Railbike review: Scott Sander and family test new Nickel Plate ride

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — “It’s like a paddle boat on railroad tracks!”

With that spirited sales pitch, the queen of the Sander clan informed her minions that we would soon be propelling ourselves north, with nothing but our legs and a sense of adventure to move us.

Once the customary whining and eye-rolling from the rest of us ebbed, one of younger, stronger, and wiser family members paused and said, “That actually looks pretty cool.”

Thus began a memorable morning on a 4-mile stretch of one of Hamilton County’s oldest treasures. Railbike rides are now rolling through the Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad.

The railbikes feature four seats, four sets of pedals, and four steel-wrapped wheels spaced to fit the track gauge perfectly. Fitting for a modern mode of travel, they also have cupholders and baskets for storing phones, coats, coolers, and other personal items.

A company out of Pennsylvania produces the bikes, which are called Rail Gliders. The Nickel Plate Express says the ones at Hobbs Station in Noblesville are the first in use in Indiana.

“During warmer months we wanted to offer a one-of-a-kind experience in Indiana through the railbike program,” NPX Executive Director Emily Reynolds said while announcing the bike plans earlier this year. “This program seemed like the perfect complement to our regular rail excursions.”

There are two pedal-powered routes ready and running:

• The White River Family Cruise offers a short trip from the station to downtown Noblesville. There, riders can stop for shopping or a bite to eat before pedaling back home. Round trip price is $30.

• A longer journey, called Forest Park Rail Adventure heads four miles north, ending just shy of Cicero. It’s $45 for the trip.

The Sander family took the “Adventure” ride.

Boarding was simple and straightforward. It took two steps up and over the rail to climb “all aboard”.

The seats each slide forward or back to fit the size of the rider. (One tip my toes learned the hard way: if you have size 13 feet or larger, choose one of the two front seats; the rear footwall is tighter, so each pedal stroke either scrapes a heel or taps the seat of the rider in front. The front seats have plenty of room.)

The ride started with instructions from enthusiastic crew members. They explained how to signal a stop, how much room to give the car in front, and what we should do where the rails cross streets. An NPX worker drove ahead of the group, flag in hand, to make sure the cars on the roads and those on the rails got along safely.

The “Adventure” journey is 8 miles in all. At the halfway point, while riders rest in Adirondack chairs, the NPX team prepares the cars for the return trip. It’s an ingenious process. Instead of picking the cars up and turning them around, the team simply spins the seats around and redirects the gearing of the pedals. Within seconds, the car is ready for its southbound run.

Organizers are confident that guests of all fitness levels can handle the ride.

The ‘outbound’ direction has a slight uphill grade, so we found it to be slightly more challenging than the return trip. In comparison, the southbound ride was a literal and figurative breeze: the pedaling was easier, so we went a little faster, creating a gentle breeze that eased the warmth of the midday sun.

Our suggestion for prospective riders would be to watch the forecast closely and pick dry, cool days if possible. We were extremely comfortable on our early morning ride, helped in part by the low sun angle and the woods that line the route.

In the end, the members of our family gave the experience four enthusiastic thumbs up! Long gone was our ‘paddle boat’ skepticism, replaced by laughs, smiles, and memories.

For information about railbike times and availability, click here.