The Friends of the East Broad Top and the East Broad Top Foundation announced on May 3 that they would partner to rebuild the narrow gauge railroad water tank at Saltillo, Pa.

The enclosed Saltillo water tank was a signature structure on the famed coal-hauler established in the 1870s to move coal from the Broad Top fields to market. The line was operated until the 1950s, and then ran as a tourist railroad from the 1960s until 2011. Since 2020, the nonprofit EBT Foundation has been working to restore and operate the historic railroad.

The Saltillo water tank was built in 1912 to fill tenders with water before locomotives faced the steep climb to the mines at Robertsdale. The structure remained in place after the original railroad shut down, but was destroyed in a fire in 1986.

During the first tourist railroad era, trains only operated between Orbisonia and Colgate Grove. But during this most recent restoration, the track has been restored south toward Pogue. The group hopes to eventually run trains all the way down to Saltillo and beyond, and the water tank will be a key part of that effort. The group is also rebuilding the station at Saltillo.

Nearly all of the 33-mile narrow gauge railroad is owned by the EBT Foundation, except for a short section near Mt. Union. That 4.7-mile stretch is currently the subject of an ongoing legal battle between the nonprofit and its owner. 

—Justin Franz