Slim Gauge Revival: East Broad Top Winter Spectacular 2023

After over a decade of silence, the sounds of steam were once again heard along the rails of the East Broad Top in February 2023 as mikado no. 16 made its debut before an audience of thousands at the annual Winter Spectacular.

The EBT was built in the early 1870s to haul coal from the eastern slope of Broad Top Mountain to the Pennsylvania Railroad's mainline in Mount Union, PA. "Old Eastie" operated as such into the 1950s, becoming the last common-carrier narrow gauge railroad East of the Mississippi before coal traffic finally dried up in 1956. After the railroad closed, the assets of the entire company were sold to salvager Nick Kovalchick, who fortunately decided not to scrap the line and from 1960 began operating tourist excursions between Rockhill Furnace and a wye just south of Shirleysburg. In the following years, four of the seven surviving steam locomotives would be restored to operation - 12, 14, 15, and 17, all mikados. Sadly, it couldn't last forever and financial woes forced the EBT to close for a second time in 2011. While the non-profit Friends of the East Broad Top worked diligently to prevent decay of the structures and rolling stock, the future of the railroad would be uncertain throughout the 2010s, with many convinced it would never reopen. In February 2020, however, hope emerged in the news that the line had been purchased by the newly-formed East Broad Top Foundation, which immediately began working to restart operations. Steam locomotive 16, which hadn't run since the first closure in 1956, was chosen the be first to be restored while diesel M7 began pulling excursions again in 2021. The 16, now bearing the name of the man who saved the railroad over 65 years ago, has now returned to steam almost exactly three years from the announcement of the reopening. With the EBT now fully back in action, work is soon to begin on restoring more equipment and rebuilding the track south from Rockhill - it's truly a new beginning for the "Old Eastie," and I for one am excited to see what the coming decades bring.

Видео Slim Gauge Revival: East Broad Top Winter Spectacular 2023 канала Smoky Mtn Steam