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Visiting the East Broad Top Railroad | |||||
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The East Broad Top Railroad's schedule begins each year the first full weekend of June and operates Saturdays and Sundays through the last weekend in October. The 2006 season begins June 3 and ends October 29.
#15 rests at Colgate Grove.Trains depart Orbisonia Station (located in Rockhill Furnace, PA) for Colgate Grove at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays only. Fares are $10 for adults and $7 for children two to twelve. Rides in the caboose or the luxurious parlor car cost $1.00 extra. Tickets are available inside Orbisonia Station. Ticket reservations are not needed for regularly scheduled trains. Free parking is adjacent to the station and across the street.
The excursions are 10 miles round trip and 50 minutes in length. Excursions are usually pulled by one of four mikado steam locomotives, built for the EBT by Baldwin between 1911 and 1918. Vintage diesel locomotives operate as backup power. The train passes through wooded areas and farmland and passes through cuts and over fills and bridges. There are no restroom facilities or concessions available on the train. Handicapped riders are encouraged to call ahead so that arrangments can be made for their ride.
The interior of
EBT coach #8.Picnic tables and swing sets are available at Colgate Grove (access by train only) and riders may catch a later train back to Rockhill Furnace. The last train departs the Grove at 3:30. There is no drinking water at the grove and toilet facilities are vault only.
Picnic tables are avalable at Rockhill across the street from the staion. A gift shop and restrooms are located in the station. The Rockhill Trolley Museum, adjacent to the EBT, gives restored antique trolley rides on a one mile line. Trolleys depart from the trolley platform diagonally across the road and tracks from the train station. Trolley tickets are available at the platform.
Rockhill Trolley
Museum car #315.Visitors are welcome to wander the Rockhill Furnace Railroad Yard and inspect the historic EBT Shops. A guide to the yard and shops is availale at the train station ticket window. Locomotives can be watched at the turntable being prepared in the morning and being put away in the afternoon. Please be very careful with your footing and watch children closely. This is an active yard and there are hazzards.
Special group train ticket rates are available. Guided group tours of the historic railroad shops and Rockhill Furnace Railroad Yard are available. Bus tours are welcomed, but please make prior arrangments.
Contact the railroad for more details
The East Broad Top Railroad
Meadow Street
P.O. Box 158, Rt. 994
Rockhill Furnace, PA 17249
Phone: 814-447-3011
Fax: 814-447-3256
Web: www.ebtrr.com
E-mail: ebtrr@innernet.net
Tell them at the railroad you saw them on the EBT Homepage
Check the AccuWeather Forecast for the EBT.
Check the Weather.com Forecast for the EBT.
The East Broad Top Railroad is located in the Allegheny Mountains of south-central Pennsylvania.
Travel by Car
From the south take the Pennsylvania Turnpike I-76 to exit 180 (formerly exit 13) at Ft. Littleton (between Breezewood and Willow Hill) to US 522. Travel north on 522 for 19 miles to Orbisonia. Turn west (left) on PA 994 and drive about 1/2 mile to Rockhill Furnace and look for Orbisonia Station on the north side of the road.From the north take US 22 to Mount Union (between Lewistown and Huntingdon) and take US 522 south 11 miles to Orbisonia. Turn west (right) on PA 994, and drive about 1/2 mile to Rockhill Furnace and look for Orbisonia Station on the north side of the road.
Approximate Travel Times: Altoona, PA - 1.5 hours Atlanta, GA - 13.5 hours Baltimore, MD - 3 hours Boston, MA - 9 hours Chicago, IL - 11.5 hours Cleveland, OH - 5.5 hours Columbus, OH - 5.5 hours Detroit, MI - 8.5 hours Harrisburg, PA - 1.5 hours Memphis, TN - 17 hours Montreal, QC - 11 hours New York, NY - 5 hours Philadelphia, PA - 3.5 hours Pittsburgh, PA - 3 hours Raleigh, NC - 8.5 hours Scranton, PA - 4 hours Strasburg, PA - 2.5 hours St. Louis, MO - 14 hours Washington, DC - 3 hours Travel by Rail
Amtrak has stops in Lewistown, Huntingdon, Tyrone and Altoona. Hertz has a car rental location in downtown Altoona, less than a mile from the Amtrak station. Enterprise has a location in Huntingdon.The New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian (trains 42, 43 and 44). Call 1-800-USA-RAIL for the latest fares and schedules.
Travel by Bus
There is no bus service in Orbisonia, Rockhill, Mount Union or Huntingdon. Greyhound Lines does service Lewistown and Altoona. Hertz has a car rental location in downtown Altoona. Enterprise has a location in Huntingdon.Travel by Air
The Huntingdon County Airport is no longer in operation. There is the Altoona-Blair County Airport in Martinsburg, but the Hertz office is in downtown Altoona 15 minutes away by car. Harrisburg International is the nearest large airport. It has Hertz service at the airport.Auto Rental
Huntingdon
Enterprise
Located in the lobby of the Days Inn (see lodging section).
RT 22 BOX 210A
(814) 643-5778Altoona
Hertz
829 24th Street
(814) 944-3591Harrisburg
Hertz
167 Airport Dr
(717) 944-4080
Download a copy of the EBT brochure.
Excursion cars or entire trains in addition to the regular trains can be chartered for groups or special events. Such charters are available during the week as well as weekends. Contact the railroad for details. Specify preferred dates and equipment when calling.Locomotives: 2 Mikado Steamers, 1 50 ton diesel, 2 12-14 ton diesels, 1 gas-electric car.
Regular Passenger Equipment: 1 coach, 2 combination coach/baggage cars (seating in baggage area), 1 parlor car, 1 excursion boxcar (side windows, seating and steps added), 1 excursion flatcar (railing, seating and steps added), 1 caboose.
Additional Passenger Equipment: 4 excursion flatcars (railing, seating and steps added), 1 caboose.
Restored Freight Equipment (no riders): 2 boxcars, 10 hoppers, 1 tank car, 1 scale test car.
The EBT's Fall Spectacular is an annual celebration at the railroad. All operational and some non-operational pieces are brought out and often there are multiple trains on the line at a time. It is THE time of year to visit the railroad. The Spectacular occurs each year on Columbus Day weekend.
Steamers at the Spectacular.The 2006 Fall Spectacular will be October 7 and 8. During the spectacular all operable steam locomotives pull trains, other equipment is brought out for display, shop tours are available and the Rockhill Trolley Museum operates equipment all weekend. This is the only time of year one can ride the EBT's rare Bril motorcar, the M-1. About 35 trains operate in the two days of the Spectacular.
Make motel reservations, as where motels all over the area book up, both for the Spectacular and for Penn State home games. Special schedule and fares apply for the Fall Spectacular. No reservations are needed for trains or tours. Seating is on a first-come first-served basis. Due to high ridership and limited space on trains, debarking the train at Colgate Grove is not permitted during the Spectacular. Picnic tables are available at the Roundhouse.
Info on the 2006 Fall Spectacular fares and schedules
Past years' schedules:
Info on the 1998 Fall Spectacular fares and schedules
Info on the 1999 Fall Spectacular fares and schedules
Info on the 2000 Fall Spectacular fares and schedules
Info on the 2001 Fall Spectacular fares and schedules
Info on the 2002 Fall Event fares and schedules
Info on the 2003 Fall Event fares and schedules
Info on the 2004 Fall Event fares and schedules
Info on the 2005 Fall Spectacular fares and schedules
If you have a scanner the EBT is assigned 461.950 or 154.570 MHz for operations, but does not usually use them.
Each year on the Saturday closest to August 13th, the East Broad Top holds a celebration of the reopening of the railroad as a tourist carrier on August 13, 1960. Referred to as Community Appreciation Day, the day coincides with the homecoming celebration and parade of the twin boroughs of Rockhill Furnace and Orbisonia (aka, the Homecoming Day Festival), just as it did in 1960.The 2006 Community Appreciation Day will be on August 12th. While not as big nor as railfan-oreinted an event as the Fall Spectacular, the day sees additional trains, sometimes two steam locomotives, and many vendors and carnival style events.
Info on 2006 Community Appreciation Day
Past years' shcedules:
Info on 40th Anniversary Celebration (2000 C.A.D.)
Info on 2001 Community Appreciation Day
Info on 2002 Community Appreciation Day
Info on 2003 Community Appreciation Day
Info on 2004 Community Appreciation Day
Info on 2005 Community Appreciation Day
Each season Friends of the East Broad Top has a limited number of tickets to give to people who have not visited the East Broad Top Railroad to encourage them to make their first visit. To receive a ticket, you must be planning to make your first ever visit to the railroad. Only one ticket is available per requesting party, and the number of tickets available is limited.Each ticket comes with a touring packet that includes a driving guide originating in one of six metropolitan areas closest to your point of origin -- Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, South-Central PA (Harrisburg area), Washington, or Wilmington. The packets include a system map of the EBT with instructions for exploring dormant parts of the line, a lodgings list, and ample material on the region.
To request a New Rider Ticket Packet, e-mail your postal address to: DenEBTNUT@aol.com. Packets are sent First Class mail so you MUST send your postal address.
A free touring packet with maps prepared and updated to the month of issue is available from Friends of the EBT to first time visitors. See the details above. Also consult The Unofficial Guide to the EBT, by Vagel Keller. Be respectful of private property along the right-of-way and of equipment and employees on the operating portion! As you explore, take only pictures and leave only footprints. The EBT itself is private property, and it only takes one irresponsible act to spoil things for everyone else.
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