Potpourri June 2001
From Tom W.
Pennsylvaina
On the route of "The Pheobe Snow", the first passenger service to use hard anthracite coal.
The logo for this service was a woman dressed in all white, expressing how she had no fear of being soiled
because or the clean burning Pennsylvania coal.
This line is now abandoned but in excellent condition because of a temporary reopening five years ago. Rumor has it that it again may be reopened for passenger service between New York City and Mount Pocono. Staying on this line will take you to "Steamtown" in Scranton. Once a roundhouse in anthracite country, now a National Park. A must see for any railfan.
Railbikers - make the pilgrimage! Start in Analomink just north of East Stroudsburg and be prepared to climb an unrelenting hill. The reward for your effort? The ride back down.
My bike utilizes a modified Railriders DF200 on an attachment of my own design. The outrigger is similar to the one I was using in Bob Mellin's "Railbike" book, except the handtruck wheel was replaced with a much lighter wheelchair caster wheel.
Left: The beautifully restored Cresco station, half way to Mt Pocono from Analomink
The beaurty, the quiet, all ended where the tracks converge in this picture. The silence was broken by the clatter of derailment and the sounds of cursing. The rails were covered by a glaze of ice. A flanged four-wheel railbike would have saved the day. Maybe....
From Eric D.
New England
Erics' railbike has an aluminum frame and weighs about 100 bls. The three riders' positions are fully adjustable, and each rider has a four speed transmission with handlever operated brake.
The wheels are Ron Forester polyurethane with special aluminum reinforcement to make them stronger and stiffer.
Eric carries the bike on the
Eric and his wife Joli and their two sons (who seem to be having the most fun on this outing).
top of his Chrylser minivan and can get it on and off the tracks by himself, if necessary.
"I have ridden this and an earlier two man bike with smaller aluminum wheels for the last ten years on all sorts of track all over New England," says Eric. "I have ridden much of the Calais line in Maine, the Crafword Notch in the White Mountains before it was re-opened by the Conway Scenic Tourist Railroad, and many other lines too numerouse to mention here. I would say I know tracks in New England like the back of my hand. If a track is to be abandoned, I try to get on it before it becomes too overgrown. The big advantage of the four flanged wheel design is its ruggedness over poor and overgrown track.
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From Peter
Oregon
One of the most beautiful shortlines in the country is the Coos Bay Branch of the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad. It runs between Eugene in the interior Willamette Valley, crosses the coast range and follows the Sislaw River to Florence on the Coast, then south along several lakes to Reedsport. Crossing the Umpqua River it winds south through forested canyons, again along the shores of several lakes to Lakeside, where it crosses Highway 101 and continues through vast sand dunes and tidal lagoons, terminating in Coos Bay,
Along the shores of Siltcoos Lake many of the inlets are filled with huge floating islands of lilly pads (above bicyle saddle).
The coastal forests are thick and shady and support
Pine, Fur, Cypress, Redwood, Maple and Birch trees.
once one of the largest logging ports on the Oregon. Here logs were floated down the rivers and held in the sloughs in pens that extended for miles upon miles.
The line is active, but traffic is very light, sometimes only 3 or 4 trains per week. Schedules vary and
are hard to tie down. A morning train will leave Coos Bay early and
return late evening. Many of the
trestles are very long and have absolutely no spare room on either side. A meeting on one of these
crossings might mean loosing your bike in the lake! Bring goggles and a wet suit.
There are several sections of the line that are vertually uninhabited and may be ridden out of public eye.
Only an occasional rancher or a few fishermen along the lakes may be encountered.
Many of the lakes are filled with "Bloom" in the early summer, an algae that colors the lake a swampy green in the stiller inlet waters.
No room to spare! About 14 inches from rail to jumping off point. The Large timber on the far
right is deceptive. It is not at tie level but about
five feet lower. Once out on one of these longs trestles your imagination always hears a train comming. Man the life boats!
Safety is the watchword here, so make sure you get up to date daily train schedules before attempting any portion of this line. And be aware, Oregon has some very strick railroad trespass laws.
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