Steamscape: The East Broad Top Sand Tower. East Broad Top Locomotive #16 pulls up to the sand tower in the yard at Rockhill Furnace, PA, to fill its sand dome as part of morning service. The ability to sand the rails and increase traction was important on a line such as the EBT, where heavy coal trains frequently had to negotiate steep grades, particularly on rainy days like the one depicted here, when the rails could be extremely slippery.
This image was captured during an April, 2023 photo shoot on the East Broad Top Railroad, which featured the newly-restored Locomotive #16. It should be noted that an extensive amount of work has been done by the volunteer group known as the Friends of the East Broad Top, to stabilize and refurbish the many wooden buildings in this yard. There are indications of some of on-going siding replacement work visible in the far right-hand side of this image.
A look at the one-time coal-hauler, which ran as a tourist railroad for decades and finally ceased operations in 2011. The album includes photos from an October 2010 charter as well as images from the very last Fall Spectacular in October of 2011.
