Take an in-depth look at Pennsylvania's famous East Broad Top Railroad. This 84-page special issue from Trains magazine examines the history, locomotives, rolling stock, and miraculous comeback of the beloved narrow-gauge line.
East Broad Top
Preservation’s latest impossible dream come true
Pennsylvania’s NARROW GAUGE SURVIVOR • An article in August 1941 Trains profiles the history and operations of the East Broad Top 15 years before it ended common-carrier operations
A half century of tourist trains • After a four-year hibernation, the East Broad Top found a new role carrying tourists and railfans
Restarting a legend • How the East Broad Top was reawakened after a decade of slumber
MIKADOS, MOTOR CARS, AND DIESELS • Six 2-8-2s and a variety of internal combustion power keep the EBT moving
Backstage wonderland • Perhaps more extraordinary than the railroad itself, the East Broad Top’s shop complex is a complete early 20th-century industrial facility
Treasure in the mountains • East Broad Top’s 150 years of history
COACHES AND COMBINES, HOPPERS AND DOLLY VARDENS • EBT carried passengers and freight in a fleet of standard and specialized cars, many built in its own shops
You gotta have FRIENDS • East Broad Top’s support group marks 20 solid years of restoration work
Photo Gallery
TREASURES in the ATTIC • Thousands of company records, some dating to the earliest days of the railroad, add new dimensions to the history of the East Broad Top
EBT’s ELECTRIC NEIGHBOR • Trolleys have plied the steam road’s Shade Gap Branch for six decades
BIG PLANS for the narrow gauge • The Foundation and Friends look ahead to a bright future