Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Company

The existence of high quality semi-bituminous coal in the Broad Top Mountain region was known since colonial times.

This company, with financial assistance from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), built a line from Mount Dallas to Hopewell in July 1863, connecting with the H&BTM.

A number of branches were built to serve the Broad Top coal fields, beginning as soon as the railroad reached the area in 1853–1855.

The H&BTM would continue to operate passenger service via trackage rights to Bedford over the B&B until 1953, but from 1872 onwards, its southern freight terminus was at Mount Dallas.

The H&BTM also supported some minor industrial lines, mostly logging railroads and iron ore, as well as the coal-hauling Juniata and Southern Railway, which connected at Marklesburg.

Glendale, the terminus of the Sandy Run Branch, originally was an interchange with the narrow gauge Reichley Brothers logging railroad, which operated near Wells Tannery in Fulton County.

Though similar in name, there was no formal interchange connection or business relationship between the H&BTM and the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad.

The decline of the Broad Top Mountain coal fields, the maturity of construction bonds, and many ill-advised right of way improvements and equipment purchases took their financial toll.

The PRR and its successors Penn Central (PC) and Conrail (CR) operated the track as a means of accessing an industrial park in the Smithfield portion of Huntingdon.

Railway Post Office car 5436, coach 27, caboose 17, and various pieces of tools and other hardware were also acquired and preserved by the museum.

After the K&K ceased tourist operations, it was moved to Kane, Pennsylvania and stored inside the railroad's expanded enginehouse.