Pedaling Through History with Revolution Rail
We’re treated twice to this view of the rapids at the intersection of the Hudson and Sacandaga rivers — going out and coming back.
I'd been wanting for years to see what railbiking is all about. For as long as I've been writing for the Warren County Planning Department, I've been driving by Revolution Rail’s stations in North Creek, Hadley, and Thurman and thinking, "I've got to try that."
Finally, I did. The timing was perfect, my first ride coming on an unseasonably warm October day with the greens, yellows, reds and bronzes of fall still brilliant. Rounding up friends, we filled three "quads" in the pedal-powered convoy that left Hadley station on Wednesday's 2:30 run, heading south toward the intersection of the Hudson and Sacandaga rivers and the 90-foot bridge that spans it.
The story of how we came to be riding these tracks is long and remarkable, starting with Thomas Durant and his construction of the Adirondack Railroad between Saratoga Springs and North Creek in the six years that immediately followed the end of the Civil War. In executing that impressive project in exchange for 700,000 acres of prime Adirondack forest, Durant made the transport of tourists and freight in and out the Adirondacks easy and thereby created what today we call the First Wilderness.
We tell that story here. It's worth a quick read if you opt to railbike out of any of Revolution Rail's three stations. On every Revolution Rail tour, a guide provides a quick overview at the turn-around during your railbiking tour.
Most of the Hadley run passes through woods.
To boil it down, the Delaware & Hudson bought the Adirondack Railroad in the early 1900s and continued to run locomotives on these tracks until the economies of cars and trucks forced the closure of the Adirondack branch in 1989. Warren County bought the 40 miles of track that run between Corinth and North Creek in the early 1990s, and for a time the Saratoga & North Creek Railway offered scenic train rides on the line.
Revolution Rail Founder and CEO Robert Harte entered this picture in 2017. Fascinated by trains since he was a child, he worked for a time with a railbiking startup in Saranac Lake and came out of the experience with what he considered to be a better railbike design. In a garage in Burlington, Vermont — where he was teaching high school students Shakespeare and drama — he assembled six railbikes to be tested at the North Creek station.
"I thought this would be small summer gig—an operation of just six bikes I would run through the summer while continuing to teach. But it quickly became much bigger than I had ever imagined."
A video of an early ride went viral on Facebook, racking up millions of views in just two weeks.
"Calls poured in, and my phone barely stopped buzzing," Harte recalls. "To meet demand, I worked non-stop to build more rail bikes, adding to our fleet throughout the summer. By the end of that first season, we had expanded to 12 rail bikes, and by now, most of our locations accommodate 16 rail bikes each, supporting up to 40 passengers."
We can look forward in 2025 to this 20-mile ride along the Boreas River. Click the photo for details.
In addition to New York's three stations, we now also can ride Harte’s rail bikes in New Jersey from a station in Cape May, in Maine out of Kennebunkport, and in Colorado out of South Fork.
"Over time, I realized that to maintain quality and ensure safety, we would have to manufacture everything ourselves," Harte says. "At our shop in Burlington, we do everything in-house—machining the wheels, casting the seats, and assembling the bikes. We now have a fully vertically integrated operation that allows us to maintain control over design and production."
Harte emphasizes collaboration, education, and stewardship as among Revolution Rail's core values.
"Each experience includes a bit of history about the area, offering riders a mix of education, exercise, and fresh air," he says. "It’s a way of preserving the historical narrative of railroads while adding a modern twist."
On our two-hour excursion out of Hadley, I was impressed by the ease with which the four of us could pedal. The route was entirely flat but for a half-mile stretch at the end where the tracks tilted almost imperceptibly upward, making the pedals slightly more challenging to push. On the return trip, this tilt became more noticeable as we accelerated to what felt like about 20 miles per hour. We were moving at a good clip, which was fun.
For families with kids, seats as I write are still available in North Creek this Saturday and Sunday on Pumpkin Patch Pedals and on the Haunted Rail Bike Experience on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Runs will be offered through Sunday, November 3, out of Hadley and Thurman. Tours may run out of North Creek as late as the third week of November if the weather remains unseasonably warm, says Harte.
Assisted by the Open Space Institute, Revolution Rail acquired for $2.7 million the 29.6 stretch of track that, built by National Lead during World War II to haul titanium ore mined at Tahawus, runs along the Boreas River. With this acquisition, the company plans in 2025 to offer a four-hour 20-mile Boreas River Valley Run that starts from Indian Lake, crosses the iconic trestle bridge at the confluence of the Hudson and Boreas Rivers, and follows the Class IV whitewater rapids known as "The Straits."
For four straight years, Revolution Rail has been honored with a Tripadvisors Travelers Choice Award, which says they consider it to be among the top 10 percent of attractions around the world. After Wednesday’s experience, it’s easy to see why.
