Times
they are a-changing
SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
BUT MOSTLY MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS - Peter
Steve Crise
Prior to our trip the San Diego & Arizona Railroad cleared 6 feet of sand off the rails just for us Their speeder follows the group for support.
At 70 I'm probably the oldest active railbiker and one of the most independent non-socializers to boot. Not that I don't like you guys, you're all the greatest, and I mean that sincerely. I wouldn't have missed any of our group rides for the world and the friend-
ships we have established. But I get a higher thrill riding by myself. Maybe being an only child had something to do with this, or being 75% conversationally deaf in both ears. Or maybe its being way out there by myself, alone but not lonely, self-reliant but on the edge, the unknown a constant companion, and loving every minute of it, both the hardships and the good times.
So what does this have to do with anything? Well, you'd be right in assuming I'd be the last to give up my independent railbiking for organized group runs. But, times are a-changing.
I survived the week-end, but I got the message. Somebody up there was watching out for me.
At my age I'm not going to push my luck any further. In the future, I will only ride on a crash-proof bike,
such as a Whitey or Michael Rhode design, and I will not ride active railroads unless I have received permission first. Wow! What's this world coming
to?
Morgan, Arne and Peter and a friendly support
crewman on the San Diego & Arizona Railroad.
John Vander Ven arranged a ride for us on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. About 15 riders attended.
Here Dick Smart and friend pose with the railroad
speeder in the background.
Living in Beaverton, Oregon, I'm a fan of the Portland Trailblazers. The team has acquired a bad moral reputation over the past several years, and has been dubbed, not lovingly, the "Jailblazers". Many folks won't have much to do with them even though they have cleaned up their act. Kind of like railbikers. I bet the railroads think of us as "jailbikers", and it will take some effort to gain their trust and acceptance, if it can be done at all.
I'm a pessimist by nature, but there have been past opportunities. Most recently, two occurrences happened, one of which we may have blown, the other offering hope. A tourist railroad employee said we could have gained permission to ride if we had asked. But since we were in the process of being "caught" and the incident reported to railroad officials, the
chance of approaching them now is most likely a dead (They were not happy with us!).
Shortline and tourist railroads and their employees talk amoung themselves. The railbiking incident that happened last month may have been passed on to other railroads making it tougher
yet to get permission in the future.
A railbiking couple in Lewiston, Idaho, who several of us just met, were talking with people
connected to the new owner of the Camas Prairie Grangeville line. The gist of the conversation
was permission to railbike was likely possible, if we asked. If this was the only line I could ride for the rest of my life, I would be more than happy. Yes, I know, you guys have longer to live than I do. But only if you're careful!
There are over 100 tourist lines in this country. Two have given us permission in the past.
Another in Washington state gave John Vander Ven permission but since the line was only a
few miles long it wasn't ridden. How many of these lines would grant us permission if
responsibly approached? Also, several short lines have allowed railbiking through commercial
adventures. Michael Rhode has run railbiking tours on 4 Oregon lines that I know of; The Port
of Tillimook, the Astoria line, the Lake Oswego Trolly line and a segment of trackage adjacent
to, but not part of, the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. These lines have had a positive relationship
with Michael's endeavors, and may be open granting group railbike permission. Possibly these
How about this for railbiking support!
This railbus was provided by the San Diego & Arizona for our 3 day group ride. It hauled gallons
of Gator Aid and water plus food to get us through
106 degree desert heat.
The speeder clubs are less likely to be of assistance. And you can't blame them. They have
worked for many years to get their runs approved by the railroads, and railbikers go out and
trespass without permission. The speeder people, for the most part, are against us because
our lawlessness jeopardizes their efforts and use of the rails.
I have had direct experience with one of the west coast's major speeder clubs. As a guest of
a couple of speeder owners I accompanied them on a run of the Nevada Northern. When we
arrived at the half way point in Shafter, Nevada, we camped for the night. The next morning
the speeder group was preparing to head back to their starting point in Ely. I however, had
my railbike and planned to railbike back. I put the railbike on the tracks well to the rear of the
speeder group but when spotted it caused such a commotion I was adamantly ordered to take it off the tracks. Some of the group were very upset and concerned the railroad would think I was a part of their group. Take into account this location is in the middle of the Nevada desert a 100 miles from the railroad offices and you can get a feeling for the depth of their concern and animosity.
Although there are supporters among speeder owners for railbiking, the majority of the club
members are vehemently against including railbikers in their organizations. And realistically,
if you have ever been on a speeder run, I doubt you would like the regimentation, the long
organizational set-on times, the required safety meetings, the politics and the parade-style runs. And here is very little opportunity for spontaneity or freedom once the run has started.
In my view, the best hope is for us to work directly with the tourist railroads and shortlines.
Doing so would probably require a formal organization to prove legitimacy and provide
a responsible entity. Proof of some kind of liability insurance would probably be required.
Wether or not individual insurance would suffice I don't know. Our group was able to get
one time coverage for our ride on the San Diego & Arizona. The group policy was based on
the number of participants and the number of days of the event (3). As I remember, the cost
was $600. It worked out to $50 each total for the three days. To repeat that ride, I would gladly
pay multiple times that amount. We might even be asked to pay a useage fee by the railroad,
which probably would be minimal although this was not the case in the prevous two events.
Now, I don't ask or expect any of you to
change your current practices. Honestly, if
I were younger I probably wouldn't entirely
change mine. But perhaps, if we could present
a responsible and safety oriented front through
a railbike organization, we could approach a
few railroads and see what happened. If we
gained a success or two, we could use those
examples to gain further approvals. It's a
beginning point. Arne's idea of clean-up work-
parties on railbikes is an excellent idea.
We also need to network with people
connected to or involved with tourist railroads
and shortlines. A foot in the door is
sometimes all it takes for success. We have
friends who have contacts or relationships
with railroad people. We could pursue them
if we had a plan and an organization, even if
only a skeleton structure already in place.
It's possible too, we might find the tourist railroads would be interested in establishing
railbike touring that's so popular in Europe. We have plenty of examples of these. Check the
links on the Index page.
So my friends, what are your thoughts? Should we make the attempt to secure places
to ride legally, safely and without trepidation while most of our opportunities are disappearing?
Or do we continue along our present course riding where and when we please, if illegally, and foreget about being legit? Or - can we do both???
You don't have to share your thoughts in the Insider, although you are encouraged to do so.
But please, lets get some dialog going and kick around some ideas, at least through the medium of group email. Or, how about using the attached Guest Book, we can carry on a dialog there.
You don't have to put in more than your first name if you would rather not fill out the form. If you need an email list of trusted Insider railbikers, drop me a line. In either case, please speak out.
Recently I had several railbiking experiences which have altered my outlook entirely. On one weekend in October I barely missed death riding my railbike on the highway to escape being caught by a highrider, and later had two bad crashes on the rails, one which was only a few inches from possible fatal consequences. That same weekend our group came within minutes of putting on the tracks just ahead of an approaching tourist train.
railroads would grant us permission in the
future, or provide references to other railroads.
One of Michael Rhode's custom built reclining bikes
on a run on the Lake Oswego Trolly line in between
Portland and Lake Oswego, Oregon.
