Friends of the East Broad Top

Friends of the East Broad Top (FEBT) is the nonprofit organized in 1983 to preserve and restore the East Broad Top Railroad, the 3-foot narrow gauge Pennsylvania coal hauler chartered in 1856 and built in 1872–1874. After an initially good working relationship that included two and a half years of restoration work at Rockhill Furnace, friction in 1985 led the group to refocus on Robertsdale — the hub of the Rockhill Iron and Coal Company mining operations the railroad served — where it purchased or leased two historic EBT/RI&C structures and leased former EBT combine #16. Relations mended in the late 1990s, and from 2002 FEBT volunteers resumed restoration at Rockhill Furnace, work that has grown immensely in scope since. During the railroad's 2012–2019 closure, FEBT volunteers helped a skeleton staff maintain the facilities, and since the EBT Foundation purchased the railroad the two groups have worked closely, with restoration greatly accelerated. The Friends operate the FEBT Museum in the Robertsdale station, announced the rebuilding of the vandalized Saltillo station and water tank in 2021, and in 2024 opened the first section of a paved walking path to the former coal mine sites at Robertsdale, whose historic district joined the National Register in 1992.