Everett Railroad #11: A Springtime System Tour

The Everett Railroad is a place where one can experience a notable chapter in Pennsylvania’s railroad history. Located in Hollidaysburg near the famed railroad city of Altoona, the Everett is not a relic of the coal mining days, nor is it a place to see big steam speeding down a double track main, but rather it’s a typical branch line operation, passing by historic structures and traveling through peaceful and scenic countryside. The railroad has all the hallmarks of small town, shortline railroading, bringing one back to a simpler, often overlooked period in American history. We made a pair of visits to the Everett Railroad in the spring of 2024, and followed the railroad’s 2-6-0 Mogul #11 on a pair of steam excursions that covered nearly all of the railroad’s trackage, providing us a chance to offer a glimpse at much of what the railroad bestows along its routes.
The Everett operates on former Pennsylvania Railroad trackage, over two branch lines that split from each other at Brooks Mills, a few miles south of Hollidaysburg. In March, we’ll see scenes from the railroad’s opening day excursions, which includes the “Steam Into the Cove” excursion that traverses the eternity of the former PRR Cove Branch through Roaring Spring to Martinsburg. We’ll also follow a rare mileage excursion that took place in late April, that ran down the old Bedford Branch to Sproul, the first time a steam-powered passenger train had traversed this route under Everett’s ownership. Let’s take a ride on this lively short line, in “A Springtime System Tour!”
#11 was built by ALCO's Cooke Works in 1920 and was originally set for export to Cuba, where she would be used in the sugar cane fields that dot the country's rural areas. With fluctuations in world sugar markets decreasing on an international scale after the First World War, the demand for locomotives decreased as well and #11 was instead sold to Rhode Island's Narragansett Pier Railroad in 1923, serving the tiny railroad for over a decade. In 1937, she was sold to the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad in southern New York, otherwise known as "The Champagne Trail" since it served the many wine producers of the region. Retired from the B&H in 1949, #11 sat in storage until she was purchased by Dr. Stanley A. Groman in 1955 for use at his "Rail City" museum on the shores of Lake Ontario. Following the closure of "Rail City", the engine was acquired by the Middletown & New Jersey Railroad in 1982, who sold her to the Everett Railroad's owner Alan Maples in 2006. The majority of restoration work took place at the shops of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Ridgeley, WV and she was returned to Everett rails in early 2015, where the final phases of the work would commence. In the fall of 2015, #11 returned to steam for the first time in over 40 years and since has become the primary excursion power for the Everett Railroad. She was converted to burn oil in early 2022.
Enjoy!

[@wolfgangpfeilergartenbahnd6530]

A great steam locomotive video.🎥👍👍👍

[@SmokyMtnSteam]

Wonderful video Evan! Excellent videography and narration.

[@TheBigBananaRailfan]

Thanks Sean! Glad you think so!

[@astevenskrug4626]

Very impressive! Well composed. Great story.

[@TheBigBananaRailfan]

Thanks Steve! Glad you enjoyed!

[@astevenskrug4626]

@@TheBigBananaRailfan Very professional.