BoxCar Blaze

[trailangelmary]

I was asked to help some hikers with a box car blaze this 2004 season.
I was just wondering if any hikers have ever jumped onto a box car, how far did you travel on the train, did you enjoy the experience?

[Streamweaver]

Would you like me to introduce you to my freind Dave who only has half a left foot that hasnt stopped bleeding in almost 20 years about Screwing around with trains?? Or maybe I could introduce you to Buzz and his cousin Todd,but they dont say much since they are buried under 6 feet of ground. Aside from the good possibility of being killed or injured ,the law frowns heavily on that sort of thing especially since 9/11 they watch trains real carefully. How far ?? Well my buddy Ed jumped a train in Balto Co Md trying to get to Harford Co just about 15 miles away ,trouble was the train was heading to PA with no intention of slowing down to let off passengers .Ed was lucky he only broke his knee jumping off ,but it was still a rough walk/limp home!! Yeah go ahead and play with trains!! The days of train hopping are long over!! When will people learn?? Streamweaver

[Jack Tarlin]

Streamweaver's post makes a great deal of sense.

I know that Mary is well-intentioned, but I hope people don't jump on this thread with advice or suggestions on how one can "safely" hop a freight train.

Whiteblaze (on any other hiking forum) is not an appropriate place to dispense or share information that can potentially get hikers arrested, injured, or worse.

[Brushy Sage]

Hi Mary, when I saw the title of this thread, I thought of a huge campfire. Thanks for all your angelic work; have other hikers in your area jumped on trains? Sounds like tragedy waiting to happen!

[Pencil Pusher]

Like many things, I've only thought about it. It just seems too dangerous, unless you can miraculously get in a boxcar. I have a friend that did it back in the 70's and he mentioned you had to be real careful in the train yards because if those guys caught you they'd beat the living hell out of you and then call the cops.

[trailangelmary]

Don't get too excited folks. Yes I did take the hikers to a train yard. They had no intention of Jumping on or off while the train was moving. I did have a long talk with them about safety before the venture. One of the hikers called his Dad before he went. His Dad is a lawyer! and told him to be safe.
And those guys that will shoot you are not as bad as stories say. They are called the bulls. The hikers went and found a bull at the train yard and talked to him before they made a decision. He told them, "I don't recommend it but there will be a train departing at..... and going to.... that is the best possibility."
The hikers that wanted to try this adventure did a lot of checking about it and were very conscienscious and safe. I stayed nearby for several hours while they checked out the train yard twice and checked back with me. I left 10 minutes after they told me to wait. About 15 minutes after I got back to Duncannon they called me to come and get them. They changed their minds. (A relief to me!) I was glad to go get them even at 3am.
So their adventure of a box car blaze ended up being an adventure of checking out the possibility. And it still will be an adventure to remember. :clap

[Big Oak]

Reminds me of Studs Terkel's book about the great depression of the 1930s, Hard Times. One person tells of a relative who just hopped a train one day and disappeared. Was never heard from again.

Like many thru-hikers.

[trailangelmary]

P.S. I am not looking for any advice on the how to's. It was just a surprise that hikers asked. That is the first time any hikers have asked for that kind of help. And I am very glad it turned out as it did. I was very nervous about saying I would help. It may be better that I did and was there for them rather than them doing it blindly. I like to think I slowed the process and made them think!

[Big Oak]

It'd be kind of cool to hop a freight if you minimized the dangers, like those hikers were doing. Talk to the railyard guys, tell em upfront what you're doing (informally of course), jump a boxer and take a ride with the wind blowing and the countryside rolling past.

Reminds me of this genuine hobo I knew several years ago. Every year he'd hop a freight to Kentucky on May 15, cause "that's when the weather starts to get real nice up there." I saw him almost ever day in April and early May, then he just disappeared.

[Streamweaver]

Mary,did you actually see this train cop giving these guys the ok to hop a train?? He could easily lose his job for doing something like that!! Did you actually see or hear the kids father give him the ok?? If so being a lawyer and a father and still giving the ok to his son to hop a train the dude aught to be shot!! Sounds to me like these guys were laying some BS on you!!! Also if these guys are minors,and you helped em do this ,you could be held accountable should anything happen to them. Streamweaver

[One Leg]

Should any hikers out there actually try this route, I can recommend a guy to make your prosthetic limbs. He's the one I use, and does great work!

-One Leg

[trailangelmary]

]Did you actually see or hear the kids father give him the ok?? If so being a lawyer and a father and still giving the ok to his son to hop a train the dude aught to be shot!! Sounds to me like these guys were laying some BS on you!!! Also if these guys are minors,and you helped em do this ,you could be held accountable should anything happen to them. Streamweaver

Yes, Streamweaver, I did hear the hiker talking to his Dad. Of course I did not hear his Dad's voice but knew the conversation from what the hiker was saying....."Yes, I'll be careful Dad." Is that good enough for you.
Also, none of the hikers involved were underage. They are all over 21.
I may be adventurous but I am not stupid and neither are the hikers. And I love to learn something new everyday...As I did that day. And it was all good.

[k-less]

I was one of the crazy hikers that attempted the train hop. I am well aware that everyone is just trying to give good advice and look out for everyone’s best interest but it also looks like some of you just sit at home and enjoy putting more than your 2 cents in while beating this dead horse into the ground.



Everything Mary said is true. We had no intention of ever hopping a moving train and we did talk to the bull. He started out by saying he did not recommend us hopping and then gave us a details on every train in the yard along with departure times and destinations.



If we did not have to wait another 3 hours for a departure we would have done it, but we decided that it was ultimately a pointless trip. Thank you for your concern on the matter but no harm was done. Mary is a wonderful person and I took a bit of offense to some of the questions/comments directed at her on this thread.



I personally will continue to do things that are seemingly dumb and dangerous (like hiking the AT) for the rest of my life. Carpe diem.



K-less

[Pencil Pusher]

Actually, that sounded like the best circumstances for you to do it, with the yard guy being cool. Yeah, I'd probably talk myself out of it too, if I had to wait three or so hours. I don't suppose there's any customer service counter for a train not departing on time.;) If you can minimize the dangers to whatever level is acceptable to you, by all means enjoy yourself and let us know how it goes. Post some photos too, that'd be a neat perspective to see the countryside rolling by.

I would think you'd be able to tuck yourself in one of those nooks on either end of the 'grain containers' (for lack of a better name). It's open and exposed to the elements, but there are quite a few of those things and if you stayed hunkered down with non-flashy clothing, it's unlikely you'd be spotted. If you could fashion a harness, maybe you could clip yourself off to some big piece of metal for additional safety. The reason I brought up the flashy clothing was when I lived in CO I recall a story where a train was stopped because the guys were wearing orange and it was suspected they were jail escapees. Not sure how the police managed to stop a moving freight train...

[Lint]

Duffy Littlejohn wrote a great book called, 'Hopping Freight Trains in America', which can be bought from Zephyr Rhoades Press. Awesome book! I have friends who hop alot and follow the warmer weather around the country, but with all the overblown terrorist fear, security in the yards is really tight.
Littlejohn's book is full of useful info and is very detailed for those who want to hop with a little safety and time tested knowledge.

[blindeye]

i may be stating the obvious BUT i thought the whole point of walking the AT was to walk the AT!!!!!!!

[java]

i may be stating the obvious BUT i thought the whole point of walking the AT was to walk the AT!!!!!!!
Life is often more interesting when the journey is more important than the destination.

There are many opportunities along the AT to do more than just walk. In my opinion that's the beauty of it. :sun

[oruoja]

Yeah, train hopping can be risky, BTDT. Messing around railroads can get you trouble especially now in the post 9-11 atmosphere. Am surprised nobody chimed in with the I have (had) a friend who was ejected from the back of a pickup truck. Considering the motor vehicle (actually the drivers of same) presents the most danger to health and life, and that this mode of travel is very much used by hikers on their way to and from towns. Any personal injury lawyers out there that can comment? A lawyer "friend" once told me that when hitching jot down the plate number of the vehicle you get in on a small card and stick it in your pocket so the attorney will know who to go after later if the need should arise. Litigation!!

[blindeye]

good point java,perhaps i did not articulate my point correctly. if you have made the decision to hike the AT why would you want to deprive yourself of the total experience of hiking the trail by jumping on a train? why not just buy a ticket for amtrak? just my opinion.

[java]

Don't get me wrong, I loved I'm my thru-hike (and the many subsequent section-hikes), but frankly walking in the woods for six months does tend to get a bit boring. Really, really boring some days, tons of fun others.

Sometimes you just need to mix it up a bit. Of course, there are others that disagree. I never would even consider 'boxcar' blazing, but I did do the 'aqua-blaze' on the Shenendoahs.

Hike your own hike seems to be the best advice ever given to me.

Happy trails (whatever they may be!)
-java

[smokymtnsteve]

Edward Abbey used to hop trains all the time,,,thanks be to Abbey!

[blindeye]

very nicely said java

[java]

Oh my, is that a compliment on Whiteblaze?
you're going to make me blush.....:o

[blindeye]

just giving credit where credit is due!

[ted holdridge]

Sounds crazy to me. You can find alot of info on that kind of stuff at Digihitch.com. There are a lot of hitching tips there also.