Up to a point, that romanticism makes a lot of sense, and there are railway enthusiasts of all ages.
Sometimes there’s a caboose, and sometimes there’s a guy riding the outside of the caboose. The locomotive whistle sounds again, from very far away. Meaningless graffiti from hundreds of miles away.įlatcars with huge rolls of steel like toilet paper for giant robots.
Stobe the hobo full#
The engineer will blow the horn for you.Ĭoal cars, black tankers full of oil or corn syrup, cattle cars, box cars that might or might not be harboring mysterious stowaways. Quick, put your hand in the air and yank it down again. How many locomotives are there at the front? Two? It’s gonna be a long train! The barrier gates bedecked with white wooden strips like ribbons drift down. Trains are fascinating because freight trains are an increasingly rare sight in the truck-oriented United States, and because every kid-at-heart knows the ritual:Ī half-mile away a whistle shrieks. I thought that Ann Litz, who describes herself as an “obsolete librarian” (and who, I should clarify, has no known connection with freight hopping) put it best: The power the speed a yearning for adventure nostalgia the mystery of a profession with its own skillset and language childhood memories. In fact, why are trains in general so fascinating, for so many people? I asked Google and got a lot of different answers. They’re breaking the law, they’re risking life and limb and they probably smell none too good when they’ve been living rough for a week or more – yet many people envy those who ride this way.
There’s so much that we never get to see… but some people do. The process by which it reaches us is ponderous, grimy, under-appreciated and essential. Perhaps your daily bread comes from the corner convenience store, but the flour probably comes from the endless wheat fields of Canada. The supply network is more complex than most of us can imagine. Please don’t tell Michael O’Leary because he’ll only get ideas… but if it’s good enough for Jack London and Ernest Hemmingway, who knows? Yes, I’ve found a mode of transport even cheaper and more uncomfortable than Ryanair. It’s not something that’s going to take off in the UK – our trains are too short and our security generally too tight – but in the wide open spaces of North America it has proved impossible to stamp out. You might not fancy your chances of climbing aboard a train that’s a mile long and three times as tall as you (four times as tall, if you’re Tom Cruise…) but there is a subculture for whom this isn’t a desperate act, but just another day at the office. You might be surprised to learn that this isn’t just a plot device in action movies, but something that really happens… a lot.
Join me, as we ride with Jim (‘ Stobe the Hobo’), Mark (‘ Hobo Shoestring’), Dave (‘ Brave Dave’), Owen (‘ RanOutOnARail’) and others.įreight hopping is where you conceal yourself aboard a railway wagon that’s meant for cargo, either boarding it while stationary or hauling yourself aboard as it rumbles past… and hope that it’s going somewhere useful. This is a crime, pastime or way of life (opinions vary) with a long history and a great deal of present-day relevance. For a few weeks, I’ve been doing some research (just desk research…) on the subject of freight hopping: something I’d never heard of until I received a video recommendation from YouTube. His quotes about the town's he visited and his sheer lack of concern of truly getting caught. The way he portrayed his videos for an amateur is incredible. I truly think none of it compares to what Stobe did. I'm thinking about going further during my Christmas break.Īlso check out "Brave Dave" train riding videos, he has quite a few, some hours in length, others chopped up.Īnd another recommendation is "WizeHop". I don't ride the grain cars though, as they had have more stops than the intermodal trains((the trains with international cargo containers stacked on top of another)(which aswell have priority.) We have a massive train yard about 4 miles from the house. I've been watching his videos for awhile, always interesting.