Structures

he 11 miles between Mount Union and Rockhill Furnace were opened for business on August 30, 1873. When the rails first reached the station site, the original village of Rockhill Furnace was over a half mile away, clustered around the iron furnaces on the bank of the Blacklog Creek. The center of the twin borough of Orbisonia was on the opposite bank of the creek, but it was much closer to the station building which the railroad had constructed in the middle of a farm it had purchased. The village of Rockhill Furnace slowly drifted over to the site, eventually surrounding the station and yards. The depot was originally named Rockhill, until confusion which resulted in freight being missent to several other communities in the state with the same name necessitated the station being rechristened Orbisonia some years later.

Frank Kyper / Ramble into the Past on the East Broad Top / 1971

new wooden Orbisonia station and office building for the bustling narrow gauge railroad started to rise in early 1907 on the north side of Meadow Street in Rockhill Furnace where EBT's tracks sprawled across the street. The building was completed in June, although it was a number of years before the trackside canopy roof was built along its full length. The railroad's operating headquarters were moved into it from the rambling Markle House, located on the ridge behind the shops, which now serves as the American Legion post home. In later years, the Rockhill Furnace post office occupied one corner of the station's waiting room until it was relocated in a new brick building in 1961.

Frank Kyper / Ramble into the Past on the East Broad Top / 1971

ver the years, the station building has served the railroad well. In the early years, it echoed with the voices of clerks, freight crewmen, and passengers bound for all points in the country — as well as to just down the tracks to Three Springs. Today, it serves as the center of attraction and boarding point for the thousands of tourists who descend on the railroad every year. Its waiting room has been converted into a gift shop, while tickets are once again pushed through its wire window.

Frank Kyper / Ramble into the Past on the East Broad Top / 1971

ollowing a fire in January 1882 which destroyed a number of the shop buildings and necessitated the rebuilding of 2-8-0 No. 4, which was caught in the flames, a stationary steam engine was brought over from the iron furnaces and installed in the new rambling Rockhill shops to power the machines. The engine is still in the shops today, and its recently-painted twin stacks tower over the valley. Much of the shops machinery is still in operating condition, although the facility was converted to electricity in the early 1960's.

Frank Kyper / Ramble into the Past on the East Broad Top / 1971