READY TO PEDAL
Rail Explorers launches rail bike attraction on tracks between Phoenicia and Boiceville on May 26
PHOENICIA, N.Y. » A new way to ride the rails is coming to Ulster County later this month, but unlike the trains that once ran along the tracks along the Esopus, the passengers will now travel along the former Ulster and Delaware rail line under their own steam.
Rail Explorers Corp. will launch its rail bike attraction on the Ulster County-owned tracks between Phoenicia and
“It’s unique, it’s outdoors, it’s something that the whole family can do.” — Andrea McHuth, senior communications manager for Discover Newport, Rhode Island’s tourism organization
Boiceville on May 26.
And already, the attraction’s opening day is sold out, said Michelle Davis, the division manager who will run the Ulster County operation.
Davis said the company expects to have three quad, or four-person bikes, and four tandem or two-person bikes, enough for 20 people on each tour. She said the company expects to run tours seven days a week through the end of October.
The company, owned by Mary Lu and Alex Catchpoole was selected by the county in 2016 to operate a rail bike tour operation on the western portion of the corridor.
Ulster County’s operation is the company’s fourth location. The company was forced to shut down its Adriondack operation after its 2016 season because the state intends to convert that stretch of track into a multiuse trail and it shut down its operation in the state of Delaware. However, according to its website, it hopes to reopen that line in 2019.
The company currently offers rail bike tours in Las Vegas in the spring and two separate rail bike excursions in Rhode Island.
“It’s unique, it’s outdoors, it’s something that the whole family can do,” said Andrea McHuth, senior communications manager for Discover Newport, Rhode Island’s tourism organization. “It’s really hitting home with audiences because it’s multigenerational, you don’t have to be an athlete to do it and you’re outside, unplugged and just enjoying nature.”
“As a tourism aspect, it’s really been tremendous, it’s been really well received from the public,” she said, adding that in 2017 the company had 27,000 riders.
Davis said the rail bikes have four steel wheels, brakes and pedals for each seat. Because the steel wheels will ride on steel rails the vehicles, Davis said the bikes will glide along the rails easily and with no steering.
“Because they are so easy to operate they really are multigenerational,” said Davis. “Our oldest rider was 96 years old.
The new operation will run on the western portion of the county owned Ulster & Delaware rail corridor section of track that had formerly been used by the Catskill Mountain Railroad for scenic train rides. The Catskill Mountain Railroad still runs a tourist train in Kingston.
Although the company was awarded a five-year contract by the county in 2016 to being operations in 2017, that plan was derailed due to a washout along the tracks that the county has not repaired and complaints from neighbors near the planned Cold Brook Road terminus in Boiceville worried that the additional traffic on their road would be disruptive. Originally, the company had planned for riders to disembark on Cold Brook Road and be taken by shuttle bus back to Phoenicia.
Now, the excursion will be a round-trip ride, starting at the Empire State Railway Museum and turning around just before Cold Brook Road.
Chris White, deputy director of the Ulster County Planning Department, said as a result of that change, rather than pedaling along 6.2 miles of track, riders will travel 4.2 miles, dismount from the bikes while Rail Explorer staff turn the bikes around on a special turntable installed just for that purpose, then pedal back 4.2 miles to the Empire State Railway Museum.
“There’s a little area where they’re going to have picnic tables so now, people are going to stop and be able to enjoy the scenery while the bikes are being turned around,” White said.
White said that to compensate for the fact that the return trip will be slightly uphill, Rail Explorers have had pedal-assist motors installed on all the bikes.
As a result of the shortened route and loss of the 2017 season, the county renegotiated its contract with the firm. Under the original plan, the company had access to the tracks for five years ending in 2021 and would have paid to the county, over the course of those five years $122,160. Under the amended agreement, Rail Explorers can run on the line through 2022, and will pay over the course of that time at total of $82,711.90 to the county.
Davis said the company expects to hire between 30 and 35 employees for the seasonal operation.