East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company, Blacksmith Shop, State Route 994, West of U.S. Route 522, Rockhill Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA

Significance: The Blacksmith Shop, along with the Machine Shop and Foundry, was one of the three primary metalworking facilities at the East Broad Top Shop complex. Built prior to 1882, and enlarged after a fire in 1908, the wood-frame, board-and-batten sided Blacksmith shop was equipped for both general and specialized metal forming tasks. Major blacksmithing equipment includes three coal-fired forges, a massive 3,300 lb. steam-powered forging hammer, a smaller belt-driven hammer, and a reciprocating metal saw. Two areas of the Blacksmith Shop were devoted to specific processes and utilized specialized equipment. Locomotive boiler flues were cleaned, swoged, and rewelded using an oil-fired forge and pneumatic flue swager, and locomotive elliptic spring clusters were repaired and tempered by the EBT blacksmiths. Some occasional light smithing has been performed since the EBT ceased operation in 1956, and some minor stabilization of the structure has been done, otherwise, the Blacksmith Shop remains in essentially original condition.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N294

Survey number: HAER PA-127-C

Building/structure dates: before 1882 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 1908 Subsequent Work

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000666

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1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

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