Elizabeth and I awoke at the Blue Ridge Comfort Inn and after our morning preparations, checked out and went to the Waffle House for an excellent breakfast then parked in the same parking lot as yesterday. We walked over to the station and went inside the caboose to get our tickets and sign the wavier.
Blue Ridge Scenic Rail Bikes Pedal Your Way Through Blue Ridge, GeorgiaEmbark on a new and exciting journey through the Blue Ridge Countryside aboard a custom-built, four-person electric Rail Bike! Sit back and explore as you leisurely pedal your motor-assisted rail bike through the foothills of North Georgia. Leave the depot in historic downtown Blue Ridge and begin a 11 mile round-trip adventure as you meander alongside streams, vineyards, and the tall, swaying Georgia pines. Halfway through your trip, your friendly guide will pause the tour to allow you to snap some photos of the local flora and fauna. Recharged and refreshed, you'll bike back to the historic Blue Ridge depot, taking along memories that will last forever. Come explore with us today! Our rail bikes operate March through Nov 26th, allowing you to capture spring, summer and fall in beautiful Blue Ridge, Ga.
Railbike features are made in the USA, have aluminium frame, stainless steel axles, motor-operated, state-of-the-art seats, hydraulic braking system, custom-built fenders, adjustable seat belts, polyurethane wheels and oil-less chains. This group started operations in September 2023.
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The Blue Ridge Scenic Rail Bike emblem. We bought T-shirts that said "I survived 11 miles Blue Ridge Rail Bikes".
Our rail bike.
Before we started, Josh gave everyone a safety briefing and instructions on how to operate the rail bikes. All the rail bikes seat four people so Elizabeth and I sat in the front and another couple in the rear. We then waited to leave Blue Ridge for our southerly journey on the railroad. I had been as far as Tate and this would be new rail mileage for Elizabeth.
The threesome in front of us.
That bike took off before it was our turn to leave.
We headed out into the forest.
The first curve on this raiilroad.
We aproached the whistle board for a crossing at which we had to stop.
A tractor was fixing the road.
This crossing we did not stop.
The US Highway 76 bridge that we went under.
The group bunched up for the next crossing where we stopped and had to flag across it.
After that crossing, we followed the leaders.
Rolling through the northern Georgia forest.
A covered bridge that someone built on their property.
Pedalling down this railroad.
Enjoy your ride and tip your guides.
Rounding a curve.
Riding down a straight piece of track.
Rounding the next curve.
Another piece of straight track.
The 399 Milepost sign.
It was noticeably cooler in the shaded areas.
An unknown lake.
We went down this straight track then curved to our 5.5 mile turn-around point.
Here all the rail bikes were turned for the return journey to Blue Ridge. There was a portable washroom and a cooler of bottled water, which was very welcome. The other couple on our bike asked if we could switch places and it was a easy trip back to Blue Ridge as the motor was used and we did not have to pedal as much as we did coming here.
My former favourite drink on this building.
A concrete mileage signpost.
We bunched up at the crossing where Josh and Lucas gave both area history and railroad history.
That unknown covered bridge.
Concrete Milepost 397.
One of the telegraph poles along our route. The trip back was very relaxing as the motor did most of the work. We returned to Blue Ridge and thanked the crew for an excellent trip aboard the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad Rail Bikes.
Elizabeth drove us south to Jasper where we stopped at the station there, not realizing we would see it again in a couple of days.
Louisville and Nashville Jasper station built in 1920. The restored long white gabled combination wood depot contained offices but is now a quilting business. Jasper, the county seat of Pickens County, was incorporated in 1857 as a town and as a city one hundred years later. It was named for William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero.
From here, Elizabeth drove us to Tate.
Louisville and Nashville Tate station built in 1916. The town includes the main quarries of the Georgia Marble Company, founded by Samuel Tate in 1884.
A surprise was former Via Rail steam generator 15444, nee Canadian National 15444, built by Canadian Car and Foundry in 1956.
Dequeen and Eastern GP38-2 D-32, ex. Larry's Truck and Electric D-32, exx. Norfolk Southern 504, nee Southern 5043, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1972.
I then drove us to Duluth, where we first went to Jersey Mike's and then to the Best Western Plus Sugarloaf Hotel for the night.
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