Riding The Rails

Yesterday, Julia, Bruce, Larry and I all took a historic ride on the Erie, Colorado rail line, but not on a train. We rode and pedaled along the tracks on a rail bike, at Colorado Railbike Adventures. Not only was this a brand new adventure for all of us, but it is a brand new adventure offered in Erie as well. They just started operating on Memorial Day of this year. Even though it was HOT, HOT, HOT, we all had so much fun.

We got there early and took advantage of the extra time for pictures.

While we were waiting for our adventures to begin, we were busy taking a lot of pictures. We saw tons of grasshoppers.

We even saw a little toad or frog in the parking lot. He was all of maybe a couple of inches big at most. Based on my findings, I think it is a juvenile Colorado River Toad.

Rail bikes, in their various forms, have been around since 1880. Railbikes were once used by railroad companies for track checking, moving workers at work sites as well as going for assistance when the locomotives broke down. Telegraph companies also used railbikes to maintain telegraph lines that often followed railways. In the Midwest and other regions with sufficient winds, workers using railbikes sometimes put up sails to power them along the tracks.

There are all kinds of games people can play while waiting to ride the rails, but we opted out of the games, and saved those for later, due to the heat.

The rail lines have been in Colorado, and specifically Erie, for 150 years, when the Erie Coal Train was used by early settlers once they found coal in Coal Park. The rail lines are owned by RTD (Rapid Transit District) but the rail lines haven’t been used since 2002, until now. These are the 2nd oldest rail lines in Colorado, dating back to 1871.

Coal is what built Erie – so much so that the original name for our little town was Coal Park. Early settlers in the area in the 1860’s found coal in surface deposits and exposed seams along Coal Creek. This discovery opened up the western edge of the vast Northern Colorado Coalfield that would help fuel the growth of our state. Local entrepreneurs were digging holes and staking out mining claims around town almost from the beginning. In 1866 Ira Austin found a large coal seam east of town which developed into the Briggs Mine—the first commercial coal mine in the valley. For the next decade, the Briggs Mine was the largest coal producer in the state. Erie was laid out in 1871 and named after Erie, Pennsylvania with the promise of becoming the new “coal town” of the West.

All that coal was of little value without a way to move it to markets—Denver for factories and homes, Brighton for railroads, Boulder and into the mountains to power hardrock mining and precious metal recovery. The race for railroad connections was on! When the transcontinental railroad was completed through Cheyenne (1869), it was quickly followed by the Denver Pacific (Denver to Cheyenne) connection in 1870. Since Erie was the center of coal production at the time, the new railroad built a spur from the mainline in Brighton west to Erie, and the first coal trains starting rolling over the Denver and Boulder Valley Railroad by 1871. In just a few years (1873) the line stretched west through Canfield, Leyner, and on to Boulder.

The Boulder Valley Railroad was absorbed by the Union Pacific in 1880 and continued to serve the mines and towns along the route for many years. In the early 1900’s the UP operated motorcars along this route providing passenger service between Boulder and Denver through Erie. Over a 100-year period the Northern Colorado Coalfield yielded more than 100 million tons of coal carried in coal trains along this line. One of the last mines to close was the Eagle Mine, near the intersection of Erie Parkway and I-25. By 2002, the UP ended freight service and eventually sold their right-of-way and tracks to the Regional Transportation District for future development as urban public transit. For now, you can enjoy riding the Erie Coal Train route on a railbike.

The four of us had our own rail bike, that was completely pedaled by us. Here are the pictures of our tour. Before we left, Conductor Bob, also one of the owners, gave us a short little history and outline of what to expect.

And our view. I thought I knew Erie pretty well, considering I worked in Erie for 9 years, but I learned a lot of new things about Erie on this fun little excursion. I knew Erie, though growing by leaps and bounds, still has a lot of rural farmland all about. I literally watched Erie grow from just cornfields to what is is fast becoming today. Erie is only about 20 minutes or so away from us, but it seems like a whole different world.

This sign is telling us we are 24 miles from the Denver Station.

There was a break in the tracks for the road, so we had to wait for traffic to stop before we could cross.

The sign for the Boulder Valley Mine, open in 1870.

We are at the end of the track. Everyone had to get off while the rail bikes were being turned around to head back to the station.

Headed back. All Aboard!

The Colorado Rail Bike Adventure tour is a fun thing to do for the whole family. We all had a great time on it, and you will too. Book your adventures in advance.

4121 County Road 3, Erie, CO 80516, Email: Info@GoRailbike.com, Phone: 303-351-2800

After our fun experience, we all went to Georgia Boys Georgia Boys BBQ – The Best BBQ in Town for BBQ in Longmont, after, then came back to our house for more fun and games. It was a great day spent with great friends. This is exactly how life is meant to be. 🙂 Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.