Four railroad work cars known as "speeders" recently traveled the rails to the Kinzua Bridge State Park in preparation for a private excursion later this month. The Northern Central Railcar Association is planning the excursion for Oct. 25-26 from Marienville to the state park near Mt. Jewett.

“Speeders” are coming to ride the rails of the Knox and Kane Railroad.

Owners of railroad work and inspection cars known as “speeders” are planning a private excursion Oct. 25-26 on the tracks between Marienville and Kinzua Bridge State Park.

Between 25 and 30 privately-owned “speeders” are expected for the excursion, Shrey said. He said the two and four-seat “speeders” would be coming from seven states and Canada for the Knox and Kane Railroad trip.

The group plans to ride the rails Saturday, Oct. 25 from Marienville to Kane and back. The trip resumes Sunday, Oct. 26 from Kane to the Kinzua Bridge State Park near Mt. Jewett and back.

The first leg of Saturday’s trip will end at the shuttered depot on Biddle Street (Route 6).

Sunday’s excursion will begin on the railroad tracks near Kane Area High School on Route 321. The group plans to stop at the state park for a picnic lunch before returning to Kane, Shrey said.

Residents are invited to take photos and inspect the small railcars.

This excursion will be the first on the railroad tracks in four years. The Knox and Kane Railroad once operated a tourist train from Marienville to the state park with a stop in Kane. In 2003 and 2004, the trips started and ended in Kane.

The highlight of the train excursion was the crossing of the Kinzua Bridge, which at one time was the highest in the world. After a tornado toppled the midsection of the bridge in 2003, passenger counts dropped. Service was discontinued after the 2004 season.

A liquidation auction was held last weekend to sell off the railroad’s “rolling stock.”

The Kovalchick Corporation, a large scrap dealer from Indiana, Pa, owns the tracks and other rail properties.

Shrey said his organization plans “several” railroad excursions each year. This is the first railcar excursion on the Knox and Kane Railroad tracks.

“It’s not that we didn’t try,” Shrey said. “We were never given permission before.” He said the organization maintains its own insurance and “pays a fee” to use the railroad tracks for its excursions.

Shrey said members of the association would transport their railcars to Marienville and Kane on trailers. The trailers will be unloaded at crossings where the railcars can access the tracks. While traveling on the tracks, the “speeders” will stop at rail crossings until vehicle traffic clears, Shrey said.

The work and inspection cars are known as “speeders” because they travel faster than the old “hand-pumped” rail units. Pickup trucks equipped with a set of “hi-rail” steel wheels for dual use on railroad tracks replaced the “speeders,” which have two-cycle or four-cycle gasoline engines.

Shrey and some friends visited the Kane area last month for a recognizance trip over the tracks from Marienville to the state park.

Riding their “speeders,” they stopped to clean dirt from crossings and moved fallen tree branches to make the tracks “passable,” Shrey said.

In some places over the route, tall weeds are growing between the rails.

“If you don’t want to drive through brush or weeds, don’t come,” Shrey said in a message to railcar association members. “The scenery will more than make up for the inconveniences.”

If all goes well, Shrey hopes to plan another railcar excursion next year.

The fate of the tracks is in limbo. Successful bidders at the auction have until July 1, 2009 to remove their purchased rail cars and other equipment. There is speculation that Kovalchick will tear up the tracks for scrap unless someone comes forward to operate rail freight service or another tourist train.