Velocipedes of all ages and origins are invited to attend the Ninth National Railway Velocipede Rally at Kingsley & Froghall Station. For owners this will be a chance to operate exclusively on 1.75 miles of track between Froghall and Oakamoor including part of the main line at Froghall Station in between passing trains.

For spectators there is a rare opportunity to see railway velocipedes in action and talk to their owners. The organisers look forward to seeing old friends and hope for some new machines to emerge for a wonderful day out on the beautiful Churnet Valley Railway.

A velocipede is a simple 3-wheeled rail vehicle which the rider propels along the track using his arms and legs. It was invented by George Sheffield to get to work by unofficially riding on the tracks of the Michigan Central Railway in the hours of darkness. One evening he found a broken rail and by borrowing a lantern from a local farm, he stopped an approaching train and prevented a derailment and loss of life.

News of his nocturnal velocipeding was out but the railway company was grateful for his prompt action and allowed his use of their tracks, also asking him to build another velocipede for the Michigan Central.

His patent was issued on 11 March 1879 and according to the Scientific American of 3 November 1883, 4000 of these machines had been sold in America and Europe in just 4 years, a world-wide hit.

They were used as personal transport for track inspectors and signal engineers and could carry two people if needed. Their light weight meant they could easily be removed from the track when required.

Although mainly used by US and Canadian railways, several were bought by railways in Britain and it is examples of machines from the old Great Western, LNE and Southern Railways that have been invited to the 12 July rally. They are mainly products of the Sheffield Car Company of Three Rivers, Michigan, but we also hope to see a product of the rival BUDA company of Harvey, Illinois. One machine definitely attending is a brand new Sheffield type built in Staffordshire.

The British company Wickham of Ware built at least three types of velocipede, mainly for export, but none has surfaced yet.

Above; Roger Fuller's Rail Bike which will also be attending

28th May 2009 - 4 velocipede owners have now confirmed that they are bringing their machines, more are still to confirm.