After a nine-year closure, in February 2020 it was announced that the railroad had been purchased by a non-profit foundation and regular train service resumed in the summer of 2021.

All six of the 3 ft narrow-gauge steam locomotives that operated on the railroad in its last years as a coal hauler are still on site, and some were used for the excursion trains.

Other original equipment includes a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge switcher steam locomotive (non-operational), operating track-gang cars, the M-3 motorcar (built from scratch by the EBT with an engine and transmission from an automobile), and the M-1, a motorcar (doodlebug) based on scaled-down J. G. Brill and Company plans built by the EBT in 1927.

The majority of rolling stock that operated on the railroad in its later coal-hauling years remains on the property in varying condition, including over a dozen flatcars, several boxcars and well over 150 hoppers.

The railroad also carried substantial amounts of ganister (orthoquartzite rock, used for furnace lining), lumber and passengers with some agricultural goods, concrete, road tar and general freight.

Large plants for the manufacture of silica brick were developed at Mount Union around the turn of the 20th century, and these became major customers for coal and also for ganister rock, which was quarried at multiple points along the railroad.

The last nail in the coffin came when the silica brick plants in Mount Union converted to oil and gas and not enough coal could be sold to support the mines and the railroad.

The railroad closed as a coal hauler April 14, 1956, and along with the coal-mining company was sold for scrap to the Kovalchick Salvage Corporation.

In 1960, the twin boroughs of Orbisonia and Rockhill Furnace—the latter being the operating hub for the railroad—celebrated their Bicentennial and asked Kovalchick to put a train out for display.

The EBTPA made a number of improvements on site as well as adding numerous special events like Day Out with Thomas and Polar Express.

The original three-year lease expired in April 2012, and Kovalchick Salvage and EBTPA were unable to reach an agreement to continue operations.

The EBT annual Fall Spectacular, when all operating equipment was in use, was held on the Saturday and Sunday of Columbus Day weekend in October.

The heavier locomotives #16 and #18 never operated during this era, due to finances, differing opinions, and concerns about the effect their weight would have on the track; #17, of very similar size to #16 and #18, was used sparingly, typically only running during the annual fall spectaculars.

As the years went on, the condition of the running locomotives deteriorated, and both rising costs and stricter operational standards after the 1995 Gettysburg Railroad boiler explosion led to the eventual retirement of many of the Mikados.

During the closure, the railroad facilities were maintained by a skeleton staff of paid employees and Friends of the East Broad Top (FEBT) volunteers.

After the end of its operating lease, the East Broad Top Preservation Association had raised enough money to purchase some portions of the EBT.

In two separate transactions, the Association purchased the old PRR/Conrail spur from the Norfolk Southern mainline to the northern end of the EBT yard from Kovlachick Salvage, and the EBT Mount Union yard from the Conrail Spur tie-in to the US 522 crossing from the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company[15] EBTPA subsequently purchased the line from Mount Union to Aughwick.

The Friends of the East Broad Top continued many ongoing and new restoration projects in Rockhill Furnace throughout the closure of the railroad, with the active encouragement of owner Joe Kovalchick.

The neighboring Rockhill Trolley Museum continued to operate its regular summer schedule and special events, as well as their portion of the Fall Spectaculars during Columbus Day weekend in October.

On Valentine's Day, 2020, a press conference was held in Rockhill announcing that a new non-profit, the EBT Foundation, had purchased the railroad, and planned to restart excursions in 2021.

[17] The sale included approximately 27 miles of line, the yard complex in Rockhill Furnace, and all associated rolling stock and equipment.

The EBTF board includes notable rail preservationists Bennett Levin and Henry Posner III, former CEO of both Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak, Charles "Wick" Moorman and longtime EBT activists Lawrence Biemiller, Brad Esposito and David Brightbill.

[20] In the years following the EBT's opening as a tourist hauler, many of the structures along the disused portion of the railroad fell into disrepair and were lost to neglect or arson.

In the late 1990s the relationship was on the mend with cooperative projects and starting in 2002 FEBT volunteers again began restoration work in Rockhill Furnace.

FEBT volunteers restore buildings, machinery, repair track and rolling stock, provide tours, and help maintain the premises.

As of October 2020 yard trackage at Robertsdale, which is approximately 19 miles from the heritage Rockhill Furnace station, was cleared of brush, and the scale track in front of the depot was restored.

[25] In May 2022 the railroad took the first steps toward reopening the line from Rockhill Furnace south to Saltillo by cutting down growth and repairing drainage along the right-of-way.

[34] At Robertsdale, which is land-locked from the operating portion of the railroad, the first section of a hard-paved walking path to the former coal mine sites once served by the EBT opened in October 2024.

The museum is located in the East Broad Top Robertsdale Station, about 40 minutes from the operating portion of the railroad, and contains historic artifacts and documents.

The goal of the FEBT Museum is to present the history and culture of the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company and the industries it served in the surrounding area.