John Van Horn

East Broad Top Railroad John Van Horn

The East Broad Top Railroad, a narrow gauge railway, is a unique piece of Americana and railroading. Located in south central Pennsylvania, it is a time capsule of structures and machinery from a past era. My good college friend and fellow photographer W. Craig Angle introduced me to the railroad in 1970. This study deals only with the two largest facilities on the EBT. The Mount Union yard was where coal was unloaded from the railroad, processed and reloaded onto standard gauge railroad cars. Rockhill Furnace, also often referred to as Orbisonia (the neighboring town), with its rail yard, railroad shops and roundhouse is considered an exceptionally well preserved early twentieth century industrial complex. This photographic study is just that -- a study, not a historical document, or a then and now essay, but what caught my eye, as a photographer, and as a railfan, what I found most visually interesting.