New Operator for the East Broad Top
As reported in Trains NewsWire:
The newly-formed East Broad Top Railroad Preservation Association has signed an agreement to operate the East Broad Top Railroad for three years, and the organization hopes to attract enough grant money during that time to buy the Pennsylvania narrow gauge from its longtime owners, Joe and Judy Kovalchick.
The new organization was put together by Larry Salone, who took over as executive director of the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum in 2007.
We wish Mr. Salone all the best as he starts this new venture in a troubling economy.
Deutche Reichsbahn steam, 1989
Over coffee this morning, I ran across the YouTube channel of Dampfossi (“Ossi” was how “Wessis” from West Germany referred to the reunified Easterners). This Ossi has posted quite a few videos of Deutche Reichsbahn steam from before the fall of the Berlin Wall, including what is now the Harzquerbahn and the Weisseritztalbahn.
My introduction to the Freital (Hainsburg) – Kurort Kipsdorf line came at the Seifersdorf station as shown above. The gritty reality of life under Communism was still apparent in many areas, including the Rabenau Gorge. If you weren’t there, Ossi’s videos give a good glimpse of the way it was.
He also has fine coverage of Plandampfs in the 1990s, including this video of three 2-10-0s on a potash train during the “Kali Plandampf” in February 1998. (I had the good fortune to attend that event.)
Steam in Germany is still going strong – if you haven’t participated in a photo special there, I highly recommend signing up for one. You’ll find event listings in our Links Section.
Around the Web . . .