Another part of the article is the following:

"Salone says he is arranging private and commercial financing to purchase the rest of the railroad from Aughwick to Alvan, including the section between Orbisonia and Colgate Grove operated as a tourist railroad for many years. He declines to say how long that may take, but hopes it will be soon."

So if he manages to find a buyer for all of this - does it include the shops/equipment/engines/cars? Or just the rail line/tracks/ROW? I'm hoping it's the former, as it would be a shame to just own the tracks and ROW without any equipment to run them on. Then of course there's the costs of getting the line up and running again - is that getting financed as well? Oi vey...

I have to say I do not share dinwitty's optimism for long term salvation here. When one uses the word "financing," that to me as a business man means banks. I'm going to make the assumption this also means the need for "collateral." If the railroad right of way, infrastructure, etc. is to be this collateral, then that means a few missed payments are all that stand between the existence or annihilation of a national treasure. I understand that things cannot remain the same; in other words the EBT will not remain in suspended animation for all of eternity. What the realistic alternatives to this are, however, appear to be nonexistent.

If EBT can be declared a national monument, it can never be broken apart.
I think the preservationist society is going to work very carefully. You worry about who's hands the line will end up into if a payment isnt made but the payee may also recognize the value also and just do the same thing all over again. In a circle we go.
But perhaps its time to stop some stagnation and make it do some work, if a rail car shop repair works in the Mount Union yard area, I see the value in trying to make it work and do something. Heck you could dual gauge it all and have the narrow gauge engines switch around the standard gauge cars if you really wanted to..I would like to see some life breathed into the area than just growing trees and a stuck 0-6-0 in a building.
If we run into a financial issue I am sure the society will do what it can to rectify it,
see what the Stewartstown was able to do, now they're off and working on progress.

And unless you see Barack Obama wearing an East Broad Top patch, that isn't going to happen. Period. If Obama, or any other president, unilaterally declared the EBT a "National Monument," it would be seen by anyone that doesn't foam about the EBT on online forums as a nakedly transparent vote-buying measure, one that would backfire upon him/her.

See http://www.nps.gov/history/history/hisn ... ature.html for a guide to the distinctions between the various units of the National Park Service. Using the Steamtown National Historic Site as a painfully obvious precedent, the nomenclature in question would be a National Historic Site, NOT a National Monument.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_H ... _States%29

This is by no means impossible. But absent a great groundswell of public and/or political support for such an action, or what I could only call extortion or blackmail of various politicians, I don't see it happening. It's been debated before, with reports produced by both the US Department of the Interior and the Commonwealth. It didn't happen then. The only real difference now is 20+ years of aging and no steam operation.

At this stage of the game, the rational course of action for would-be EBT preservationists/saviors would be to await the release of a business plan from the EBTPA, while simultaneously preparing a high-dollars "rescue plan" should the EBTPA end up defaulting, in foreclosure, or at sheriff's auction. See the panicked fundraising at the end of 2003 and beginning of 2004 to acquire LNER 4472 for the National Railway Museum in England, and multiply that by a factor of perhaps ten........

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may have different rules, but generally declaration as on the National Register of as a National Monument carries not guarantee of survival or prohibition from destruction... The primary exception being that you cannot use Federal or in most case state funds in a project that leads to destruction of a National Register site or National Monument...

But you get a nice brass plaque...

Randy

Unfortunately Mr. Salone doesn't see the EBT as a historical treasure. All he sees are dollar signs. That being said, he doesn't realize that "building" a freight railroad doesn't bring in industry looking for rail service. All railroads are built of a result of a need for rail service. Currently, there is no need. All the industry in that area has stated they are not interested in rail service. They have a lot of money already invested in dedicated truck lines to deliver their product to market.

[quote="extra16southUnfortunately Mr. Salone doesn't see the EBT as a historical treasure. All he sees are dollar signs.[/quote]

If that's the case he can easily build a small fortune in railway preservation. All he has to do is invest a large fortune in it........

Maybe we should allow him to make a case for his plans before we get to judgmental.

dave

He had 3 years of running the railroad to make his case. All three years ended with large financial losses. Over the course of those 3 years, not once was any kind of business plan drawn up. The only thing he was good for was not delivering on his promises. Ask anybody who has dealt with him about how things were always going to happen in two weeks.

The enterprise in question's 2012 990 is now available on guidestar.

Negative income for the year, negative net assets.

The smell is now the heady aroma of cadaverine, putrecine and scatol and the inactivity is beginning to look like rigor mortis.

The exempt purpose is the "preservation" and "operation" of the EBT.

Not compliant with it's own exempt purpose.

(Good thing the IRS is busy with 501(c)(4)'s and ignoring the (c)(3)'s, I suppose).

Has anyone been to Mt Union lately?

Are the coal cars being scrapped?

I rode by today on the way home to NJ from Ohio. I didn't notice any hopper scrapping. The place actually looked pretty good to me. I have not been there since 1980 so was shocked by the development of the overall area. Wow.

If I heard it correctly, to date - only the non-EBT standard gauge US Army box cars were scrapped. The hopper cars remain scattered throughout the property - and are for sale.

The scrapped cars were on the other side of these hoppers and were visible (at one time) from the road.

Here's a pic from April 6th, 2014.

I'm hesitant to post as it shows the liability issue taken on by the East Broad Top Preservation Association which now owns the land. I LOVE that time capsule that remains, almost as much as I love(d) the operating portion of the railroad. While I'd hate to see it fenced off, I might suggest something be done to protect the new owners from lawsuits. Lot's of vines to snag your feet between the rails. Hate to see a lawyer and some kid's Dad take possession of the land. Another reason to see it while you still can - though maybe the current owners can, instead of roping it off, charge admission and offer walking tours sporadically throughout the year. Ugh.. insurance. But if all goes as planned, the yard will be occupied by a new car building shop in the near future.

/Mitch

A minor detail that is vaguely related to this thread:

The bizarre-looking Plymouth CR-4 four-wheel switcher that had been at the Mt. Union Connecting RR and stored in the EBT Mt. Union enginehouse next to EBT standard-gauge 0-6-0 #3 is now being used as a shop switcher by the Western Maryland Scenic RR:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater



So there's no internal-combustion loco on site now, have I got that right?

"So there's no internal-combustion loco on site now, have I got that right?" Yes you do.

No internal-combustion engines? Maybe not on the part of the EBT that Mr. Salone's "preservation association" now owns—at least not so far as I know.

On the Rockhill Furnace section of the railroad, though, there are the 1927 Brill/Westinghouse gas-electric M-1 (probably the single most valuable item on the property), the classic homemade M-3 (built with a Maxwell engine, but currently equipped with a rare four-cylinder Nash), the operable diesels M-4, M-6, and M-7, and the EBT's unmatched collection of historic speeders—the Spider, the Flying Devil, the Fairbanks, and the Ice Cube (all now with Fairmont motors), plus the Silver Sightseer (a Fairmont gang car equipped with a '72 Vega motor), and the unique Casey Jones. Also on the property are the FEBT's speeder Big Jim and the Speeder Crew's L'il Phil, both Fairmonts.

For the record, there are also two rusting diesel carcasses in the EBT car shop—I believe one is from a steel mill. I don't know about the other. I wouldn't hold my breath to see either operate.

—Lawrence Biemiller