ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Friends of the East Broad Top volunteers wrapped up a week’s worth of labor on Friday, Sept. 23, the group’s second week of concentrated effort this year. The crew ranged between 10 and 20 people, working in close coordination with the railroad’s own full-time employees, according to Andy Van Scyoc, Friends […]
Train Topic: Narrow Gauge & Industrial
‘Narrow Gauge in the Tropics’ book review
The 310-page book Narrow Gauge in the Tropics is a thorough examination of the railroads in the tropical islands of the Dutch or Netherlands East Indies, capturing the story behind the first railroad in Java where construction began in 1864. Java is the most populous and economically developed of the thousands of the Indian archipelago. […]
Work continues to return first EBT steam locomotive to service
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Work continues on preparing East Broad Top’s 2-8-2-type engine No. 16 (Baldwin, 1916) for a return to active service. The narrow-gauge railroad, a National Historic Landmark, last used steam power in 2011, just prior to the shutdown that put the 33-mile railroad into a deep freeze for more than eight years. […]
Tennessee museum providing switching services for tire plant
DAYTON, Tenn. — A diesel switcher from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is now providing switching for a tire manufacturing plant, an operation that helps support the museum while aiding the growth of the factory. The EMD switcher, built in 1951 for the U.S. Army and later used by the U.S. Air Force at Cape […]
Maine’s Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington prepares to open new trackage
ALNA, Maine — Volunteers have been working nearly non-stop for several weeks, finishing a number of last-minute details leading up to the Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, opening of the Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum’s Mountain Extension and Trout Brook Station. Two special trains will make the first official runs over the three-quarter-mile extension of […]
East Broad Top begins restoring main line south
SALTILLO, Pa. – The long-awaited restoration of the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad’s main line south – dormant for nearly seven decades – is under way. A three-pronged approach involves EBT Foundation, Inc., full-time staff; a volunteer track gang led by Gene Tucker of the Friends of the East Broad Top; and a crew […]
Bridgton & Harrison No. 8
B&H 2-foot gauge 2-4-4T No. 8 stands at Bridgton, Maine, in August 1940. B&H, successor to the Bridgton & Saco River, quit the following year. Robert B. Adams photo […]
Fire danger pushes back Cumbres & Toltec’s opening day
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has pushed back the start of its excursion season by nearly three weeks due to extreme wildfire danger. The 64-mile steam-powered narrow gauge railroad, owned by the states of New Mexico and Colorado, now aims to begin its season on July 1 rather than the previously scheduled June 11 […]
Work on East Broad Top 2-8-2 No. 16 nearing completion
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — Out of service for 66 years, East Broad Top narrow-gauge 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive No. 16 is getting close to operating again. Built for EBT by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916, it’s one of six surviving BLW Mikados on the roster of the iconic short-line railroad in central Pennsylvania, which has […]
Drone whirs through East Broad Top tunnels
ROCKY RIDGE, Pa. — Flying a 21st-century drone to plot the future of two 19th-century tunnels, the East Broad Top Railroad took a step forward Thursday, May 26, by revisiting its past. Specialists set up, calibrated, and flew a drone through the Ray’s Hill (some spell it Wray’s Hill) and Sideling Hill tunnels, nestled in […]
Durango & Silverton suspends operations because of fire danger (updated)
DURANGO, Colo. — The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge temporarily suspended operations this week because of fire danger just eight days into its spring season, reflecting new operating rules the railroad agreed to as part of a settlement with the federal government earlier this year. The Durango Herald reports trains stopped running as of Sunday, […]
New England fall color featured in new ‘Trains’ tour
The combination of classic railroading and spectacular regional autumn color will be featured in “New England Fall Colors by Rail,” an eight-day, seven-night tour sponsored by Trains magazine and scheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2022. Hosted by former Trains Editor Kevin P. Keefe and conducted by Special Interest Tours, the tour will be based out […]