rolling nowhere Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Stinky train riding gentleman haha. I havent been on here in who knows how long... Been just about 2 years since Ive traveled on a train and this is the longest Ive lived in the same place in a decade but I just got a new pack and sleeping bag so ya know Ill probably have some pictures to post up shortly. THEY CALLIN ME... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 @rolling nowhere I hear you. Been about 2 years since I rode out as well and the old lady was not happy at all. Westbound BNSF coal to the Rose Lake Yard stop less than a quarter mile from me a couple of times a day and every time I say "I hear you girl. Just not today" I can feel the look from her. Only got 3 years left and this shack is mine free and clear. Who knows from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 Here's a booking picture of "Minneapolis Skinny" after he and Adman got arrested on a train, along with Adman's daughter, I think. Skinny was the other tramp who, along with Adman, went down to Dalhart, Texas to retrieve the remains of Lord Open Road, who had been murdered by a couple of fucking dirtbags, and buried by the County in a pauper's grave. The way the County does that is they dig one hole and put several inexpensive plywood coffins in it, stacked on top of one another. Lord Open Road was not the top coffin and he had been buried quite a while, so the coffins and the bodies in them had deteriorated quite a bit. The County dug up the grave with Open Road in it, unloaded the coffins above him and disinterred him. Then they cremated the remains, except there was quite a bit of dirt that got into the coffin during the disinterment. So when Adman and Skinny received Lord Open Road's remains, there were several heavy ass boxes weighing about forty or fifty pounds. They took the boxes, all their gear, packs, water jugs, etc. and set off, sweating profusely, down to the UP rail yard in Dalhart. When they got down there, they were exhausted. Both of them were probably thinking this job had turned into a lot more than they bargained for when Steam Train Maury Graham, the Grand Patriarch of Hobos, had dispatched them to go retrieve Lord Open Road's remains and bring them back up to Britt. They definitely could not catch trains carrying 120 pounds of ashes and graveyard dirt. Then they had a revelation. A fitting tribute to Lord Open Road, who was a life-long hobo and tramp of the first order, would be to sprinkle some of his ashes on every boxcar they rode, so that Open Road could "ride the rails forever." So that's what they did. They sprinkled a little bit of Open Road on every train they caught, and on the UP rail bed, and everywhere else they could think of that seemed appropriate, so Open Road could rest in peace, scattered all over the Union Pacific railroad! By the time they got Open Road back up to Britt he was a much more manageable twenty-five pounds of ashes in a plastic bag in one cardboard box. And he is buried in the National Hobo Cemetery at Evergreen Cemetery in Britt, Iowa. But he is also riding the Union Pacific until Judgment Day! http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=adman, hobo&view=detailv2&&id=2AEFF78914134DA8AE9C1FF23B0461C816471CB3&selectedIndex=67&ccid=MD6qNCR4&simid=608053196700910266&thid=JN.n9JzLztyh9kHcR/KOBuTMg&ajaxhist=0 This is a booking photo of Adman's daughter, I think. As you can see, she doesn't look too upset about being arrested on a freight train. Stalwart girl! http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=adman%2c+hobo&view=detailv2&id=2AEFF78914134DA8AE9C672B40EECF368E00889C&selectedindex=83&ccid=uDuFtZuA&simid=607999943406780492&thid=JN.pcsMahRk06qtSSO%2FE%2BlafQ&ajaxhist=0&first=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Adman tells the arrest story. http://northiowatoday.com/2012/08/11/adman-the-hobo-tells-of-his-arrest-experience-in-mason-city/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 King of the Hobos: A Portrait of Steam Train Maury Graham [MEDIA=vimeo]128206859[/MEDIA] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Thank you for finding this video, Xen. This is very much the way I remember it, back in 1970. I think that we may never see the likes of men like Steam Train Maury Graham, and the Hard Rock Kid, and Pennsylvania Kid, and Lord Open Road, and Fry Pan Jack, and Feather River John, and Connecticut Slim and all the rest of the bridgers ever again. Lord, I miss the old guys. When they died off, it like to killed the younger tramps. It was like having your father die. I miss old Rufe a lot, and I'd give anything to just be able to talk to him one more time. He was a mean old cuss, but he was a good tramp, and he treated me kindly back when I was a wet-behind-the-ears nineteen-year-old traveler, trying to learn how to catch out.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Catching Out In the documentary film several contemporary hobos dissent against mainstream America by traveling for free on freight trains. Catching Out follows these trainhoppers as they navigate between the constraints of society and the freedom of the road. http://tubitv.com/video?id=37827&title=Catching_Out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Here's another photo of Iowa Blackie in his prime. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LL-Rp2wMdIg/UCq7IXfwk5I/AAAAAAAAIas/pIeflAd-oR8/s1600/Sturgis%2B2012%2B200.jpg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Sad news to report. My father passed away yesterday at age 90. He and I had our differences, but we still loved each other. He was in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, before it became the Air Force. He told me once he always wanted to go ride freight trains when he was young, but he never did it. He was born in 1924, and was a little boy during the worst of the Great Depression. He grew up in the north Texas Panhandle, in the town of Canyon, but lived in Houston most of his life. He was a commercial artist when I was a kid, and became a "fine artist" after he retired. RIP, Dad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Sorry to hear that Kabar. The dude I hopped my first train with went got himself killed this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBird Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Looking for KOER,ENRON,KURE,HONKE,ZANE,andLIFE....Its ur brother write me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigmouthStrikesAgain Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Any ya ever met a hobo by the name of Track Mark? I think he's from New Jerusalem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 As of today, I have 288 days to go before retirement. That's about nine and a half months, more or less. Seems like forever. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Right on KaBar. You should hit the Rose Lake yard and get at me. I owe you a few beers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art101 Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Kbar,was wondering what had happened to you and some of the others from digihitch and the forum there.I used to go under Boozebomb.Glad to see it seems you are doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 art101--Sorry about the delay in responding, I've been busy and didn't check 12 Oz. for a few days. Thanks for the kind words. I've got about nine months or so until I can retire and I'm hoping to go back on the road at least for a while. Digihitch was shut down after the founder passed away and I didn't care for the new format they adopted. These kinds of forums come and go. Nothing good lasts forever, and neither does anything bad. It's all ephemeral. Enjoy the good stuff while it's here and ignore the bad shit. It will go away eventually. Best regards! See you down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 It is my sad duty to report that my friend and rail-riding buddy, Stretch Wilson, passed away in Arizona on November 9, 2015. I spoke with him on the phone sometime in late October or early November. He sounded good. He hadn't been drinking, but he told me he had a cold. He said that he was thinking of coming to Houston to winter over at Eureka JCT. It wasn't unusual for me to only hear from Stretch once a month or so, or sometimes even less. He had been staying occasionally in a Motel 6 where he had made some friends. He had contracted a severe respiratory illness (MRSA, by one report) and had been sick all fall. Due to the weather turning cold, his friends at the motel offered him a room, but Stretch turned it down and went back down to his jungle. The next day, the Motel 6 manager was worried about him, and went down to Stretch's jungle to check on him, and found him dead in his tent. Stretch was probably the most adept and skillful railroad tramp I ever met. He had his flaws and his weaknesses. He drank too much and would not accept any of the offers to help him get sober. He worked when he could and he flew a sign when he couldn't get work. He was a good campfire cook, and an excellent railroad navigator. Stretch probably rode well over a million miles in his thirty years on the rails. He was a good friend to me, and I'm sure going to miss him. RIP Stretch Wilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davechester Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Hey KaBar,It's Dave i spoke to you on Reddit a few days ago and you mentioned this thread. I read what you said about Bo Keely and i feel the same way about him...each to their own and all that but some people just rub us up the wrong way i guess? I was stupid enough to buy one of his book's a while ago..i couldnt even finish it....way too much ego and self aggrandizement imo. Ok he rode some trains but as you said he ran with newbies thus making HIM look like a vet;) I'd love to have seen him try and hang with the type of guy's you rolled with....it would be the writing equivalent of king's vs toy's haha. Keep the post's coming. Respects. PS.Everyone AVOID the Bo Keeley books. PPS. An old BBC documentary that is well worth a watch.ENJOY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swordfish meatloaf Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 JUST WANTED TO TAKE TIME OUT TO THANK ALL GENUINE CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS THREAD - HUGE THUMBS UP, SPECIFICALLY KABAR. THERE IS AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF KNOWLEDGE CONTAINED HEREIN AND IS JUST GENERALLY A GREAT READ FROM PAGE ONE ON. IT'S BEEN A FEW YEARS SINCE I'VE FREQUENTED THE OONTZ BUT IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THIS THREAD STILL EXISTS AND APPEARS AT TIMES TO STILL BE GOING STRONG. SOME OF THE INFORMATION DROPPED IN THESE PAGES IS PRICELESS AND PROVIDES A GREAT REFERENCE POINT FOR ANY LONG TIME OR ASPIRING TRAVELERS ALIKE. BUMP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Thanks for the kind words, Swordfish Meatloaf. It kind of freaks me out a little that this thread has run for so long. My goal was always trying to educate young people who were dead-set on catching out already, so they wouldn't make as many mistakes. After so many years, almost certainly the young kids of 2001 have gone on to become the old heads of 2015, and I hope they have been teaching the new kids they run across the proper way to ride trains and how to live a free hobo life as a decent human being. The Rules are simple, if only people would follow them they would be 100% safer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Stretch, never met him but I'll meet you at the division point where the cold beer flows. We'll head to the Rainbow bridge and give Burl Dog a good belly rub before heading to beaches of white sand. Rise In Power hobo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I've said it before and I'll say it again. Thank you for this thread Kabar. It kept me alive and safe on the rails. I have passed it along as best I could and refused a couple of kids a ride with me because they wouldn't listen. The tradition is still being handed down, just in a new form. Come have a beer with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I've said it before and I'll say it again. Thank you for this thread Kabar. It kept me alive and safe on the rails. I have passed it along as best I could and refused a couple of kids a ride with me because they wouldn't listen. The tradition is still being handed down, just in a new form. Come have a beer with me. Brother, I'd love to. I've got 238 days to go, and I'm hoping to strike off these slave chains and catch the first thing smokin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I LOVE DAVE BARRY'S MUSIC. And I love Seasick Steve's crazy ass too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Just watched that Hobo doc posted up the stack. Why am I just now learning that a fire in the boxcar is an option? That would have come in handy but I was too worried abut laying low :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Anybody who builds a fire in a rolling boxcar, or who uses a fusee to heat water or cook in a rolling boxcar is taking a huge risk. Any bright light in a boxcar with open doors lights up the doorways like the Fourth of July. A fire would almost certainly trip a hotbox alarm trackside if it burned for very long, not to mention a boxcar rolling down the track pouring smoke out the doors. Bad idea. I've never done it and I certainly don't recommend it. But, you know, people do all kinds of crazy shit and get away with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 And that is exactly why this thread is gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art101 Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Hey ya all.So I have been off the road for awhile but keeping track on another site.The one thing I have noticed is the attitude among the newer rides.How did vandalizing units become the cool kid thing to do.I love me some rolling art,but cutting patches outta seats and other acts I am not going into here become the norm.Sorry for the gripe first post.Whats been bouncing about in my head some lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 arty101-- I agree with you completely, vandalizing any part of railroad property is just completely uncool. It is like a pebble being thrown into a pool--the consequences go out farther and farther from the initial act. In years past, the railies and train crews were almost always friendly to tramps, but with people deliberately destroying shit on units and stealing shit it is becoming rarer and rarer to find a sympathetic railie. The train crews ESPECIALLY resent vandalism of the units, so much so that the only sane thing for tramps to do is make possession of a cut-out seat "patch" a punishable offense. These people who thrash units don't give a shit about anybody but themselves. They see themselves as outlaws and "fuck everybody else." Since they don't give a shit about the rest of us, then I think we should "don't give a shit" about THEM. THEY ARE MAKING THE RAILROAD WORKERS HATE US. I absolutely cannot understand why anybody would be so fucking stupid as to vandalize a unit. You want to hit rusty-ass boxcars and grainers and shit, be my guest. BUT UNITS ARE OFF-LIMITS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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