The East Broad Top Railroad Archives and Special Collections (the Archives) was established to protect, preserve, and provide access to the history, memory, and legacy of the East Broad Top Railroad National Historic Landmark. The Program was established in April 2021 as a conjoined operating unit between the EBT Foundation, Inc., (EBTF), and Friends of the East Broad Top, Inc. (FEBT). The Archives Mission Statement provides additional detail on the vision for the program.

The Archives preserves original archival material from the three distinct eras of EBT operation and ownership (Common Carrier, Kovalchick Tourist Railroad, and EBT Foundation, Inc.). Types of materials include maps and drawings, photographs, administrative records, correspondence, marketing materials, and operational records.  The Archives Scope of Collections provides additional detail.

The archival materials owned by the EBTF are located in the EBT station and other buildings at Rockhill Furnace, PA.  The materials owned by the FEBT are stored privately by member-caretakers until such time as the materials can be consolidated and digitized. The Archives is not a building and does not operate as a publicly accessible facility. The primary access method for the Archives materials is on-line.

Although the archives is not open to the public, the Friends of the East Broad Top Museum in Robertsdale, PA holds regular archives days to showcase materials from the collection.  Visit the FEBT webpage for information on archives days at the FEBT Robertsdale Museum.

Any person who wishes to use the Archive collection for any purpose must follow a standard registration process. In most cases, access will be virtual instead of in person.  See the Digital Use and Fee Structure for details on requesting access to the collections, and associated fees for research and digitization.

Access to the Archives collections is highly restricted due to the unprocessed nature of the archives.  The material spans successive ownership/operational eras and contains business records and other materials with complex copyright, legal, privacy, and other restrictions that must be carefully reviewed.  In addition, many materials are in a fragile condition requiring yet-to-be-determined conservation treatments before they can be handled without damaging the material.  Digitization is a key element of preserving the archives and making them available to the public.

Images may be ordered online directly from each item in the catalog.  The fee schedule for digital images is below.  All proceeds from image sales support the continued operation of the archives.

View Our Fee schedule.

The Archives solicits donations of archival material and artifacts associated with the railroad’s three eras of operation.  Contact the archivist at archivist@eastbroadtop.com for more information.

The FEBT collections constitute an important component of the Archives. If you are holding materials that the FEBT saved or acquired, please contact the FEBT at archivist@eastbroadtop.com.

Thank you for using the catalog and for your attention to detail. We are very committed to
making the archive entries accurate. Please submit proposed corrections via the Send Us Feedback link for review.

We’re happy to see the archives being used as a catalyst for surfacing new information about
the EBT and its history! The catalog descriptions for online items are intended to be short and descriptive, however, and are not intended to capture the full scope of knowledge about the item. We encourage you to share your additional information by submitting items for publication in the Friends of the East Broad Top’s quarterly journal, Timber Transfer

Users may link catalog entry pages to personal websites without prior permission or
additional fees. Direct linking to images is considered publication and requires advance permission and payment of publication fees as defined in the Digital Use and Fee Structure.