East Broad Top Railroad

The East Broad Top Railroad is one of the most historically significant and authentic heritage railroads in the United States — a remarkably intact narrow gauge railroad that has been operating in the Huntingdon County mountains of central Pennsylvania since 1874. Originally built to haul coal and timber from the remote valleys of the Allegheny Front to market, the railroad closed in 1956 and was nearly scrapped, but was saved by a local businessman who recognized its extraordinary historical integrity. The entire property — including the original 1873 machine shops, roundhouse, coal tipple, locomotives, rolling stock, and trackage — was preserved virtually untouched for decades, earning the railroad recognition as a National Historic Landmark. After years of restoration work, the railroad relaunched regular excursion service, offering passengers a truly authentic step back into the age of narrow gauge railroading. The on-site shops, where craftspeople continue to restore and maintain the railroad’s vintage Mikado steam locomotives using traditional techniques, are among the finest surviving examples of 19th-century railroad infrastructure in the country. The East Broad Top is widely considered a crown jewel of American railroad preservation.