Steam & Excursion > Autumn at the East Broad Top (photos)

Less than 5 years ago, Mother Nature completely overgrew the railroad. Weeds were waist high. Most of the wooden ties had rotten away. Rail out of gauge. Buildings sinking into the ground. Locomotive #16 was a pile of rust that hadn't run since 1956. There was no color - everything was gray and black. A deep state of dormancy.

Follow the link below to my photos from this autumn at the EBT.
Click "slideshow" at the top right portion of the screen.

Enjoy,
Matthew

Link to Photos

Masterful photography.. Such an enjoyable and pleasant sequence.. thanks for posting

Thanks Matthew for taking us along on your recent visit to the EBT.  Your photography is excllent. The progress that is being made to rebirth this national treasure is truly astounding. A lot of the credit goes to the Friends of the East Broad Top who stood by it through all the dark years ( 2011-2020) doing their level best to slow down natures retaking everything. I would urge all lovers of steam to join the friends ( febt.org) and come along for the once in a lifetime adventure. Their well illustrated monthly newsletter alone is worth it.

   I can envision soon being able to ride on a 15 car long EBT train pulled by Mikados 13,15 & 16 from Rockhill to the top of the mountain at Robertsdale, up that ever twisting 2% grade and through 2 tunnels to the top where all the coal came from. Those 3 engines pulling for all they've got will be a sound and sight for the ages. Hope you'll be on that train with me.

    Thanks again to industry leaders Wick Moorman, Bennett Levin and Henry Posner for creating the EBT Foundation and providing its seed money to get this nationally significant project born.

    Onward & Upward. Ross Rowland 

   

Outstanding in every way!  Thank you for sharing your fine work.

-John

Superb photography and a marvelous slide show - thank you!  Excellent, evocative compositions and marvelous use of light  Top drawer throughout!

MC

Wow! Spectacular images!  Really, really enjoyed the show! Thank you!

Bruce C

Thank you very much! And you are most welcome.
Matthew

dougd Wrote:
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> Masterful photography.. Such an enjoyable and
> pleasant sequence.. thanks for posting

Ross,
A correction to your post: This collection is not the results of just one trip, rather three separate weekends spent at the EBT in October.
I thank you for the kind words, and long-time continued support of my photography.
Matthew



co614 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks Matthew for taking us along on your recent
> visit to the EBT.  Your photography is excllent.
> The progress that is being made to rebirth this
> national treasure is truly astounding. A lot of
> the credit goes to the Friends of the East Broad
> Top who stood by it through all the dark years (
> 2011-2020) doing their level best to slow down
> natures retaking everything. I would urge all
> lovers of steam to join the friends ( febt.org)
> and come along for the once in a lifetime
> adventure. Their well illustrated monthly
> newsletter alone is worth it.
>
>    I can envision soon being able to ride on a
> 15 car long EBT train pulled by Mikados 13,15 & 16
> from Rockhill to the top of the mountain at
> Robertsdale, up that ever twisting 2% grade and
> through 2 tunnels to the top where all the coal
> came from. Those 3 engines pulling for all they've
> got will be a sound and sight for the ages. Hope
> you'll be on that train with me.
>
>     Thanks again to industry leaders Wick
> Moorman, Bennett Levin and Henry Posner for
> creating the EBT Foundation and providing its seed
> money to get this nationally significant project
> born.
>
>     Onward & Upward. Ross Rowland 
>
>    

On another board the fifth photo in this collection was mentioned, which is inside the shops with all the windows.

Let me explain it by first detailing the third image - looking south at the coal dock with the string of hoppers on the right. This was captured at 3am, a 20-minute exposure illuminated by the full moon directly overhead.  I  took note of the camera settings which were to be duplicated inside the shops: the shutter speed, aperture value, ISO setting and white balance number.

Inside the shop now with the lights on, I set up composition with the tripod and verified the same camera settings. Proceeded by turning off all the lights, starting the camera’s 20-minute exposure which would provide the illumination outside the windows, and briefly turned on the single overhead light and workbench light to show the room’s interior. Very little Photoshop work was needed to finish the image; it was created in-camera with a single exposure.

I thank everyone for taking the time to view my galley, and for leaving the warm compliments.
Matthew

Matthew -  thank you for posting these fine photos of the EBT.  I had the pleasure of meeting you almost a year ago in Robertsdale.  My brother and I had come out to ride the Christmas in the Coal Country train on Friday and we visited Robertsdale for the first time on the following Saturday morning.  We had planned to spend a half hour there and ended up being there for three and a half hours.

Ron

What a GREAT series of photos!  Thank you.  Excellent choice of music also.  It really adds to the atmosphere.

Wow! What a great series of photos! Thank you for sharing them with us!

These are excellent photos.  Thanks for posting.

Bob Wilcox
Charlottesville, VA
My Flickr Shots

GREAT pics!!

Ron,

I included a recent photo from Robertsdale, the ninth in the gallery. This is the remains of the 2-stall enginehouse; in the foreground is the building extension to accommodate the bigger Mikados. Inside the main house the locomotive inspection pit is clearly visible, although filled in with bricks for safety. The black patch on the hill is the location of mine tipple #1.

Matthew



steamfan759 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Matthew -  thank you for posting these fine
> photos of the EBT.  I had the pleasure of meeting
> you almost a year ago in Robertsdale.  My brother
> and I had come out to ride the Christmas in the
> Coal Country train on Friday and we visited
> Robertsdale for the first time on the following
> Saturday morning.  We had planned to spend a half
> hour there and ended up being there for three and
> a half hours.
>
> Ron

Matthew a wonderfull EBT show !!!  Well Done !!  Every so often I have to pinch myself to make sure the rebirth of the EBT is not a dream. ---  Ken 

That Valentine's Day announcement was something out of a movie: "All seemed lost, only the most devoted remained, and then..."

Beautiful slideshow.

Rebecca Morgan
Jacobsburg, OH