Friends of the East Broad Top
Over the years, the East Broad Top Railroad has received enormous support from the all-volunteer Friends of the East Broad Top organization. If not for their efforts, our mission today would be much more difficult.
A Shared Mission
EBT Foundation, Inc.
Stewardship & Ownership
The EBT Foundation owns and operates the East Broad Top Railroad, overseeing the physical railroad, its historic structures, and the long-term restoration of rolling stock and infrastructure. Through thoughtful stewardship, ongoing restoration work, and public engagement, the Foundation helps protect this National Historic Landmark while ensuring that its history, significance, and unique character are carried forward for future generations. Its work supports both the preservation of a remarkable railroad and the continued telling of the stories connected to it.
Friends of the East Broad Top
Preservation & Community
The Friends of the East Broad Top is an organization of more than 2,200 supporters and enthusiasts who recognize the East Broad Top Railroad as a historic treasure of national significance. Dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and interpretation of the EBT, the group supports its mission through volunteer work, advocacy, events, historical research, and hands-on restoration. FEBT also maintains a museum in Robertsdale, preserves a major collection of EBT artifacts and photographs, and helps connect people to the railroad through merchandise, modeling resources, and community engagement.
A Shared History
1983
The Beginning
The Friends of the East Broad Top was founded as an all-volunteer organization dedicated to preserving, restoring, and interpreting the East Broad Top Railroad and its history.
1983 - 2019
Building a Preservation Community
Over the following decades, FEBT became the railroad’s core community of volunteers and supporters, contributing restoration work, historical research, museum interpretation, advocacy, and fundraising that helped protect the East Broad Top during a critical period in its history.
2020 - 2021
A New Era Of Stewardship
In 2020, the East Broad Top Railroad was purchased by the nonprofit EBT Foundation, creating a new structure for long-term ownership and preservation, and in 2021 regular excursion service resumed under the Foundation’s leadership. That same year, FEBT and the Foundation also established a joint archives program, reflecting a deeper partnership between volunteer preservation and institutional stewardship.
Present
Carrying The Mission Forward Together
The partnership grows stronger, with the Friends playing an active role in restoration projects, public programs, and the effort to return the EBT to regular operation for future generations.
Not only have their members invested more than 60,000 hours of labor physically working on the railroad and its structures in a herculean effort over these past 20 years, but the organization also has provided significant funding for the professional stabilization and rehabilitation of several buildings at the Rockhill Furnace shop complex.
Learn more about the Friends of the East Broad Top at their official website
A Shared Effort
Ongoing
East Broad Top Railroad Archives & Special Collections
The Friends and Foundation collaborate to catalog, digitize, and preserve the railroad's historic documentary record from photographs, timetables, engineering drawings, correspondence, and company records. The Friends support the effort through volunteering, fundraising for digitization equipment, and helping make the collection accessible to both researchers and the public.
Active
Track & Right-of-Way Restoration
Volunteer work parties, organized by the Friends, join Foundation crews to clear and restore sections of the EBT's original track and right-of-way. These collaborative efforts lay the groundwork for bringing the railroad back to life. Work sessions welcome members of all skill levels, empowering everyone to contribute to this shared vision.
Annual
Membership & Community Events
The Friends organize an annual calendar of member-focused gatherings, including work weekends, behind-the-scenes tours, and evening talks and slide programs with historians along with former and current railroad employees. Through these experiences, members strengthen their connection to the community and gain meaningful access to the railroad and those dedicated to its preservation.
Join Today
The FEBT needs your help to continue their mission of preserving and restoring the East Broad Top Railroad, a priceless historic resource located in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, and a U. S. National Historic Landmark. If you are interested in the future of this very historic site, FEBT is the place to be.