Tom Crawford, IHE Registrar

If you have never been on a speeder ride through the Niles Canyon you are truly missing something. For those who don’t know what a speeder is, it’s a small gasoline engine powered “car” that runs on standard rails. Riding on one is an absolute blast!

The group that owns the speeders takes them all over the place. It’s like a motorcycle gang on rails. (Okay, I’m joking, but you got the idea.)

Enough speeder owners have volunteered their speeder so that we can have 15 people for each time slot.

The rides are on Thursday, April 4, and run times will be 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:00 PM starting at the Niles Canyon Railway’s Sunol Station. The rides are $25. We will carpool to the Station.

You can see a YouTube video of a velocipede in action here. By the way, the popping you hear in the video is not the velocipedes, but rather another rail car.In addition to the speeders we will also have two velocipedes and one hand pump car to operate in the Niles Station area while you are waiting for the speeders rides, or when you get back.

Speeder riders must wear long pants and closed shoes, preferably not tennis shoes. They will also be required to sign two legal releases, one for the speeders and one for the railroad.

To sign up for the speeder rides, you must be signed up for the Iron Horse Express 2013 Convention. Sign up for the convention, and the speeder rides, at the convention website under “Outside Activities.”

There are a limited number of speeders and seats. Whatever spaces are not sold by March 1 will be opened to the public.