COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Photographs of railcycles adorn Dr. Richard Smart's life. One of them might just turn a 24-year-old passion for the devices into a successful business.
Snapshots of bicycles adapted to ride on railroad tracks decorate the walls inside Smart's dental office and home. For almost a quarter century he has carried in his wallet a picture of an 1800s railbike he cut from a book, "This Was Railroading," by George B. Abdill.That photo sparked a fascination with the contraptions that led Smart, 54, to form Railcycle Inc. in 1982. The company manufactures modern versions of the century-old idea.
Perhaps the most important railbike photograph in Smart's collection ran in London newspapers last month, when the London Underground debuted one of 10 bikes it purchased from Railcycle for $2,500 each. Engineers and track maintenance workers will use the Railcycles to inspect the Bakerloo section of the world's most famous subway system.
"After 23 years, I think this is my big break," Smart said.
By the end of May, London Underground staff will start a field test of the Railcycle for early morning inspections of the Bakerloo line.
Engineering staff now walk the railway when it is shut down from 1-5 a.m. to check the track between work sites, said Mark Chapman, London Transport press officer.
"This obviously makes much better use of their time and is much easier for them," Chapman said.
Bakerloo manager Gary Day came up with the idea of using railbikes for track inspection two years ago when he viewed a 1950s archive film of one in action. A patent search discovered Railcycle.
If the Underground managers like the Railcycle, London Transport may order another 20 bikes to serve the entire 249-mile Underground system, Chapman said.
Smart said he hopes the exposure Railcycle gets through the London Underground propels the bikes onto railways throughout the world.
The mid-March unveiling of the Railcycle in London got plenty of media attention, said Ernie Erickson, Smart's 24-year-old partner.
Erickson, who joined Railcycle about one year ago, flew from Coeur d'Alene to London to represent the company and was interviewed by about 30 reporters and four British television crews.
Erickson's mission was to promote the Railcycle as a cost-effective, environmentally safe and fun way for inspectors to do their jobs.
"From the way they were talking about it while I was there, all three goals were accomplished," he said.
So far, the London Underground has received no inquiries from other rail operators regarding the Railcycle, Chapman said.
The Underground, however, is keen on the Railcycle concept.
"It certainly has a useful application in an urban-metro environment where the distances are short," Chapman said.
Should other rail operations feel likewise, a dream that started for Smart at his workbench in 1975 will have come true. That vision carried Smart along 18,000 miles of track in the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Ecuador, astride progressive Railcycle prototypes.
Those trips also shunted him and his railbikes onto the pages of numerous magazines, including National Geographic World, Sports Illustrated and People.
Smart's unfailing enthusiasm for the concept attracted Erickson's entrepreneurial spirit and the knowledge he's gained as the parts buyer for Rathdrum-based Heater Craft, the largest manufacturer of marine heaters and showers in Idaho.
Both men's talents, a Spokane, Wash., parts manufacturer and the requirements of the London Underground have transformed a Chinese-made version of a Schwinn ladies' Cruiser into an 85-pound rubber-tired Railcycle that can ride on the streets of London or on the rails beneath them.
All it takes is a few minutes to release latches, extend a telescoping outrigger and hinged magnetic front-wheel guide, and, of course, the faith in a dream.
"I was destined to do this," Smart said. "I'm hoping it will spread to undergrounds and railroads throughout the world. We're starting with the world's oldest and most prestigious."