal Company Towns
Rockhill Iron & Coal Company
Coal Company Towns
Click on this image for illustrated essays on the company towns of the RI&C Co., established from 1874 thru 1891 at the south end of the EBT
One day, at Orbisonia Station ...
An old photo tells us a lot about the EBT in its common carrier era.
The photographer of this image is unknown to me. This picture of EBT Mikado No. 17 passing Orbisonia Station northbound is scanned from a 5x7 black and white photo that I bought in an antique shop recently. The photograph is interesting for several reasons.
First, it almost certainly dates to 1940, during a period for which there are relatively few clear images of the EBT in action. Note that the first three cars in No. 17's train are standard gauge covered hoppers. The presence of these cars in a narrow gauge EBT train places the photograph in the year of the Pennsylvania Turnpike's construction through the southern tier of the EBT's territory.
The EBT's Shade Gap Branch terminated in the village of Neelyton at the western foot of Tuscarora Mountain within a few miles of the Turnpike's Tuscarora Tunnel. Neelyton was a convenient railhead for bulky construction materials in this remote area.
Nearly 17,000 tons of cement in standard gauge covered hopper cars (placed on narrow gauge trucks at the EBT's dual gauge interchange yard with the PRR at Mt. Union, PA) passed over the branch. The cars in this train are probably empties being returned to Mt. Union, after having been spotted in the Rockhill Yard, in the near distance. The Shade Gap branch diverged from the EBT, mainline just north of Orbisonia Station; its track passes from right to left in the foreground of this picture.
Learn More ...
... about the EBT's steam engines and other equipment, about the EBT's sister iron & coal company, or explore the branch lines of the railroad through the links in the Table of Contents.
Details Hide More Historical Gems
Electronic graphics technologies allow me to highlight certain details that might be of interest to historians, in general, and modelers, in particular. Note the billboard sign on the trackside roof. Photos commonly published and used by modelers show only the railroad's name and "GENERAL OFFICES." However, at the time this picture was made, the EBT's highway bus company, East Broad Top Transit Co., was still a going concern. Therefore, that company's name was inserted below "East Broad Top Railroad."
No lettering on the tender ...
... even though No. 17's rather clean appearance isuggests it was recently shopped, This is an indication that Depression-era paint schemes on the EBT were bare-bones.
Can you name the engineer?
Finally, here is a close up of the engineer. This is the best resolution I could generate with the technology available to me. Does anyone recognize him?