East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company, Foundry, State Route 994, West of U.S. Route 522, Rockhill Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA
Summary
Significance: The Foundry, along with the Machine Shop and Blacksmith Shop, was one of the three primary metalworking shops at the East Broad Top Railroad Shop Complex. When constructed in 1885, the wood-frame, board-and-batten sided Foundry was an important contributor to the Railroads' material self-sufficiency. The Foundry supplied iron castings to the Railroad, and also to the Rockhill Iron and Coal Company mines, area industries such as glass sand processing plants, and even cast articles such as plow blades for local farmers. The Foundry utilized a coke-fired, air -blast iron melting cupola and a natural draft brass melting crucible for producing ferrous and non-ferrous castings respectively. Prior to World War I, the EBT added a pattern shop to the Foundry, and a two-story raw material charging deck with a pneumatic hoist. The Foundry has not operated since the EBT ceased operations in 1956, and remains in essentially original condition.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N285
Survey number: HAER PA-127-D
Building/structure dates: 1885 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000666
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