East Broad Top Sets 2024 Schedule

East Broad Top/Matthew Malkiewicz photo.

Thanks in part to the preservation efforts of several renowned railroad industry leaders, Pennsylvania’s 150-year-old narrow-gauge East Broad Top Railroad— considered by The Smithsonian as “a national treasure”—will once again be operating tourist trains.

Among the rail industry leaders who have helped bring the EBT back to life are former Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman, Railroad Development Corp. Chairman Henry Posner III, former Federal Railroad Administrator Ron Batory, Juniata Terminal Co. owner Bennett Levin, Gulf & Ohio Railways Chairman Pete Claussen, and former Strasburg Rail Road President and CMO Linn Moedinger. All are part of the EBT Foundation.

“The East Broad Top experience is rooted in the railroad’s one-hour round trip scenic train excursions, rolling over a portion of the EBT’s historic main line through Central Pennsylvania’s rolling hills, pastoral farmland, and thick forest,” the railroad notes. “Most of the scheduled departures are pulled by one of the railroad’s iconic locomotives. In addition to the scenic rides, the EBT offers visitors the opportunity to experience the railroad’s historic shop complex, which provides a trip back in time that is unmatched anywhere else in the U.S. Regular guided tours are offered frequently on most days that trains are operating and take visitors through the Roundhouse (where steam engines are stored) and the railroad’s unique belt-driven machine shop,  which is the largest and most intact of its kind in the country.”

Steam locomotive No. 16, a 1916 Baldwin Locomotive Works Mikado (2-8-2), which returned to service in 2023 following a restoration, is down for maintenance until August. The EBT equipment roster includes of six steam and three diesel locomotives. No. 16 is currently the only steam locomotive in operating condition.

Opening weekend is May 3-5. Trains will operate through October 27, with Wednesday and Thursday schedules from Memorial Day through Labor Day. EBT says reservations “are strongly recommended.”

EBT passengers have the choice of riding in an enclosed coach with large viewing windows, a shaded open-air car perfect for photography, or a historic caboose at the rear of the train. Trains will depart three times daily at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM. Fares begin at $22.00 per adult (ages 13+) and $16.00 per child (ages 2-12) for enclosed coaches or open-air. Children 1 and under ride free with a fare-paying adult.

The EBT also hosts special events throughout the season, including a “living history weekend” featuring displays from three eras of war history, the Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music festival offering performances from Grammy Award-Winning musicians, and PEANUTS™ The Great Pumpkin Patch Express in the fall.

Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono in July 2022 interviewed Wick Moorman about his post-Norfolk Southern initiatives for a Rail Group On Air Podcast.