FEBT Announces $86K Grant

The Friends of the East Broad Top, Inc. have announced an $86,000 grant to the EBT Foundation, Inc. for the stabilization and restoration of the East Broad Top Railroad’s Carpenter Shop. The announcement was made at the FEBT’s annual business meeting on Oct. 10, 2020.

Over 100 years old, the Carpenter Shop served as the base for the railroad’s bridge and building crew. It is a prominent component of the multi-building EBT shop complex in Rockhill, PA, considered by many to be the best-preserved 1900-era industrial site anywhere in the U.S.

The wooden, post-and-beam Carpenter Shop has been endangered by the rotting of its posts, sills and lower walls, causing it to list badly. The railroad’s long-time practice of leaning stacks of steel driver tires against the east wall further weakened the structure.

The FEBT grant will pay for professional straightening and repair of the Carpenter Shop by Woodford Bros., the historic building restoration experts who previously righted the EBT Blacksmith and Machine Shops. Their work is expected to be done this winter.

In addition, FEBT has adopted the Carpenters Shop stabilization as a top project for its own volunteers, who hold monthly work weekends at the railroad. The FEBT volunteers will complete the restoration with repairs to the siding, windows, and doors.

Once renovated, the building will offer additional workshop space for FEBT volunteers and railroad employees alike.

Visit febt.org and eastbroadtop.com for more information.