ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top Railroad 2-8-2 engine No. 16 is out of service until the end of August due to a cracked driving-wheel center, the railroad announced today (Thursday, April 11).
In its place, the narrow gauge EBT will substitute its General Electric 55-ton center-cab diesel switcher M-7, the same unit that handled passenger trains from the resumption of scheduled service in 2021 until the 1916 Baldwin Locomotive Works steam engine was restored last year [see “East Broad Top steam returns …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 20, 2023.
The railroad also said it will add several trips over the summer with its 1927 Brill gas-electric car, the M-1.
EBT created a sensation in February 2023 when it completed the restoration of No. 16, which had lain idle since the common-carrier EBT closed in 1956. In its first post-restoration season, No. 16 ran 150 days and carried 35,000 passengers.
At various times during the railroad’s tourist-era years from 1960 to 2011, EBT restored and ran four other Baldwin Mikados, Nos. 12, 14, 15, and 17, but not No. 16.
In a statement, EBT officials said: “This winter, crews planned to use the off-season to conduct inspections and complete a list of preventative maintenance projects. During these inspections, the EBT’s Mechanical Department discovered a cracked driver center, extending the timeline for returning the engine to service further into the 2024 season.”
As a result, the M-7 will haul all scheduled runs from May 3 through the end of August. The railroad gave no firm estimate for the return of No. 16.
EBT had previously arranged with the Strasburg Rail Road to supply eight driver centers for the upcoming restoration of engine No. 15 (Baldwin, 1914) and eventually the almost identical No. 14 (Baldwin, 1912). But those parts are not interchangeable with the centers on No. 16.
EBT General Manager Brad Esposito said, “These are normal obstacles when running a 150-year-old railroad and operating century-old equipment. As the stewards of this historic site, it is our responsibility to take as much time as needed to complete the work properly and safeguard years of continued service.”
A National Historic Landmark, EBT is owned and operated by the EBT Foundation, Inc., a non-profit group organized in 2020 to buy most of the 33-mile railroad, along with its historic belt-driven machine shops, eight-stall roundhouse, station and general office building, cars and engines. The railroad operates on 4½-miles of the original route, and is working with Friends of the East Broad Top volunteers to restore and reopen more of the main line 20 miles south toward the mining area that once supplied the semi-bituminous coal loads that supported the operation from the 19th century to 1956 [see “East Broad Top starts rebuilding …,” News Wire, March 14, 2024].
For 2024, the rest of the EBT operation, said Jonathan Smith, director of sales and marketing, is “business as usual,” with expanded shop tours, archives tours, master mechanic tours, and scheduled special events such as the annual “EBT Goes to War! Living History Weekend” on May 11-12.
Smith said a new offering this season will be a “dinner experience” at the railroad’s restored Colgate Grove picnic area, which includes live music and lawn games. It will be offered once a month through September.
— Updated April 12 at 7:20 a.m. to correct byline.
Much better to find this defect in the off season than out on the line with a train full of passengers. I hope they take their time and do it right. PS I’m sure they will.
Maybe this was why #16 lay idle during the Kovalchick tourist years?
2024 is proving to be a wipe-out for steam in the east this year. First, yet another seemingly indefinite lay-up for WMSR #1309. And , now this. At least there’s always Strasburg…