When Gary Shrey visits the area later this month with the North American Railcar Operators Association, he’s not sure if he’ll be whizzing around in his green and yellow Reading Railroad speeder car or a bright red, unmarked one.

The former would be more appropriate, given that the 2-day excursion will take riders on Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad tracks - some of which were owned by the Reading Railroad.

“I actually have six cars, three of which are ready to run,” said Shrey, who is coordinating the March 25-26 trip.

Participants travel in speeder cars, or the small vehicles once used by railroad track inspectors and work crews to move quickly to and from work sites.

The speeders have mostly vanished from rail companies’ inventories, having been replaced by “high-rail” trucks capable of operating on both roads and rails.

They haven’t disappeared completely, however, thanks to folks like Shrey and others who formed groups to operate the cars around the country with railroads’ permission.

Shrey, of New Freedom, York County, said 50 speeders will be part of the upcoming trip. They’ll cover about 240 miles, split between the two days.

“We’re going from the Reading Outer Station to Jim Thorpe on the first day,” he said, “and then we will go back to the station.”

Along the way, they’ll stop to stretch their legs at the Tamaqua Train Station. They’ll also take a scenic excursion on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway while in Jim Thorpe.

Times could change, but Shrey estimates that the group will roll into Tamaqua at around 10:15 a.m. and pass by again at approximately 4 p.m. on March 25 for 45-minute breaks. They should be in Jim Thorpe around 12:30 p.m.

They’ve been to this neck of the woods each year for the last eight years, Shrey said.

At their stops, he said, many spectators often gather.

“We were in Tamaqua once and there were 400 to 500 people there,” Shrey said. “If they know we are coming, there is usually a crowd.”

On the second day, the group will travel from Reading to Good Spring, and hope to hit Port Clinton, Middleport and Schuylkill Haven - where they will stop for lunch before the return trip.

“We usually do this trip in May,” Shrey said.

Since it’s a few months earlier, and might be the first excursion of the year for most speeders, the group will hold a “Dust and Tune” event the weekend before on the Colebrookdale Railroad, Boyertown.

“There won’t be any train traffic and we’re not on any schedule. In other words, if anyone has any trouble and breaks down, they’ll have time to repair it and get their car ready for this weekend,” he said.

Looking at his roster, Shrey spotted registrants from Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Indiana, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, New Hampshire, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Kentucky.

Some will be riding in early models, while others will have more advanced rides. Some don’t have a roof, others have curtains instead of windows. Some have heat - and those that don’t often catch warmth from their engines.

“Most of the time you wish you had an air conditioner,” he said of summertime rides.

Shrey said NARCOA members often have more than one railcar.

“Most have at least two,” he said.

The speeders that will be on hand were used by railroads across the nation.

“They really don’t make them anymore,” Shrey said.

Some - like Shrey’s Reading car - still carry the logos and names of where they were put to work.

“I grew up in central Pennsylvania next to the Reading Railroad and I just always had some kind of affection for trains, especially where they went and stuff like that,” he said. “Most of these tracks you don’t get to ride unless you do it in a speeder.”

But it’s not like you can just plop a speeder on a track and go from there.

“You need to get permission from a railroad, pay the railroad to use the railroad, and we insure the railroad,” he said of NARCOA.

While he’s been on many trips throughout the nation, and seen the scenery of different states, there’s one thing that is always constant - and enjoyable.

“You get to see people’s backyards instead of their front yards,” he said.