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EBT Foundation General Manager Brad Esposito announced that total investment in rescuing and restoring the narrow-gauge line has surpassed $10 million, anchored by the 2,200-member Friends of the East Broad Top who contributed more than $1.5 million in cash plus 19,200 volunteer hours in 2025 alone. The 2026 FEBT fundraising campaign has already reached 67% of its $350,000 goal.
A Huntingdon County judge heard arguments over the prospective sale of the northernmost 4.7 miles of the EBT — the Mount Union connection — to a private buyer. The EBT Foundation is exercising its right of first refusal to keep the line whole, reuniting the full 33-mile route from Robertsdale to Mount Union.
The EBT Foundation and Friends hosted a two-day reunion for descendants of rail and mine workers, commemorating 70 years since the final common-carrier train ran from Saltillo to Mount Union on April 6, 1956. Archival displays, guided shop tours, parlor car oral histories, and a dinner at the Orbisonia Lions Club honored the families who built "Old Eastie."
Track crews commenced rail installation at the new Saltillo station, working northward to connect with the previously reactivated section. Clearing and grading is simultaneously underway south of Pogue siding. The 2026 Campaign dedicates $115,000 toward this push, with Pogue Bridge repairs also slated to begin this year.
Locomotive No. 16, a 1916 Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado, led the first steam-powered train to reach Pogue, PA since 1956, pausing at Southern Huntingdon County High School — the southernmost extent of restored track. The milestone caps a multi-year partnership between EBT Foundation staff and FEBT volunteers reclaiming the main line from encroaching forest.
The replica Saltillo station went from groundbreaking in April 2025 to a completed exterior by September, with interior finishing and utility installation continuing through autumn. The station anchors the southern endpoint of the "March to Saltillo" campaign along a section of main line dormant since 1956.
Steam has returned to the EBT. Mikado No. 16 resumed operations following eight months of repair work after a cracked drive wheel was discovered in April 2024. Collaboration with experts from other steam railroads completed the fix. Locomotive No. 15 is now undergoing operational restoration, with No. 14 to follow.
The EBT Foundation received recognition for preserving what General Manager Brad Esposito called "a truly one-of-a-kind railroad." The current nine-mile round-trip excursion passes through landscapes largely unchanged since the 19th century, offering visitors the identical route coal miners and farmers traveled generations ago.
Every restoration effort begins with a story, and we want you to be part of every chapter. The EBT Foundation’s latest news section is your space to follow the real, ongoing work of rebuilding, renewing, and restoring from the ground up. Whether it’s a community milestone, a new project breaking ground, or a life transformed through our programs, this is where those moments are shared and celebrated.
Staying informed means staying connected to a mission that is always moving forward. We invite you to check back regularly, sign up for our newsletter, and follow us on social media so you never miss an update. Restoration is not a single moment but a continuous journey, and every piece of progress is worth knowing. Together, as an informed and engaged community, we can champion the change that makes lasting restoration possible.