Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
Revolution Rail in North Creek has added a new, “truly physically demanding” 20-mile, railbike tour, the Boreas River Valley Run, to the northern reaches of its North Creek-Tahawus line.
“Not for the casual rider,” says the website, “this truly physically demanding tour follows the Hudson River, offering stunning views as we pedal northward. This four-hour adventure is perfect for those seeking both physical exertion and the rewards of unspoiled natural beauty.”
The outings begin at 8 a.m. and continue to about noon.
The price for a double railbike is $180. For a quad railbike it’s $320.
Going out, most of the run is at a 1% uphill grade, with the last two miles at a 2% grade, Chief Operations Officer Ed LaScala told The Chronicle, Conversely, coming back is downhill.
The route launches officially in 2025.
Overview of the 20-mile run
Railbikes are specially built human powered “carts” that people peddle on scenic railroad track, in this case into the Adirondacks. This new Boreas run begins at Rev Rail’s Indian Lake launch site.
“After a comprehensive trip briefing, we set off on the historic National Lead freight line tracks,” says the website. “The tour follows the Hudson River, offering stunning views as we pedal northward.
“We’ll cross the iconic trestle bridge at the confluence of the Hudson and Boreas Rivers. We stop to explore John Burroughs Cave,” says the Web.
The tour navigates a rock slide, continues alongside the Boreas River and its Class IV whitewater rapids, on a stretch known as “The Straits.”
“The journey culminates at a serene picnic area where you can relax, dip your toes in the sparkling waters of the Boreas, and take in the untouched wilderness.
“We finish on our railbikes with a pleasant descent all the way back downriver to our original launch point.”
“It’s such a beautiful trip,” Mr. LaScala says. “You really head into a remote area of the Boreas. We stop about four times on the way out,” at scenic locations. “People bring all kinds of snacks and lunch and drinks, because it’s a big trip.”
Revolution Rail, founded in North Creek in 2017: 240,600 riders
Chronicle Managing Editor Cathy DeDe writes: Since its founding in North Creek in 2017, Revolution Rail Co. has had 240,600 riders across the Adirondack lines and more than 350,000 riders overall, Chief Marketing Officer Christine Powers tells The Chronicle. It also operates in Cape May, New Jersey; Kennebunkport, Maine; and South Fork, Colorado.
Rev Rail itself owns 32 miles of track here, the North River to Tahawus line, “basically from about 100 yards north of the North Creek Depot in Warren County,” Mr. LaScala said, to Newcomb, spanning Hamilton and Essex Counties.
As owners of those rail lines, “we are an actual railroad,” Mr. LaScala said.
Rev Rail purchased the Tawahus line in a June 2022 bankruptcy auction, for $2.7 million, with funding from the Open Space Institute.
This came after Doc N Duchess Rails LLC, failed to make the required down payment after purchasing the railway at auction three months earlier.
Rev Rail operates out of North Creek in Warren County, with about 12 runs in the Adirondacks, including the new Boreas route, special evening tours, and several routes on 40 miles of track leased from Warren County. The eight-mile round-trip Thurman run was on pause due to summer storm damage, but was expected back this month, Mr. LaScala said.
Adding the Boreas River Valley Run included “a lot of work,” Mr. LaScala said. “The weed removal was pretty hefty. Nobody had run on this track in years.
“We spent about three weeks” — and $20,000 to $25,000 he estimates — “clearing the additional six-and-a-half miles this run encompasses.
“We have a lot of staff, myself included. We do what needs to be done.”
“We just want to let people know how important the railroad is, it has been and will continue to be, in the Adirondack Park, such a beautiful travel corridor for everybody to share.
Besides Open Space, Mr. LaScala said they partner with the Nature Conservancy, which owns much of the land between the Hudson River and the rail lines.
“They, as do we, want to increase accessibility to those lands.”
Revolution Rail was founded in North Creek in 2017 by Rob Harte, a Burlington, Vt., teacher, with then-business partner Mike Dupree, no longer with the company. “When we started, we had six rail bikes,” Mr. LaScala says. “We now have over 250 rail bikes, and we have seven different locations on which we run throughout the country.”
Re cost & benefit
Some Warren County supervisors have questioned the cost of upkeep of the railway, including $750,000 in repairing washouts after this summer’s storms.
2024 begins Revolution Rail Co.’s new five-year licensing agreement with Warren County, to pay $100,000 annually for use of the County’s 40 miles of railways.
In 2023, they paid $60,000.
Amusements don’t generate sales tax. but Revolution Rail Co. Chief Operations Officer Ed LaScala tells The Chronicle, that “given the number of riders that we brought through last year, many other businesses benefit from the crowds”
Also, Mr. LaScala said, “These rail bike are all manufactured by us, every month.
“All the parts are tooled in Burlington, Vermont, and then we assemble the bikes for all our locations across the country in North Creek. We operate 12 months out of the year in the workshop. We have I believe 12 full-time employees in North Creek.”
Mr. LaScala adds, “What people don’t realize, is that when we when we bought the track…not only did we pay back over a quarter-million dollars of property and school tax that was owed all these communities — Essex County, Hamilton County and Warren County — but we continue to pay school and property tax,” mostly in Essex and Hamilton Counties, where it owns the most property.
“We’re a member of the community, wherever we run rail bikes,” he says.
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