Revolution Rail is a company offering
railroad pedal cars to ride the rails. The company has two locations: Cape May,
NJ and near Lake George, NY. My family and I visited their Lake George
location. The rail cars have two and four seat versions. Everyone can assist
with pedaling but only one person operates the brakes.
The cars operate on a leased section of
track where there aren’t any regular trains. I typically ride on rail-trails
and was not impressed with the scenery on this corridor. It was a fun
experience and it was nice to do with my family who do not regularly ride. At
one point in the ride I was chastised for pedaling too fast. I replied I was
not the only one pedaling. Together they replied … yes … you are.
As you can imagine with this set up you
can only go as fast as the car in front of you since you can not pass. You also
must be careful of the car in front unexpectedly slowing. Riders are instructed
to use hand signals to warn the car behind you if you slow.
The ride is an out and back. At the far
end riders get off and stretch near the river. The guides use the time to place
each car on a turntable and reverse direction. The experience was a fun time
with the whole family. Several other companies are offering or planning to
offer this type of ride in other locations. I have heard there is one operating
in the redwood forest in California. I will be adding that to my to do list for
sure.
Here is a small sampling of companies doing this. Many have multiple locations. If you don't see one near you or your destination do a Google search. More companies are starting up all over.
https://hoborr.com/rail-bike-adventures/
https://www.skunktrain.com/railbikes/
https://www.railexplorers.net/locations
Here is a short YouTube clip: https://youtu.be/ZQj5Agnmbgs
