Once In A Lifetime Adventure On The Rails

It was too cold for snakes, but, in a warmer climate, that would have been a consideration.  Snakes like to lie alongside rails when the ambient temperature cools off at night, or during seasonal changes with warm days and cool says.

These fellows really did have the adventure of a lifetime!

I sure would have liked to look through those old stations and equipment. Don

After about 10 miles of that, I believe I would have been thinking "OK, well, I've done that." And my fanny couldn't have taken sitting on one of those bike seats any longer than that, anyway.   Much of the country where they rode is very desolate, and probably got a bit boring after awhile. Spending day after day slowly pedaling across it wouldn't be my cup of tea. A bit risky for older gentlemen, too. In case of a medical emergency during  95% of the trip, you'd be out of luck. Not to mention having a mechanical breakdown of one or more of the bikes in the middle of nowhere. Now what are you going to do? I'd be curious to know what their contingency plans were for such things. I'm sure it was a grand adventure they'll all treasure, though.  (But I  doubt any of them would want to do it again.) 

OK guys, it's time for Friday Funtime!  Which abandoned railroad would you like to railbike the most?  Let's also include the right-of-way where only ghost trains can be seen today.  This of course means riding in an off road vehicle or on foot for the hearty.

Is there any info on the railway they rode on?

John, this line was the only way to get from one village to the next. There were no good roads or cars when the line was built. As roads were improved as well as cars and trucks the line was used less and less. Finally it was closed down. The tourist line is a two hour trip and is very popular. They have over 20 steam engines but most don't operate any more. Parts need to be hand made. Don

Photo from railroad website

The thing I find interesting is that the line is still intact. Given the dry climate it looks like they could start it up at any time. In the US they would have taken up the rails for scrap. I wonder why it was built in the first place. Certainly not just for public service.

John

@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:

OK guys, it's time for Friday Funtime!  Which abandoned railroad would you like to railbike the most?  Let's also include the right-of-way where only ghost trains can be seen today.  This of course means riding in an off road vehicle or on foot for the hearty.

In 2016 I drove west from the Golden Spike site at Promontory along the abandoned Transcontinental Railroad right-of-way, which is now a National Backcountry Byway.  Here are some photos of the right-of-way

It was a long and hot day, when I drove it, so my recommendations are:

1) Make sure you have plenty of gas

2) Make sure you have plenty of water

3) I believe it is about 90 miles from the Golden Spike site until you hit pavement again, so plan on leaving early or spending the night along the way, as there are plenty of places to stop and see/take pictures.

4) and I should say that a high clearance 4wd vehicle is recommended.  

5) lastly, GPS might have been nice.  I don't use it and took a wrong turn (as one cannot always drive on the right-of-way and there are other roads out there that cross the line) and drove a good 10 to 20 miles and had to backtrack.  I have a good sense of direction and eventually found my way back to the right-of-way.  

NWL

John, some of those bridges look like they were just painted. The railroad was built because it's a large country with bad roads in the 1920's. The same reason the U.S. build the railroads. Live stock had to be shipped, dry goods and people. The railroad was the only connection between towns. I closed down in 1993. Don

The fourth member drove a SUV behind them but most of the time the dirt road was a long way away from the railroad. It looks like they had very little contact with the SUV for days. They also carried spare parts on their bikes. I think it was a great adventure for them. Don