From staff reports

ORBISONIA — The East Broad Top Railroad will host a special ceremony at 11 today to dedicate a new monument honoring the Kovalchick family for their pivotal role in preserving America’s oldest operating narrow-gauge railroad.

The event will be held at 421 Meadow Street, Rockhill Furnace.

In 1956, at a time when much of America’s industrial history was disappearing, Nick Kovalchick, an Indiana, Pennsylvania salvage dealer, purchased the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company.

The quaint railroad reminded him of a model train he never had, inspiring him to keep the railroad intact and eventually reopen part of it for public excursions in 1960. His son, Joe Kovalchick, affirmed, “When my father bought the company, it was never his intention to scrap the railroad.” For decades, the Kovalchick family maintained and protected the railroad’s infrastructure — including its 33-mile mainline, original steam locomotives, freight cars, roundhouse, and machine shops — preserving a complete 19th-century industrial site virtually untouched by modern alteration.

Even during periods when trains were not running, the family continued to safeguard the property from decay and vandalism, ensuring that future generations could one day see it come alive again.

In 2020, after more than six decades of stewardship, Joe Kovalchick transferred ownership of the railroad to the EBT Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to restoring and operating the East Broad Top Railroad National Historic Landmark. That act marked the beginning of the railroad’s modern revival — a revival made possible only by the Kovalchick family’s foresight and dedication.

Today’s dedication ceremony will feature remarks by Joe Kovalchick, EBT Foundation Chairman Wick Moorman, Andrew VanScyoc, President of the Friends of the East Broad Top, and Huntingdon County Commissioner Scott Walls, followed by the unveiling of the new monument.

This event is open to the public, and all are invited to join in celebrating the Kovalchick family’s decades-long commitment to preserving a treasured piece of American rail history.

For more information about the East Broad Top Railroad, visit www.eastbroadtop.com.