Judge Rules EBT Foundation Can Offer To Buy EBT North End

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1802

If you have something of both historic and operational value connected to your line - why wouldn't you want to buy it?

You think they should give up and have no interest cause they built a dollar general where the wye used to be?

PrrOpCrew · **Posted:** Tue Sep 29, 2026 11:23 am

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2890

PrrOpCrew wrote:

Besides the easy answer of "the whole narrow gauge line should be preserved INTACT" what is a serious legitimate reason for owning the line all the way into Mount Union?

PrrOpCrew wrote:

I don't like to tell other people what to do with their money or property.

Either one or the other of these statements was not made in earnest.

mcgrath618 · **Joined:** Mon Feb 15, 2021 6:54 pm **Posts:** 235

PMC wrote:

PrrOpCrew wrote:

Besides the easy answer of "the whole narrow gauge line should be preserved INTACT" what is a serious legitimate reason for owning the line all the way into Mount Union?

PrrOpCrew wrote:

I don't like to tell other people what to do with their money or property.

Either one or the other of these statements was not made in earnest.

Yeah, beginning to regret my engagement here. It’s evident that none of this argument is in good faith.

Oh well! I’m personally looking forward to what it is the EBTF will do with the property. They’ve done a bang-up job with everything else so far, and deserve a kudos!

wilkinsd · **Posted:** Wed Sep 30, 2026 3:23 pm

mcgrath618 wrote:

Yeah, beginning to regret my engagement here. It’s evident that none of this argument is in good faith.

Good faith argumentation on RYPN? That was overly optimistic of you to think it was possible.

Hope springs eternal.

jayrod · **Posted:** Fri Oct 02, 2026 12:30 pm

Quote:

Good faith argumentation on RYPN? That was overly optimistic of you to think it was possible.

I will say that it has been quieter here for the most part. Likely due to the inability to log in, though.

Steamguy73 · **Joined:** Wed Dec 24, 2014 3:15 pm **Posts:** 636

PrrOpCrew wrote:

Besides the easy answer of "the whole narrow gauge line should be preserved INTACT" what is a serious legitimate reason for owning the line all the way into Mount Union?

Is the next step going to be to buy the Dollar General in Mount Union and demolish it so the wye can be relaid? With the wye gone, there's no historically accurate way to turn the locomotive for a return trip to Orbisonia.

There's also the hard reality that as much as a bunch of EBT foamers will cry and bemoan it, Amtrak would not be willing to add an handcapped-accessible additional station and I highly doubt Norfolk Southern would accomodate it either.

The EBTF is focusing on rebuilding the line south through the more scenic and pure Narrow Gauge ambience portions of the line. There's nothing of any major significant historical draw in Mount Union. To suddenly decide to build North will essentially create a "war on two fronts".

If the EBTF would get the line, I don't think the by-laws of the foundation would allow them to operate as a for-profit freight railroad, they could lease out the operating rights of the standard gauge portion to a designated operator. (Someone should let Riffin know!)

Otherwise, they're going to buy the line only to let it rust and rot into the ground, which is what it's doing already. The situation won't improve, the only change is the ownership.

1. You answered your own question. Seeing the entire railway intact is in itself a massive reason to own the entire line.

2. Historical accuracy is important but i'm sure there's also alternatives to such. I don't think the goal by the EBT will be to replicate literally everything and restore every nut and bolt... but to capture all phases of the operation. Orbisonia has the shops, Robertsdale has the mines, and Mount Union has the sorting and loading facilities. From a historical standpoint you can educate on everything that they did. You don't have to rebuild the coal cleaning facility obviously but how about some of the delivery trestles? Loading docks? Maybe even a new Timber transfer Haha. And that's not even going full foamer.

3. I don't think an Amtrak station is currently likely either given the proximity of both Lewistown and Huntington, but that's a topic up for discussion at another time.

4. Having a "historic draw" doesn't have to be the only selling point. I provided a potential educational aspect, but how about it just operating similarly to Frostburg for the nearby WMSR? Colgate Grove doesn't have any real historic value to sell to patrons yet that's been the northern terminus since 1961. Mount Union can just be a place for people to deboard, get a bite to eat, perhaps operating similarly to European Heritage railways. There's also the Bricktown Museum that has a model railroad a couple of blocks away from the former station site.

Adding to the "war on two fronts" point you made, the good news about the sections north of Colgate Grove is that they would be a bit easier to clear from a foliage standpoint. The density of the trees is not nearly as bad for much of the route as it is for the march to Saltillo. Just as an example of the terrain up north, if the EBTF had ambitions to do so, the line to Shirleysburg is relatively clear. They could probably tackle that pretty easily as a pet project. Plus, the quantity of bridges needed for restoration compared to the ROW southwards wouldn't be nearly as bad: it's only 2-3 bridges and the only substantial bridge is of course the Concrete Aughwick Bridge.

Beyond that of course is where it gets difficult, with some major washouts between Pump Station and Aughwick, and of course the visibly decaying Aughwick Bridge. In spite of the blatantly poor condition, the concrete bridge is probably no larger of an obstacle than the two tunnels south of Shirleysburg which they still have plans to tackle in the long term. And if there are some other complications with the tunnels or other structures that would inhibit restoration to Robertsdale for a time, they could just pivot most resources to Mount Union for a time.

5. If there is a demand for a small industrial route, it would be leased out. But again, that's a topic for another time.

6. This is the point that makes the least sense to me. Isn't that already what's been happening with the ROW in that section? Last I checked the J&A proposal didn't include anything to suggest there would be progression south of the industrial park. Need I remind people that the Industrial Railroad was a project that went nowhere over 20 years ago. So if the situation stays the same for a few years but has an eventual goal for restoration, what's the issue?

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Thu Oct 08, 2026 12:40 pm

The counter-offer has been made.

https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/he ... -trackage/

Quote:

The East Broad Top Foundation has exercised its right of first refusal to buy a 4.7-mile segment of East Broad Top main line, as well as the railroad’s dual-gauge yard in Mount Union.

The foundation on Wednesday, Oct. 7, met its deadline to inform the seller, a nonprofit organization led by DuBois, Pa., businessman Larry Salone, that it would exercise the right to purchase the main line and yard. Judge Ray A. Ghaner had previously ruled that the right of first refusal remained valid [see “Judge rules that East Broad Top Foundation can buy …,” Trains.com, Oct. 1, 2026]. Salone and entrepreneur Stephen D. Lane, who had offered $2 million for the trackage with the intention of launching a short line, argued it had expired. The EBT Foundation matched that $2 million offer earlier, citing the first-refusal right.

The trackage in question was split off from the rest of the EBT in 2013 when former owner Joseph Kovalchick sold it to Salone, who had created the East Broad Top Preservation Association with the goal of restoring the entire railroad. Kovalchick included the right of first refusal as part of the sale contract, and when the EBT Foundation was founded and bought the other 27 miles of railroad, Kovalchick assigned it the right of first refusal [see “Judge rules $2 million bid …,” May 15, 2026].

Bennett Levin, an EBT Foundation board member who also is chairman of its property committee, said in an email that it will be at least 60 days until the transaction closes, as other legal motions must be resolved and Lane still holds the right to appeal.

choodude · **Joined:** Wed Jun 29, 2016 11:58 am **Posts:** 328

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

I haven't seen a connection to the Essex Steam train advertised from Old Saybrook for decades now.

I remember the Essex Steam Train folks running a shuttle from the Amtrak Old Saybrook station to Essex. The tracks do directly connect to the platform.

I suppose there wasn't enough usage to justify the service.

Brian Helfrich