A quiet Sunday at the Lowbanks shops...

[doctorwayne]

Since I haven't posted anything new lately (been too busy restoring the photos in some of my older threads) , I'll continue in the same vein with some older photos. I didn't post these before because my old computer monitor showed them as almost black. While they're still fairly dark, (and to think that this building was one of very few on my layout that once had interior lights!!) wall1 I kinda like the mood that they convey.

Wayne

 

[Ralph]

Nice shots Wayne! I like the dark interiors.

 

[Fluesheet]

Looks like the the guys are keeping the shop pretty straightened up. I'm surprised they aren't in there - were your photos taken between shifts or during the lunch break? Or is everyone just out for a smoke break? :mrgreen:

 

[TruckLover]

WOW, sweet pics Wayne, I like the inside shots and the weathering of the shop looks awesome on the outside!! especially the black smoke marks above the door :thumb: :thumb:

 

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for the kind remarks, guys. The pictures remind me of the last time I visited the East Broadtop, in Pennsylvania. I had unwittingly gone about a week before their annual Fall triple header was scheduled. I chatted for a while with a guy working near the turntable, and when I inquired about the locos, he nodded towards the roundhouse and said, "you're welcome to go take a look, get up in the cabs if you want." I went in (it was pretty dimly lit, as no one was working that day) climbed up in the cab, just drinking in the experience. I didn't have my camera with me, although it would probably have been too dark for photos anyway. In my mind, this road, even the whole area, is a time capsule that never fails to take me back to a time before I was even born. I almost like it better when the trains aren't running, as the place isn't overrun with "Sunday railfans". Probably my favourite "tourist" line of them all.

Wayne

 

[UP SD40-2]

VERY NICE pics Wayne:thumb::thumb::thumb: . after reading your story, i gotta wonder, where the engines you got in the cabs of diesels or steamers?
:deano: -Deano

 

[doctorwayne]

All steamers, Dean. Three-foot gauge Mikados. The EBT has never owned a diesel locomotive. This was a mainly coal-hauling line that interchanged with the Pennsy at Mount Union, Pennsylvania. In the mid-'50s it was bought by a scrap dealer (with the intention of scrapping the line), but he was so taken with it that he decided to keep it as a tourist line. While the mainline is shorter than it was in the '50s, they run steam excursions in old coaches, and there is some original freight equipment still on the property. The real gem is the shop buildings at Orbisonia, where there's a steam plant and a complete locomotive backshop, with the original machinery still coupled to an overhead drive system by leather belts. I have not been in the shops, but they were the subject of a photo feature in Trains magazine some years ago. There have been efforts over the years to have the area designated as a National Historic Site, and to get some Federal cash injected into the operation. As far as I know, the family still owns the line.

Wayne

 

[UP SD40-2]

WOW!!!:eeki: THATS AWESOME WAYNE!:thumb: THANKS for filling me in on that:winki: , i never knew such a place existed:smilie: . :deano: -Deano

 

[fwpoppy]

The key to the East Broad Top is that in April of 1956 they ran the last train of the day and locked the doors. Coal was their money and the demand for coal dropped to where they could not keep running. Nothing was picked over and very little was ever sold. They had a stable of six Mikados and even into the 90's they were able to steam up four of them for special occasions. The shops and everything are much the same as if it closed yesterday. The EBT also had a long history of doing as much work 'in house' as possible and had a foundry and blacksmith shop in addition to car shop and paint shop.

John

 

[Triplex]

The shops and everything are much the same as if it closed yesterday.

In fact, they have over a hundred hoppers abandoned in their main yard.

The EBT has never owned a diesel locomotive.

East Broad Top Railroad Historic Roster lists 9 diesels.

 

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for that info, Triplex. I was unaware of the diesels, although it looks like none were owned by the original coal-hauling line.

Wayne

 

[fwpoppy]

Wayne, you are correct as the EBT never ran a diesel in coal hauling service. Prior to closing in 1956 they did study converting to diesels twice but the demise of coal hauling revenue made it a moot point. Some of the diesels shown on the historic roster were obtained long after the EBT closed its doors and were intended to provide motive power for the tourist operations as the mikados aged and became harder to maintain. The Friends of the East Broad Top has done a lot of work in recent years restoring some of the old doodlebugs and making them operational.

John