In April 2023, Lerro Photography sponsored a two-day photo charter at the East Broad Top Railroad. After decades as a freight railroad and then as a tourist line, the railroad ceased operations in 2011. It got a third chance at life in 2020 with the formation of the EBT Foundation. We ran our last photo charter with a live engine at the EBT in 2010 and held photo shoots with dead posed engines in 2020 and 2021. It was nice to be back with live steam running through the hills of central Pennsylvania.
In preparation for our charter, the railroad pulled out of service locomotives #12 and #18 out of the roundhouse and staged them near the station and in the yard. The railroad also helped us out and did a lot of brush-cutting for us at our photo locations.
On the first day of our charter, EBT 2-8-2 #16 pulled a freight train with a newly built, authentic-looking combine car. In the 1940s and 50s, the EBT used a combine instead of a caboose because it offered more room, so it was authentic for us to use it on our freight train. The morning started cloudy, but by 9 am, the sun came out, and we had perfect weather for the rest of the day. The blooming trees and flowers of spring provided some extra color for the photographers at our photo spots all along the line.
Throughout the charter, several experienced reenactors posed in various outfits during runbys and on the train as we rode between locations. With their authentic 1940s clothing and props, they helped create near-perfect scenes for our photographers to enjoy. We also had two vintage vehicles follow along and pose at various locations. The cars were a 1940 Buick Special and a 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe Convertible.
The night photo session started at the Orbisonia depot and featured both the #12 and #16 with our reenactors and vehicles. Several runbys and various staged scenes were done around the station. Our second scene featured #18 posed in the yard. We used smoke bombs to make the #18 look like it was fired up and in service. The third and final scene of the night was #16 at the ready between the shop buildings in the yard.
The second day of our charter featured #16 pulling a four-car passenger train consisting of all the newly built coaches. After a few runbys at the south end of the yard next to the coal tipple, we spent the rest of the morning out on the line. A rain shower toward the end of the lunch break gave us a chance to take the reenactors and photographers into the machine shop. The muted light coming through the large machine shop windows and the period-appropriate work clothes the reenactors had changed into delighted the photographers as they shot the reenactors posed with various machines.
The afternoon continued with runbys of #16 passing the historic buildings throughout the shop complex. Our charter finished with a few more runbys near the wye on the north end of the line in the worst rainy and foggy weather of the two charter days.
We look forward to returning to the EBT this October for four more days of photo fun.
