F&M Trust donation to EBT Foundation supports railroad field trips for students

F&M Trust recently donated $5,000 to the East Broad Top Foundation to help defray the cost of field trips for school students primarily in Fulton and Huntingdon counties. The donation will cover the cost of tickets for hundreds of elementary and middle school students visiting the historic East Broad Top Railroad in Rockhill Furnace in the spring of 2024.

“Thanks to the support of F&M Trust, we will be able to further our effort to welcome school groups to our site, provide them with quality educational materials, and ensure that the EBT is accessible for students locally, regionally, and nationally to experience and enjoy,” EBT Director of Sales and Marketing Jonathan Smith said.

The East Broad Top Railroad was built beginning in 1872 and is the only surviving three-foot gauge common carrier railroad east of the Rocky Mountains. During field trips to the National Historic Landmark, students learn about early railroading and Pennsylvania’s industrial heritage, visit a 20th-century machine shop, and take a 9-mile roundtrip through rolling hills, farms, and forests on a steam-powered train.

“F&M Trust is proud to support this exciting educational opportunity for hundreds of students in South Central Pennsylvania,” F&M Trust President & CEO Tim Henry said. “Many of these children’s descendants worked the railroad and it is important for them to learn about the rich industrial heritage of this area and the importance of the railroad in the development of our country.”