Rail Explorers makes tracks into Philly region with rail-bike excursions

CYCLISTS HAVE been able to ride on old rail lines since the rails-to-trails movement took hold in the '70s and '80s. Now there's an opportunity to bike the rails themselves with Rail Explorers, an upstate New York outfit running an eight-week pilot program on the Wilmington & Western Railroad line along Red Clay Creek in Delaware.

Rail Explorers uses rail-bikes, which resemble pedal cars. Loaded with pedalers, the quad-seat bikes can weigh as much as a small car, so they feature a robust hydraulic disc-brake system.

Getting to Delaware has been a three-year, sometimes-winding journey for Rail Explorers founders Mary-Joy Lu and Alex Catchpoole, taking them from their native Australia to New York City and upstate New York via South Korea.

They were living in New York City until several years ago, when they decided they needed a change in lifestyle. "My wife and I weren't involved in railroads or biking or tourism or anything like this previously. We actually worked in television production and filmmaking," Alex explained.

After one exhausting day at work, Mary-Joy was watching TV and was captivated by a scene in a Korean movie that featured a couple pedaling along a rail line on what looked like a recumbent bicycle. "It literally took me all of two seconds to say 'Yep - that's our escape plan!' " she recalled.

Mary-Joy discovered that the scene had been filmed at Gangchon Rail Park near Seoul. She enlisted a Korean colleague to contact the operators and find out more.

Eventually, Mary-Joy went to South Korea to meet the rail-bike designer. She subsequently ordered a half-dozen of the custom vehicles, built to U.S. rail specifications.

Before a wheel could turn - or a foot pedal - they had to find a cooperative rail partner, since railroads are private property and can be dangerous. The Korean rail-bike venue operates on a closed mining railroad.

"It's actually against the law to take these out anywhere without permission," Alex said. "You wouldn't want to be pedaling one of these things and meet an Amtrak locomotive."

They eventually settled on a plan with the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, operating between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake in New York State.

Their first season in the Adirondacks last year was a big success. "It was sold out almost every day through the summer," said Alex. "We were expecting to get the demographic of the hikers and the bikers . . . and we did get them, but [we also got] everybody else."

But their success in the Adirondacks has been overshadowed by a proposed plan to tear up the tracks and, somewhat ironically, convert the operating railroad to a rail trail.

"It would be the first time in the United States where an operational railroad had been dismantled to make a trail," Alex noted.

As their season was wrapping up last fall, Mary-Joy received a call from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control inviting them to Delaware as part of an industrial remediation project near Hockessin, at the abandoned National Vulcanized Fiber complex. A master plan for residential and recreational development called for cycling and hiking trails, and rail-bikes seemed like a perfect fit. Rail Explorers began a pilot program last Sunday that continues through June 12.

On a recent sunny Sunday, I joined two dozen or so riders ready to try out this unusual, flange-wheeled conveyance on a five-mile, 90-minute round-trip run from the Rail Explorers terminal in Ashland, Del., to Mount Cuba.

The rail-bikes come in two- or four-seat configurations, with adjustable seats and a small wire basket for personal items. Tickets are sold by vehicle, with a two-seater costing $75, and the four-seater $125. There is also a single-seat option for $45 that's shared with a group leader riding a tandem. Larger groups can connect their rail-bikes to create a convoy.

Despite the weight, the bikes pedal with ease, and don't take much effort to get up to speed due to the inherently low friction of steel wheels on steel rails.

So how fast can these babies go? Not very.

"The maximum speed we've gotten these bikes up to is 24 or 25 mph. But that was a record set by the U.S.A. Junior Luge Team, who came to ride with us while training for the winter Olympics," Alex said, adding that we could expect to poke along at a much less hectic 7 to 12 mph.

The rail-bikes are timed to enter the trail at intervals to make the experience more personal. As we headed out, Alex reminded us, "It's not a race! You can't pass anyone!"

The experience of rolling along with solid rails to guide you - no steering required - allows riders to enjoy passing scenes without fear. The only sound you hear is the reassuring rumble of the steel wheels, punctuated by a rhythmic "ka-clunk" every few seconds as you pass over a rail joint.

The route winds along Red Clay Creek, across bridges big and small, past small white frame houses and a large hilltop estate invisible from the road. At one point, jagged cliffs rise 40 feet on either side as the rails pass through a deep rock cut.

At the turnaround point at the Mount Cuba Picnic Grove, riders get 20 minutes of free time as the crew engages a custom-built hydraulic turntable to turn the rail-bikes for the trip back.

As the crew turned our vehicles, Alex adjusted a sturdy yellow metal device clamped to the rail with an ominous sign spelling "DERAIL" attached to it. The Wilmington & Western operates trains concurrently with the rail-bikes but uses the eastern end of the line. Rail-bikes stay on the western end, so there's no overlap. The derail device marks the boundary between the two, and will physically stop any rail vehicle from crossing.

The trip back is slightly upgrade and the pedaling effort is noticeable, but not by much.

"One of the big focuses of our business is to make this experience accessible," Alex said. "Its possible for somebody who's not particularly physically fit, or very strong, to pedal these things with ease. . . . We've had families with newborn babies to 96-year-old grandparents enjoying this experience."

They are also developing a quad rail bike that could accommodate a roll-on wheelchair.

At the end of our ride, we were followed in by Meghan Santiago and Jamie Warren, whose trip was a bit longer, having come all the way from Utica, N.Y. They thought they were booking with Rail Explorers in upstate New York but decided to make a road trip of it, with a stop in Atlantic City. Asked if they would do this again, Meghan answered, "We would - but probably in New York!"

Alex and Mary-Joy are optimistic about establishing a permanent Delaware location, though for now, they'll be back in the Adirondacks from June 18 to Nov. 1. "We'd like to come back [to Delaware] in the spring of 2017 and run a year-round operation," Alex said.

Rail Explorers, 302-601-0888, railexplorers.net.