A VALENTINE FOR FERROEQUINOLOGISTS.

In 1956, a coal-hauling, narrow gauge steam railroad called the East Broad Top ceased business.

The mines were worked out, but the owners never tore up the tracks.  Part of the railroad continued to operate as a tourist attraction from 1960 until 2011, when the owners sought a buyer.

When EBT closed that year, it was the last remaining narrow-gauge common-carrier railroad in the Eastern United States. It was bought by the Kovalchick Salvage Co. of Indiana, Pa., which in 1960 reopened a segment for tourist service in connection with a local bicentennial celebration. Under the Kovalchick family’s watch, including that of Nick’s son Joseph Kovalchick, EBT ran as a tourist railroad for a remarkable 52 seasons, closing at the end of 2011.

His father, Joe Kovalchick said Friday, went to 13 banks before finding one that would agree to loan him money for the down payment in 1956. Not having a toy trains as a child was the motivation for Nick purchasing the railroad, and when he bought it, he wanted to see it run again.

The good news is, a consortium of buyers emerged.

Among those who worked to organize the foundation were Lawrence Biemiller, longtime East Broad Top historian and frequent guide for shop and roundhouse tours; David Brightbill, EBT’s office manager; Brad Esposito, 20-year employee of the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad and new general manager of the EBT; and Stephen Lane, entrepreneur, Amtrak employee, and volunteer at the Everett Railroad.

The foundation will be governed by a 10-member board. Three members represent the group’s founders, three represent the railroad and presentation industry, three represent outside or community interests, and one member will be named from the Kovalchick family.

The railroad representatives are Bennett Levin, who is long active in railroad preservation, and longtime professional railroaders Charles "Wick" Moorman and Henry Posner III. “The East Broad Top is a remarkable survivor from the age of steam railroading,” says Moorman. “I’m delighted to have the chance to be a part of its revival, both for the preservation of such an important part of our industrial heritage, and for the economic benefits that it will provide to an area of Pennsylvania that is so closely linked to the railroad industry.”

Good news. “With its main line through the mountains to the mines,” [longtime Pennsylvania ferroequinologist] Dan [Cupper] added, “its 1900-era machine shop, and its original-to-the-site steam engines and rolling stock, EBT combines three of Pennsylvania’s touchstone industries — coal, steel, and railroading.”

That machine shop is itself worth the price of admission, there's not a punch card or a transistor to be seen.

One branch of East Broad Top was rebuilt as a standard-gauge track for Pennsylvania interurban cars, including the twin of the Electroliner now in Union, Illinois.  The Pennsylvania train is being restored in its Philadelphia colors.

Consider supporting both preservation efforts, people in railroad preservation aren't in the habit of sending renewal notices as if they were Life subscription invoices.