View Full Version : Has anybody ever got to the trail by trian hopping?
Brian3211
01-11-2013, 13:11
Sorry if this is an inappropriate question, but I am just wondering if anybody has ever got to the trail by jumping on a train? It sounds pretty crazy to me.
Lone Wolf
01-11-2013, 13:15
Sorry if this is an inappropriate question, but I am just wondering if anybody has ever got to the trail by jumping on a train? It sounds pretty crazy to me.
i jumped on a train in NY city and rode it to Gainesville. but i paid for it :)
Chuckie V
01-11-2013, 13:29
i jumped on a train in NY city and rode it to Gainesville. but i paid for it :)
And I've jumped freight trains for the adventure of it all but have also paid for it. The bulls aren't friendly folk and neither are fellow hobos. But if you can survive them, you can survive a long trail!
Sorry if this is an inappropriate question, but I am just wondering if anybody has ever got to the trail by jumping on a train? It sounds pretty crazy to me.
You are right, it's crazy. Do people do it? I'm sure. Way safer just to stick out your thumb if you can't afford a ticket.
Google FTRA if you need more info. Bad news.
Slo-go'en
01-11-2013, 13:32
I once picked up a couple of hitch hikers in the middle of no where, Maine and took them to Gorham, NH where they planned to hop a frieght train to Canada. They were using a book about hobo'ing it on trains with all the schedules and places where it's easy to get on and off. It's a pretty risky thing to do though and I wouldn't recommend it.
Brian3211
01-11-2013, 14:01
And I've jumped freight trains for the adventure of it all but have also paid for it. The bulls aren't friendly folk and neither are fellow hobos. But if you can survive them, you can survive a long trail!
Im curious as to what happened?
Think the hard part would be jumping off at the right spot. Here's a list of railroad crossings on the AT (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?4660-Railroad-Crossings) (from 2004).
Different Socks
01-11-2013, 14:31
You are right, it's crazy. Do people do it? I'm sure. Way safer just to stick out your thumb if you can't afford a ticket.
Google FTRA if you need more info. Bad news.
Yes, people still do this. Along the northern route, it comes right thru my town and I see train hoppers all the time from spring thru fall. Most of the time they keep to themselves, most are friendly, they don't openly beg(at least not the people i've met).
ATMountainTime
01-11-2013, 14:40
did you ever see what happened to Christopher McCandless in the Movie Into the Wild? he gets the tar beat out of him, and since we all know he might have been the greatest outdoorsman to live, i submit that mortals like us simply not try such brave heroics.
:)
atmilkman
01-11-2013, 14:40
My uncle was a detective for DT&I railroad back in the 60's. From the stories I overheard as a kid, I wouldn't do it.
Chuckie V
01-11-2013, 14:40
Im curious as to what happened?
Well, the worst of it was getting pushed off a moving train, after a few punches thrown to the face. I was lucky in that incident though, as the train was climbing into the Sierra and moving slowly, and the dudes were too drunk to hit very accurately or very hard. Still, that was the last straw for me and it scared me away from my little RR adventure bucket list for good. The bulls at some of the train-yards (ala Roseville out west) threaten you, but they're really just doing their job protecting the freight companies from liability. Still, they carry clubs or guns and don't look to be the sort that are afraid to use them.
No more of that kind of travel. My feet work best!
I advise the OP to work more and save for a bus ticket or perhaps hitchhike.
Different Socks
01-11-2013, 18:34
Well, the worst of it was getting pushed off a moving train, after a few punches thrown to the face. I was lucky in that incident though, as the train was climbing into the Sierra and moving slowly, and the dudes were too drunk to hit very accurately or very hard. Still, that was the last straw for me and it scared me away from my little RR adventure bucket list for good. The bulls at some of the train-yards (ala Roseville out west) threaten you, but they're really just doing their job protecting the freight companies from liability. Still, they carry clubs or guns and don't look to be the sort that are afraid to use them.
No more of that kind of travel. My feet work best!
I advise the OP to work more and save for a bus ticket or perhaps hitchhike.
I've been told by the ones i've met that in the problem yards, they simply get off before getting there and walk around, then hop back on. Check out this website: www.squattheplanet.com. It's a website just for train hoppers.