Large Scale Central

EBT Stop on the way to York, PA

On our trip to York, for the East Coast Large Scale Train Show, we always take the time to visit the East Broad Top Railroad. This year was suppose to be a quick trip through Orbisonia and then up the mountain trying to find some of the right of way and tunnels. The sound of a horn changed our plans. When I checked in at the station, I was told to be careful, because there were guys out working on the equipment. Coming around the corner of the roundhouse we found bays M-6 was sitting on the lead into 3. The tenders for 14 and 15 were on the leads to 4 and 6. This is unusual, things were happening.

Within minutes the old roll up door was opened on bay 3 and, of course, we were sticken our noses inside.

That’s M-1 over in Bay 1 to the right. EBT 15 is in Bay 2 and EBT 14 is in Bay 3. Wonder what’s happening?

A young man came out and sanded the rails on the turntable. Slinging sand from a 5 gallon bucket down each rail. M-6 was started and moved inside. Are they putting it away or are we witnessing history.

Slowly M-6 crept back out of the Bay 3 and pulling hard, it had EBT 14 caught on the end of a draw bar.

M-6 eased on to the “armstrong” turntable and brought EBT 14 with it.

Stay tuned for more pictures. Still unloading the van. :wink:

They eventually swapped the location of EBT 14 and 15. The speculation is that Bay 3 has a side inspection pit for working on the drive train and that was the reason for the engine swap.

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That M-6 has some pulling power.

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Stopping was a little bit trickier, after you got it rolling. Fun to watch.

Great pics Jan…we will stay tuned.

The adventure of finding an entrance to one of the tunnels, was stalled but not stopped. We did continue up into the mountains and following the tracks, trying to find the tunnels. Eventually, we stopped in Saltillo and asked a local gentleman. His description included going down passed the new elementary school (looked to have been built in the 70’s) up the hill 'til ya cross the tracks and its right there off to the right. The vehicles were parked on a heavy grade and we were off through the brush.

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Just keep following the tracks and you’ll see the tunnel opening.

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“Deliverance” banjos begin to play in the background. :wink:

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Jane Clarke was the leader and she quickly moved ahead.

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Then we heard, “I found it”.

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Stuck our noses in the entrance, to get the full feel of it.

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Completed our exploration, wanted to do more, but the Pizza Star was calling and we needed to get the layout set up in York.

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Did you send her in to check it out? I see Mr Clarke is at the backend tho. Sounds like a great day Jan.

Nice pics Jan. Thanks for the post

I see Andy was the last to arrive at the tunnel…and the first to leave :smiley:
Great pictures of your lucky day.
The EBT, still on my “to-do” list =(
Ralph

Great shots. Its always fun exploring old lines. Did Rick have to hold Andy’s hand while in the tunnel?

Like Ralph I have to do this trip as well as Case. Just waiting for the little guy to get a little older.

Shawn said - " Just waiting for the little guy to get a little older."

Great way to introduce the kids to trains. Mark Oates brought his youngsters by the Timesaver. His boy was already pushing the cars up and down the track. Great way to model a model railroader, just produce them on a 1:1 scale. Keep up the good work.

Hey guys… no one else caught it… Doesn’t the EBT own all mikados? So what’s the deal with the consolidation?

Last June, I promised my kids a trip to Altoona to partake of the NS Family Day at the museum. Turns out the night before, I got my 6-consecutive starts and was Hours of Service off for 48-hours. Rather than partake of NS during my time off, we decided to head out to Orbisonia and all of us enjoyed our first trip on the EBT.

While there, I got to talking to some guys about the engine running that day. Apparently there was a bit of problem with the trailing truck on No15, and as soon as they could, they were going to swap out the truck with one of the other engines until they could have 15’s repaired.

Jason Gallaway said:
Hey guys.. no one else caught it... Doesn't the EBT own all mikados? So what's the deal with the consolidation?
Trailing truck is being repaired, but you already knew that :D

Great pics !!!

Great, great images, Jan. You even captured some wild life exiting the tunnel…

What a blast the ECLSTS was!!! It was so good to see so many familiar faces and meet new ones.

Bob, it was so nice to meet you.

I just wish the show wasn’t 2500 miles away. I’d love to come back more often. :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :smiley:

Thanks for the memories…

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

Cool pics. That loco is a beauty. What is that metal thing in the rubble in front of the tunnel? Looks like the ruins of a roll-up door, maybe?

Exactly. The EBT installed roll-up doors on their tunnels to keep the seeping water from freezing after ice caused a derailment.

(http://rgsgardenrailroad.com/EBT2011014.jpg)

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and the light at the end of the tunnel…

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That’s further into the tunnel than Ive ever seen. Our tour guide (Chris Coleman) warned against going in due to frequent rock falls. Interesting how well preserved the ties are inside. Outside the tunnel they barely exist. Glad no rail fans were injured to get these photos :smiley:

Some of the ties were real bad, but the gauge was still in alignment.