Sad News After 52 years

[captain1313]

Just as a matter of information...........the UK has a national  lottery.........some of those funds are earmarked for heritage preservation.  I'm sure the rest of the money comes from other sources.  Steam in the UK is becoming very popular.  They just don't only restore but actually build new.  I'll be going over there in the next year our 2 and am already making a list of which lines I want to visit.  There are some great narrow gauge lines.

Kevin

[jward]

it should be noted that part of what makes the ebt unique is that the parts of the railroad not operated exist intact for the most part. there are lines of cars in mount union sitting there since the day the railroad shut down. the kovalchiks are scrap dealers, but for some reason they never scrapped the railroad or its equipment. there are literally hundreds of hopper cars rusting away in the weeds along the line.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Am I correct in saying that EBT is a narrow gauge railroad (track less then 4 ft. 8.5 in. apart)?

Yes, it is--3-ft. gauge. Until now, anyway, it was the last operating line of that type east of Colorado.

[jsmvmd]

As Jeff said, there are many cars rusting away.  To me, it looks like a lot of them could not be repaired economically.  Sad to see them in that condition.  They are there for anyone to climb all over them.  The easy access makes EBT appealing.  Easy to pilfer, too.

After seeing what goes into a passenger coach restoration at Strasburg, it seems to me that EBT probably does not have the money nor volunteers to do the work.

To Bob,  What is your opinion about EBT returning to operations?

Thanks a million!

Jack

[ebtbob]

Jack,

      I can only hope that next year will bring a return to service.   I fear that haggling over money will doom the railroad.   There are several rumors out there which I will not be a part of and hope that thinking people involved with the ownership and operation of the railroad will be successful in moving into 2013 with an operations plan.  BUT.....like ebtnut said,  the trolley group is still there and the FEBT continues to work on the buildings,  so get out there and see what is going on.

[rogertra]

Is it a private, for profit company that ran the steam or was it non-profit society?

[jward]

my understanding is that the railroad is owned by a private company. in this case it was the scrapper that bought the line when it shut down with the intention of scrapping it. the railroad was operated by a non profit group with the owner's permission.

[Skarloey Railway]

There was some comparison earlier between how railroad/railway heritage organisations work in the UK and US. From what I read of it at their website, I think the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum  http://www.wwfry.org/aboutus/museum.html is very close to the typical UK preserved railway/heritage organisation. One  difference would be that while the WWF  claims to be wholly volunteer run, most UK RRs, depending on size, would have some paid full-time or seasonal staff, particularly at the very top end of management and on the engineering side.

[Sparky66]

The local papers said it shut down due to safety issues, and they also said there is someone trying to buy it, but they haven't come up with the funds to purchase it outright, and they have til the end of the year to do so, if not, it's hard to tell what will happen to EBT.  Personally, I think the current owners have no idea how to run a railroad.  The lack of repairs from the time they have owned it until now is disturbing. 

[ebtnut]

The EBT owner has been operating the railroad for 49 of the last 52 years.  They have put hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of $$ into keeping the EBT up and running.  All that money has come out of their pockets, so routine maintenance sometimes took a back seat to keeping the trains going.  One recent problem has been the new FRA maintenance rules for steam locos.  Mike No. 14 is technically operable, but the FRA would not give the EBT a waiver for emergency use in case No. 15 broke down, so 14 has to go through the whole Form 4 shopping.  Note that I fully support the FRA rules, having witnessed the boiler failure of No. 1278 on the Gettysburg RR back in the 1990's.  Nos. 12 and 17, the other two locos that had been used in the past, both need significant work to run again.  Friends of the EBT has been doing great work on restoring the shop buildings, including the recent leveling of the blacksmith shop (with money support from the owner).  There are private negotiations that have been under way between the owner and the recent lessor which we are not privy to.  We will have to wait and see what happens. 

[electrical whiz kid]

A somewhat parallel example is the Oahu Railway on Oahu.  When I was stationed at Wheeler field in the sixties, the remains of three-foot track swere still apparent across the taxiway, and there was a locomotive on display in Haliewa.  The remnants that were operating were in Honolulu, mostly for the canneries and the docks; the cars were moved about by what looked like an old GE 44-tonner that had been "diminunized" to three feet betwixt the fences.

What I didn't know at the time was that on the Big Island, there was another narrow-gauge railroad, and I missed out on that one.
Rich C.

[ebtbob]

Good Morning All,

     EWK mentioned the Oahu Railroad in Hawaii.   If anyone is interested,  there is a four book set,   soft back,  called the Hawaiian Railway Album,  written by Gale E. Treiber.   It has WWII photographes by Victor Norton, Jr.
     Considering the fact that the railroads that existed on an island,  there was an amazing assortmant of equipment.
      The set is a worthy addition to your railroad book collection.  It is available thru The Railroad Press,  PO Box 444,  Hanover, Pa 17331-0444

[jsmvmd]

Roger that, Bob. Will get there with the boys! They like the trolley ride and the smaller stuff.

[richg]

Found this in the Trains.com, Steam & Preservation forum.

http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/208137.aspx

Rich