East Broad Top Railroad

The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company is chartered in 1856, but financial constraints and the Civil War delay construction until a new investment group acquires right‑of‑way in 1867 and builds the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow‑gauge line during 1872–1874; service begins from Mount Union to Orbisonia in August 1873 and reaches Robertsdale in November 1874, later extending to Woodvale and Alvan and at its height encompassing over 60 mi of track. The railroad operates as a common carrier from 1872 until it ceases coal‑hauling on April 14 1956, when the Kovalchick Salvage Corporation purchases the line for scrap but retains the infrastructure. In 1960 Kovalchick Salvage rehabilitates four miles of track and two locomotives for a bicentennial exhibition, expanding to a five‑mile tourist operation that runs each summer from 1961 through 2011 under Kovalchick ownership, with a lease to the East Broad Top Railroad Preservation Association from May 2009 to December 2011. The line receives National Historic Landmark status in 1964, is added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and is listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s America’s Most Endangered Places in 1996. After a nine‑year closure, a non‑profit foundation purchases the railroad in February 2020 and regular train service resumes in the summer of 2021.