Human powered rail car?

My wife's friend's husband used to do this, recent back surgery stopped him. He and a friend had a car similar to the one in the link, they would pedal around the Adirondacks on abandoned tracks. Once in a while they would run into rail workers who just said "I know nothing". Jerry and his friend are both retired State Police, so they woud flash the badge, show them a liability release and pedal on their way.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/railrider-travel-in-style.php

When I googe this, all I get is a bicycle looking thing, so if you guys in your diverse backgrounds and experiences know anything about this, please let me know.

Dan

EDIT: The only requirement is to have composite wheels, that way you don't trip the electronic switch gear.

Around here they rip up the abandoned tracks and throw down some asphalt for bike - Rails to Trails I think they call it.

It does make for some nice scenic trails.

yeah...rails2trails is really popular in michigan.

all the steel get recycled and we get very flat, very fast bicycling trails

A couple things...the tracks belong to the railroad companies, and I can't imagine they'd permit casual use of their tracks. Secondly, unless you're sure the tracks are abandoned, you better know the train schedule (along with regular updates on delays and changes) or you may find yourself trying to drag that thing off the tracks before an oncoming train runs you down.

I remember once in Canada I saw a pickup with train wheels that extended from the undercarriage just driving along the rails. I was a kid at the time and I thought it was awesome

a grm option to this might be widening the wheel carriers front and rear on a regular bike, and doubling up the wheels and tires. the space between the tires would accommodate the rail, and you could hop off the tracks and ride it as a normal bike. gearing would need to be experimented with, but i think it would work and not be restricted to the tracks... id add gas weedwacker engine to it, all that pedaling , not for me.....

Wow - tree huggers are dicks.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Wow - tree huggers are dicks.

you say this like it's news....

That makes no sense to me... thats like an ATV only without the All or Terrain. Hey, terrain is a word that sounds a lot like how these people will die.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Wow - tree huggers are dicks.

do not understand?

ignorant wrote:

DILYSI Dave wrote: Wow - tree huggers are dicks.

do not understand?

Read the comments. Just a bunch of haters.

I talked to Jerry yesterday, I guess the railroad sees them as "independant inspectors"; they move branches and trees off the tracks, make them aware of washouts etc.

FastEddy, a local group is trying the same thing here, only leave the tracks, pave between the rails. They take mentally challenged and blind people on rides through the forest on the pedal cars. Good for them, probably bad for 3/4" wide bicycle tires when you wander off path.

Dan

Yeah, lots of tree huggers are self important pricks who have the mentality that theirs is the only way, a lot like religious extremists when you get right down to it.

BTW, Rails to Trails only gets the use of the RR rights of way, the railroads do not give up ownership. If an organization does R to T and the railroad needs it back, there is no argument.

In reply to Jensenman:

yes, and a lot of folks get pissed when the tracks are pulled and right of way is paved

There are some here in Oh hi ya that have camped out on the R o Way to block the pavers I guess they would rarther see Locomotives than tree huggers on bikes.

I always thought they would make great dirt bike paths. Much better than doing a face plant on the huge gravel rail "side road" at 70 MPH when the chain breaks on you Kawasaki 175

As for the rail riders, why not add a sail and save your knees?

In reply to 924guy:

The RR's used to have bicycles with flanged wheels front and rear, and another flanged wheel on a mount extending across to the other rail.

There's one here, as well as some awesome vintage cars converted to hi-rail use: http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/10/cool-road-rail-vehicles.html

I recently saw an old-fashioned hand-pumped gandy dancer cart in use on a local railway. Talk about a strange site seeing people use one of those now.

Wally wrote:

Looks like a scene from a Dr. Hess wet dream....

White hat: " Faster you DOGS!"

Brown hat:

" i guess I COULD let off the brake !!! ?? LOLOL"

petegossett wrote: In reply to 924guy: The RR's used to have bicycles with flanged wheels front and rear, and another flanged wheel on a mount extending across to the other rail. There's one here, as well as some awesome vintage cars converted to hi-rail use: http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/10/cool-road-rail-vehicles.html I recently saw an old-fashioned hand-pumped gandy dancer cart in use on a local railway. Talk about a strange site seeing people use one of those now.

From the above cool link - Would this be a Donk, Box, Bubble or what?

DILYSI Dave wrote:

ignorant wrote:

DILYSI Dave wrote: Wow - tree huggers are dicks.

do not understand?

Read the comments. Just a bunch of haters.

ahh.

i think you could sy that about all "internetz peoplez" though... myself included.

Cars, pickups, etc with the ability to ride the rails are called "Hy-railers". We see the pickup equipped versions around here all the time (Amtrak and Norfolk Southern both have much trackage around me).

I was looking into a bike powered device myself as there are a few 'dead' lines around here one could ride on. Unfortunately, flanged wheels are expensive and building the bicycle thing is more difficult than I'd like. It is a HUGE no-no to ride on active rail lines. All of your major carriers have their own police force and they can and will arrest you for trespassing. Smaller branch lines may be willing to give you a permit to ride their line but with liability costing what it does now don't look for it.

Most every abandoned rail line around here has been converted to a bike trail with the rails pulled up. Most are simply crushed stone but (to me) the best ones are paved. Most all of them here in the east are truly 'abandoned', meaning the railroads have given up all rights of ownership (and thus have no further tax or maintenance obligations on them). Other areas of the country they can be 'rail banked' for future use.

One GRM style alternative is to get yourself a rail 'speeder'. Railspeeders.com Gas powered 'cars' used by rail inspection and repair crews which can be bought and run on railroad lines 'rented' by the club for excursions. I'd love to have one of these. They don't take up much space and will easily fit on my car trailer. They come in numerous open or closed cab configurations.

I saw a club in Coloradao, one guy had a speeder, five others had unmotorized cars. The only drawback I see is if you find yourslf in the wrong place at the wrong time, a Speeder is much harder to get off the tracks quickly.

A ready-to-go pedal car is $2200. I thought about building one, but what's the price of aluminum? The wheels are $220 each, X4 = almost half the cost of buying one.

Dan

Ah that's exactly like what I remember seeing:

I imagine an easy way to get power to the ground could be a roller that touches the tires and drives the train wheels in "train mode"...although from the pics I'm not sure how it's actually powered.

Also check these out, the trucks are ultra badass!

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/10/cool-road-rail-vehicles.html

the trucks wheels are touching the tops of the rails so the drive tires power it just like on the road.

ddavidv wrote: One GRM style alternative is to get yourself a rail 'speeder'. Railspeeders.com Gas powered 'cars' used by rail inspection and repair crews which can be bought and run on railroad lines 'rented' by the club for excursions. I'd love to have one of these. They don't take up much space and will easily fit on my car trailer. They come in numerous open or closed cab configurations.

When I was a kid, the local railroad club/museum did this on a local short-line RR that doesn't operate on Sundays(or at least didn't, back in the early 80's). It was a neat experience & a lot of fun. They still have the cars, but last time I asked, they hadn't been used in years. The RR was the Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern, FWIW...yes, that's the real name & there really is a town in IL called Beaverville - though I didn't see any while passing through.