Hobos, Tramps and Homeless Bums

[KaBar2]

First of all, I think you ought to read this whole thread a couple of times, and then read Littlejohn's book. I'd like to know (in a very general sense, not specifics) what part of Ohio you will be catching out from and approximately the season. Riding freight trains in the winter up north is no fucking joke, it's serious business. You can freeze to death very easily. I absolutely would not catch out any later than early November unless you are a very experienced winter outdoorsman type who is WELL-EQUIPPED to survive outdoors in the cold winter weather. My winter riding experience is very limited. When the weather got too cold for an Army field jacket and liner and a pair of blue jeans under a pair of overalls, I headed South fast.

 

My buddy Stretch is an all-weather Northern rider. He wears Northern-weight Carhartt winter coveralls and a heavy winter parka. He carries three sleeping bags in the winter (one inside the other for sleeping), a full set of military Arctic underwear, regular boots as well as sno-pack winter boots with felt liners, lots of wool mountain-climbing socks, a water-proof tarp, a mountain tent (the tarp goes over the tent for extra-extra rain/sleet/snow-shedding ability) a couple of insulated sleeping mats, first-rate cold-weather gear like snowmobile gloves, parka, face mask, balaclava, etc., etc. Burlington has his own sleeping bag (it's a kid's sleeping bag, pretty short) and so forth. This is called "a Montana bindle." Everything but the kitchen sink and then some. When Stretch rides trains in the winter, his pack is around 85 pounds.

 

So. I highly recommend that you leave before the cold weather hits and go South, if you cannot wait for spring. Right now, here in Houston, it's in the high 80's. Bring a bathing suit and lots of mosquito dope. It's SUMMER, right? HOT.

 

One thing to remember about the West is that it has mountains, and the mountains are COLD AS A MOTHERFUCKER IN WINTERTIME. The higher the elevation, the colder it gets. September, maybe October, the temperature begins to fall. By November, it is seriously getting cold in the Rockies. By December it is too cold for any but the very experienced to be riding up there.

 

A couple of years ago, Stretch spent Christmas in a rail yard in MAINE. (I know, the sonofabitch is kind of crazy sometimes.) There was like three feet of snow on the ground and it was sleeting. (No thanks. I go south in the winter.)

 

If you want to go West to like San Francisco you want a Union Pacific train out of Proviso Yard (in Berkeley and Elmhurst--suburbs of Chicago on the west side). Where the I-294 overpass goes over the yard is the general catch-out. (Keep in mind that you would have to HIDE well, because there are bulls and railroad workers all through this area. Catch at night. Travel very light if possible, a lot of times the trains don't stop completely, they just creep by at a vehttp://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/KaBar2/IMG00016.jpgry slow speed. You are looking for double-stack IM trains. They will be watched, of course. These DS trains will often run as far west as Green River (Wyoming).

 

The split up is at Clinton, Iowa (where the UP Superhighway crosses the Mississippi--look for my AUG 05 photographs of me washing clothes in front of the swing bridge at this crossing).

 

Found it. http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/KaBar2/IMG00014.jpg

 

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/KaBar2/IMG00016.jpg

 

 

The trains either go west to El Paso (Texas) by turning south to Kansas City; or west to Oakland, CA or Seattle, WA through Cedar Rapids and Omaha. The next splits are at Varner, Nebraska or Julesberg, Colorado and Granger, WY (out in the middle of fucking NO WHERE) so as you can see a lot of this is flying by the seat of your pants.

 

Try to find someone who already knows what they are doing and ride with them. There are lots of kids in their 20's riding today who learned the hard way, just by trial and error, but if you can find a mentor, you'll be a lot better off and a WHOLE lot safer. If you're going to ride trains, for pete's sake be a professional about it. No getting drunk or high, no skylarking around risking your life for no good reason.

[dixiebeer]

The trains either go west to El Paso (Texas) by turning south to Kansas City; or west to Oakland, CA or Seattle, WA through Cedar Rapids and Omaha. The next splits are at Varner, Nebraska or Julesberg, Colorado and Granger, WY (out in the middle of fucking NO WHERE) so as you can see a lot of this is flying by the seat of your pants.

 

Phew, last time I was in Granger, I went into the hole for like and hour and 15 minutes at high noon, with a BLACK cloud of mosquitos above my car... Too hot to be in my bedroll, and I had no bug spray or anything else, it was hell. I was so tempted to get off, but as stated, I was in the middle of fuckin' NO!!where.

 

Say, to bring a little more to what Kabar said, make sure your water never freezes if you're winter riding. I've made sleeves for water jugs and put like 4 (at least) of them 'hot hands' packs in them or even put a hot hands into a freezer lock bag and put it in the jug before to keep water from freezing. If you have a camp stove it would be a definite plus as well (I'm sure Stretch rides with one, that man has everything). Rolling without water is hell. Plus, the bitter cold will dehydrate you just as much as the heat will (sweat).

 

Hey Kabar, I saw a couple of your tags on the boxcar at Britt this year. From a couple years back obviously.

 

(Love this thread, one of the best on here)

[serum]

thats kinda crazy, 85 pounds plus a dog.

pretty hardcore

[john brown]

kabar, say that your spotted on a train what usually happens?

[mind@ease]

Thanks alot for the advice guys. I plan on pickin up that book and readin it before leaving, and Ive been steadily reading a few pages a night of the thread. This thread isnt like any other, you cant just skim through it, you have to read it post for post so 3 pages takes a long time.

 

Question though, how exactly can I find someone who's caught out before? I spend a good deal of time on the tracks and surrounding areas and I've yet to meet anyone, and I ask those I do meet if they ride and none of them do. I would much rather go with someone experienced the first time, Im confidant I can do it either way but it'd be nice to have someone who really knows what their doin show me the ropes ya know?

 

Im catching out of Central Ohio. Im most certainly trying to head west before November, I'd like to ride out before Oct. I've spent plenty of time out west in Colorado Springs right by the Rockies and I know how it gets.

 

So basically I'd have to head northwest to chicago, then out towards the coast, and find my way to phoenix from there?

 

Thanks again guys

[tis a bum]

kabar, your thread has gained appropriate intrest and responses,

and im sure more ppl everyday are starting to read and become aware of how much there is to learn.

i see your responeses to the questions as a subltle sign that you are a Teacher as well as an Underdog.

 

i hope your not confused by my strange comment.

the gist of what i mean to say is.

 

kabar= much respect.

 

id feel foolish if i didnt ask you a question.

do you have any stories that you are amused by typing in detail?

and

how often could you stereotype train workers go before checking a train line every couple of states?

 

get back to my questions when its convienent.

i asked out of the faact it would be unwise not to try and learn something while i have your attention.

 

 

-much respect.

 

the deaf one.

[KaBar2]

Deaf One---

 

Are you actually deaf, or is that just a nickname? I'm deaf in one ear, and it has turned out to be a hell of a lot more disabling than I ever thought it would be. I can still hear pretty good, but the thought that I might lose my hearing altogether is pretty troubling. I can't sign and I can't read lips, so it would be a serious problem. I've had some friends and acquaintances who were deaf, and after becoming half-deaf, my feelings of respect for them and their personal accomplishments have soared. Not being able to hear (or hear well, in my case) really makes communication difficult. It's very isolating.

 

From the phrasing of your questions, I'm wondering if I understand them correctly.

 

"how often could you stereotype train workers go before checking a train line every couple of states?"

 

I'm thinking this one is probably "How often would your stereotypical train workers wait before checking a train? Every couple of states?"

 

There are a lot of Federal regulations about trains requiring train crews to perform certain checks. Every time a train goes 1,000 miles, the train crews are required to check certain things (brake hoses, brake shoes, etc., etc.) but they don't exactly swarm all over every car.

Some checks are performed whenever the crew change occurs. This is TIME related, not MILEAGE related. Train crews can only work twelve hours, and then they are "dead on the law" and must be replaced, regardless of whether they have taken the train 500 miles or 500 feet. I have been on trains that went through several states as if state boundaries did not exist at all. I could not tell when I left Oklahoma and entered Arkansas and when I left Arkansas and entered Texas, and left Texas and entered Louisiana.

Trains change crews at division points, generally speaking, but if a train crew has been delayed out on the tracks for some reason, they occasionally change crews out in the sticks.

 

Back in the old days, before cell phones, pretty much nobody bothered to try to "rat off" trainhoppers. If you were unlucky enough to be seen by a local cop, they you might get taken off the train at the next stop, but "maybe not."

Today, with everybody on earth (including trainhoppers) carrying cell phones, allowing yourself to be seen by passers-by is extremely risky, especially "foamers" or rail fans. People will call you in to the local cops for a variety of reasons, including their concern for your safety and so forth. If you get spotted, the cops will call the railroad, the railroad will radio the train crew and they will rendezvous the train with the police at some rail crossing and have you arrested.

The cops will arrest you, but will probably leave all your gear on the side of the road for anybody who comes along to steal. You'll go to jail. You'll get arraigned before a magistrate, who must tell you what you are charged with and set bail. If you can make bail, they tell you when to return for Court. If you don't return, they will either issue a warrant for your arrest (Montana) or drop the charges (Iowa, Wyoming and Mississippi.)

 

This is why I tell people DO NOT SKYLINE YOURSELF ON A FREIGHT TRAIN.

 

HIDE.

LEAVE NO TRACE.

DO NO DAMAGE.

MAKE NO DISTURBANCE.

 

If they never see you, then this is not a problem. In fact, I think it fair to say that if you skyline yourself and get arrested, it is YOUR OWN FAULT when you go to jail. The rules say "Stay completely out of sight." Skylarking in a boxcar door not only endangers yourself, but it also endangers any other tramps on your train. BE SNEAKY.

[rolling nowhere]

kabar, say that your spotted on a train what usually happens?

 

youll probably get the boot. but who knows.

we just got kicked off by 2 sherrifs last week. it was lame. we had just got on the damn train like 30 miles back and a worker somehow saw us when we rolled by a crossing. he must have had fucking eagle eyes to see us becaus we werent really out in the open.

we didnt get tickets or anything. no one seemed to even care we were on there but they kicked us off. the cops seemed more curious than anything.

what it really comes down to is who sees you and do they really care...

[KaBar2]

Stretch and I got caught in the UP yard in Boone, Iowa in 2005. The cops weren't too aggressive, but they still wrote us $150 tickets. The sheriff's deputy said "If you two had been thirty feet farther up in the weeds, you would have been off railroad property. Good thing you weren't on a train, because I'd have to take you in."

Despite the fact that we were trespassers, the city cop said "Walk down into town until you see the H.E.B. store. On the other side of those tracks is a city park, and some undeveloped city property next to the Union Pacific tracks that is all overgrown and trashed out. You guys can camp there, and we won't bother you, but stay off of railroad property."

It turned out to be a good little jungle. Right across the tracks to the south was the H.E.B., which has good water faucets (but they are sillcocks, so don't forget a sillcock key) and good dumpsters thereabouts. We caught out east for Clinton about 0300.

 

About a month later I got a notice in the mail that said they dropped the charges, which is good because I like Iowa, and I'd prefer not to have any warrants out.

[john brown]

do you still hop trains?

[dixiebeer]

Stretch and I got caught in the UP yard in Boone, Iowa in 2005. The cops weren't too aggressive, but they still wrote us $150 tickets. The sheriff's deputy said "If you two had been thirty feet farther up in the weeds, you would have been off railroad property. Good thing you weren't on a train, because I'd have to take you in."

Despite the fact that we were trespassers, the city cop said "Walk down into town until you see the H.E.B. store. On the other side of those tracks is a city park, and some undeveloped city property next to the Union Pacific tracks that is all overgrown and trashed out. You guys can camp there, and we won't bother you, but stay off of railroad property."

It turned out to be a good little jungle. Right across the tracks to the south was the H.E.B., which has good water faucets (but they are sillcocks, so don't forget a sillcock key) and good dumpsters thereabouts. We caught out east for Clinton about 0300.

 

About a month later I got a notice in the mail that said they dropped the charges, which is good because I like Iowa, and I'd prefer not to have any warrants out.

Boone is alright. I never had any problems there myself. Got off my train from Cheyenne around 11am and didn't see anyone in the yard, granted my main focus was to get out before anyone saw me. For being a small town and walking about with all my gear, I never talked to the police once. There was some sort of street sale on main street when I came and I was able to get some nice little knick-knacks and a few new tapes when I was there. Boone Hobby is pretty rad too, although the guy isn't very talkative. Ended up thumbing outta there to Des Moines and catching north from there.

[ValueHorse]

http://www.fecalface.com/SF/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=778&Itemid=92

[KaBar2]

Nice article and good photos. He's right, they were travelling in far too large a group. Very safe, though. Also very conspicuous.

 

One other thing--bulls are NOT "security guards". They are police officers, just like school district or university police officers. Their jurisdiction is just very spread out (wherever their railroad's property goes.) They have limited authority off railroad property, but they can pursue a lawbreaker if he leaves railroad property if they choose to do so.

 

University cops' jurisdiction is the university campus and university property (if away from the campus) plus the university's "environs." (the area around the university.) If a rapist is hiding just outside the campus boundary, waiting for unsuspecting college girls to walk down to Starbuck's, the university cops can arrest him and they can pursue him if he runs.

 

School district cops actually have authority to arrest students en route to and from school. Once a student gets out of school at 3:00, he or she is still under the authority of the school district until he or she reaches HOME. School districts are not just some collection of adults who like to torture students. They are A PART OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT. Children are not just "requested" to go to school. They must attend school, by State Law. School is not an option. It is required by Law. The school buildings, the buses, the books and all school property is government property.

 

Railroad Special Agents are police officers, licensed by the State government and their departments operate on a charter from the state government. Here in Texas, they must have what is called a TCLEOSE certificate (pronounced "Tee-Close"--Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education"), the same law enforcement certificate that every Texas police officer must have. Security guards are not required to be TCLEOSE certified (they are covered under a different law), but Railroad Special Agents are.

 

Below is a photograph of Union Pacific special agents and their vehicle in Tucumcari, NM. Not all bull wagons are as plainly marked as is this one. They often ride around in unmarked Ford Explorers or Chevy Suburbans (nearly always an American-made vehicle, VERY RARELY a Japanese product) and the vehicles nearly always are equipped with what is called an "alley light," a light mounted on the driver's side door frame with which the bull can spotlight trains, etc. (See photograph below). They also sometimes carry a very powerful handheld spotlight that plugs into the cigarette lighter of the truck. This truck below is also equipped with a K-9 package for a police dog. This is a screen between the driver and the back seat area, and usually a platform covered with carpet, or something similar to allow the police dog to easily mount/dismount from the vehicle through the rear doors. K-9 units require a back-up unit to transport prisoners (usually a local city police unit) because there is no rear seat for the prisoner to sit. Never run from a police dog. If you do, your first stop after being handcuffed will be the local hospital ER for stitches. Never harm a police dog in any way. If you do, you'll be charged with assault on a police officer, a very serious felony.

 

 

 

 

[KaBar2]

In the United States, the appointment, commissioning and regulation of rail police is primarily a state mandate. Section 1704 of the Crime Control Act of 1990, effective March 14, 1994, provides that: "A railroad police officer who is certified or commissioned as a police officer under the laws of any state shall, in accordance with the regulations issued by the Secretary of Transportation, be authorized to enforce the laws of any jurisdiction in which the rail carrier owns property."

 

US railroads

All of the major Class I railroads and most regional carriers employ their own police departments whose officers carry the title Special Agent. Railroad Special Agents are commissioned by the Governor of the state they are employed in, are also armed, and carry both state and federal arrest powers in all states in which their employing railroad owns property. Their primary concern is policing crimes against the railroad, although they do have the authority to police the general public, make arrests on public property, and enforce applicable local, state, and/or federal laws when necessary.

Railroad Police and the term "Special Agent," along with the Pinkerton Detective Agency, were models for the FBI when it was created in 1907.

See also: Railroad police

 

The status of railroad police officers varies by state, in that they are commissioned by the Governor of the state in which they reside and/or work in and they may carry both state level arrest powers and some interstate arrest powers as allowed by 49 USC 28101. Although railroad police primarily enforce laws on or near the railroad right of way, their police officers can enforce other laws and make arrests off of railroad property depending on the state in which they are working.

Depending upon the state or jurisdiction, railroad police officers may be considered certified police officers, deputized peace officers, or company special agents.

Some of the crimes railroad police investigate include trespassing on the right-of-way of a railroad, assaults against passengers, terrorism threats targeting the railroad, arson, tagging of graffiti on railroad rolling stock or buildings, signal vandalism, pickpocketing, ticket fraud, robbery and theft of personal belongings, baggage or freight. Other incidents railroad police investigate include derailments, train/vehicle collisions, vehicle accidents on the right of way, and hazardous materials releases.

 

Jurisdiction and authority

 

Railroad police officers are certified law enforcement officers and sometimes carry full police and arrest powers, however in some states that power is limited to railroad property or while in fresh pursuit.

The appointment, commissioning and regulation of railroad police under Section 1704 of the U.S. Crime Control Act of 1990, provides that: "A railroad police officer who is certified or commissioned as a police officer under the laws of any one state shall, in accordance with the regulations issued by the U. S. Secretary of Transportation, be authorized to enforce the laws of any other state in which the rail carrier owns property."

It is important to note that Section 1704 also states that this police authority is to "the extent of the authority of a police officer certified or commissioned under the laws of that jurisdiction". The states and not the federal government have the authority to authorize and/or limit railroad police authority. There is no such thing as a "fedearal police officer" with full "police authority" in every state.

While a railroad police officer may have general peace officer authority in some states like California, they are still limited to the railroad's property in Washington State and many others. (See RCW 81.60.010: "Every police officer appointed and commissioned under the provisions of RCW 81.60.010... shall when on duty have the power and authority conferred by law on peace officers, but shall exercise such power only in the protection of the property belonging to or under the control of the corporation at whose instance the officer is appointed and in preventing, and making arrest for, violations of law upon or in connection with such property."

 

 

 

Below: Norfolk Southern railroad special agents, 1870's.

 

 

[KaBar2]

Kobe Bryant---This was shot in August 2005. This train was hauling ass. Note the GLOVES.

 

 

[KaBar2]

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2007/07/multiple_stab_w.php

 

Gotta Love Onion!

[Mellow]

kabar, I just realised that you really should write a book or a zine to publish all of this outsanding info

great job

 

I can help you make a zine if you want

[ValueHorse]

that monkey stabbing shit is ridiculous!

[KaBar2]

Re: Message from Texas Madman

 

King Iwegian and Crash arrived in Cleveland, Ohio

 

"Had the HONOR of hosting overnight guests by the name of last years

King of the Hobos IWEGIAN RICK and future Queen of the Hobos CRASH at

the house Friday Night. Iwegian called from Toledo saying they

were there and trying to get out for Cleveland but needing info on the

yards in Toledo. Later he called back saying they were catching a

Greyhound to Cleveland and wanted to know of a place to camp-out in

downtown. I convinced him to let us host him and Crash in East

Cleveland. So me and Les picked them up at the Greyhound station about 2:30 Sunday morning. After a little Dumpster Diving back to the house and they spent the night.

 

On Sunday we took them out to the 185th St. Jungle to visit with

Stretch [who has been there for a little over a week], Stretch helped

them decide to catch a train to Buffalo where they could make better

$$$ for traveling out to Riverhead N.Y. And he said he would go with

them, then Les decided he wanted to ride a train to Buffalo too [1st

time for him in 4 or more years]. So after going back to the house and

waiting on Les to get ready [i swear Les would get to his own funeral

at the last minute] we set up waiting for an East Bound Train at the

eastbound Catch-out point. Waited until 12:30 pm and a train Buffalo

bound pulled out of the far side of the yard and stopped, so the Merry

Band of 'Bo's [i really don't know for sure if they WERE merry,

probably just glad that they were catching out instead of waiting

until morning] boarded the train for Buffalo and parts unknown. I then

drove Les's van to Buffalo to pick him up and pack him back to Ohio

[or as Sidedoor Pullman Kid calls it - O-H-10], and it was a good

thing I did drive there. It seems that the train they were on was a

trade off train that became a CP train in Buffalo and was going into

Canada.

 

So everyone bailed near downtown Buffalo, then they called me and

after a few minutes of getting streets straight in Confusing Buffalo I

picked them up. Ended up dropping Iwegian, Crash, and Stretch off at

the East end of Frontier Yard where there's a shopping mall that they

can make some traveling $$$ at before they go further to Riverhead.

They're in kinda' early so Iwegian said he was gonna' take his time

getting him and Crash to Riverhead. But at least a bit of a hard

hurdle is over with! Now it's just Iwegian and Crash biding their time

until they NEED to get the rest of the way to the East Coast."

 

Modern hoboing: cell phones and a chase vehicle, LOL. Iwegian and Crash have been riding all over the place. I'm thinking our girl Crash is a shoo-in for Queen next year--a genuine rail-riding Queen of Hobos! All Hail the Queen! LOL.

[ValueHorse]

is the FTRA still a problem to 40 milers and other such thrill seekers?

[KaBar2]

Value Horse---

 

The FTRA has pretty much disbanded as an official organization. I know several members of the Original FTRA, and while they are exactly the same guys they have always been (quite a bit older is all) they no longer wear FTRA colors and no longer operate as a group.

 

There was another group, called the "new" FTRA, who were much younger. Under pressure from the police in various states, they too have "taken off their colors." Of course, all these guys still know each other and pretty much live the same lifestyle they have always lived. With the increasing enforcement on the rails, the decimation of their numbers from arrests, deaths of older members and so on, the FTRA is less and less a concern. To a great degree, I think that FTRA was a victim of it's own reputation. It's tough-guy image was no fabrication, they are genuine tough guys, but the image attracted people who did not share FTRA's original intent and comraderie, and those individuals' illegal and violent behavior brought down unprecedented law enforcement attention.

 

Especially on FTRA's home turf in the Pacific Northwest, law enforcement pressure drove tramps off the rails. It made riding the Hi-Line nearly impossible. Montana, which had been a hobo haven for over a hundred years, made an effort to drive train hoppers off it's railroads completely. Many FTRA tramps just "went homeguard" and settled down somewhere to a life of stationary alcoholism and drug use. Others bought vehicles and continued their wandering life, but no longer on the tracks. Cultivating a threatening image was a disasterous mistake for FTRA.

 

Trainhopping is not really all that dangerous for people willing and able to defend themselves and who follow the rules. It's the inexperienced, naive, young, foolishly adventurous suburban type wannabes that wind up getting hurt. I have heard numerous stories of people being ripped off, raped, robbed and harmed because they trusted someone who was not trustworthy. A lot of the people out on the tracks today are people with some severe problems. I've met numerous alcoholics and drug addicts, for whom getting their drug every day is the number one priority in life. If they have to rip you off to do it, so be it. I've met people who clearly have psychiatric problems. I've met many kids who were runaways or throwaways and quite a few girls who had been molested or sexually abused by their families.

 

One guy told me "The world is like the African veld. Some people are lions, and must run to catch their food, or starve to death. Some people are like antelopes, and must run to avoid being somebody's elses' food. But one thing is absolutely certain----no matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle, when the sun comes up every morning, your ass better be running."

 

Does the average train rider advocate this? Of course not, even if it's true. The weaker ones don't want to acknowledge that they are vulnerable. The predators damned sure aren't going to tell you they are sizing you up. People who ride trains need to get STREET WISE and in a big ass hurry.

 

"Forty milers" is a somewhat derogatory term that refers to older tramps who have settled into a routine. They don't literally ride forty miles, but they do ride the same route over and over. A lot of times this is because they could collect benefits in different counties, so they might get Food Stamps (back when Food Stamps were like paper money), Welfare or Disability and emergency funds in three or four different counties. Nowadays this is nearly impossible, because of the computerization and internet connectability of the relief and welfare benefits programs. One of the reasons Robert "Sidetrack" Silveria was killing older tramps on Social Security was to get their identitities so he could collect their benefits, and this also led eventually to his capture.

 

Young train riders who ride a short circuit aren't really "forty milers." The term really implies older people, people on Social Security or Disability benefits, people who no longer get a thrill out of riding long distances, or putting up with uncomfortable conditions. It implies people who have established a routine, a regular route, who see the same people and go to the same towns over and over.

[M_I]

^have you ever had to fight off anyone while hopping??

 

besides keeping a low profile, how do you avoid getting f'ed over?

[RAY NAGIN]

YO D-MAN...... THAT WAS ME...... THERES A TRAIL FROM EUREKA TO MEMORIAL

 

DOWN TO WILLOW BEND!!! ALL USED SYRINGES....THEY TRAIL STRETCHES OUT TO SUGARLAND

 

THEN ONTO ROSENBERG....THEN TO EAGLE LAKE......OFFF THROUGH COLOMBUS AND WEIMAR AND

 

SCHULENBERRG,,,, ONTO FLATONIA....GOES INTO SHINER....THEN ON TO THE NEXT TOWN.....ALL

 

THE WAY INTO SAN ANTONIO....

 

 

HAVE FUN PICKIN THEM UP...

 

 

YO SFR IS MAD JUNKIES YO!!!!

 

HAHAHAHAHA

[desism_ktc]

I find this lifestyle (for lack of a better word) very interesting. Coming from the subway world, fr8's have shown me a bunch of things that I never knew still existed..

[Using_Public_Funds_Effecti]

I find it truly amazing how complex such a seemingly simple culture can be. Just from reading Kabar's posts, i'm amazed.

 

Kabar, you really should put out a website, or a zine or something rather than just being strictly on this website.

[KaBar2]

UPFE---

 

That I should write a book or publish a 'zine has been suggested a few times already, but truthfully there are a lot of guys far more qualified than myself who should do that. The publisher of the Hobo Times spent a lot of money trying to get it to fly, but he never made a dime. (You can still get back issues of the Hobo Times at tramp gatherings and at Britt.)

 

One reason I never took many pictures of my travels is that I felt like I could either fully participate in the experience, or I could sort of reduce it to hippie tourism and take "vacation snapshots" of my travels. I chose to forego the camera, but now I'm sorry that I did. Interestingly enough, Christopher McCandless, AKA "Alexander Supertramp", the infamous young adventurer who died alone in the Alaskan wilderness, felt the same way. He did not record many of his adventures photograpically, but he did keep a jounal, especially during the last few weeks of his life when he realized he was going to starve to death. Fortunately for me, I was never brave enough, foolish enough or crazy enough to get myself into a fatal situation. Jon Krakauer's book about McCandless, "Into the Wild" is an excellent book. If you've never read it, you should. You can get a paperback copy online for less than $5. (McCandless did not believe in maps. He wanted a "wilderness" experience, and if you don't have a map, then it's "wilderness to you." While interesting (in a sort of stupid, tree-hugger way) hiking off into the Alaskan wilderness without a map is really, really idiotic. The guy starved to death four miles from a warm cabin full of food and seven miles from a wire cable strand that crossed the snow-melt swollen river that was preventing him from surviving.! Dumbass.) Anyone contemplating really going off the grid should read Krakauer's book first.

[Grimes]

I just read the first 6 pages.Man,seriously,this is better than any book ive ever read.It keeps me interested.So much knowledge is being dropped.I look forward to reading the rest.Keep up the good work Kabar.

[KaBar2]

There are a number of well-known hobo writers and poets. The list of "famous people who have been hoboes" is pretty interesting. Here a short (and very incomplete) list:

 

--Louis L'Amour, the Western author

--James Michener, author, world traveler, historian

--Jack London, famous author and noted Socialist

--Winthrop Rockefeller, wealthy industrialist, when he was a young man

--Nels Anderson, author and songwriter

--William O. Douglas, Supreme Court Justice

--Clark Gable, actor

--Dr. George Milburn, college professor and author

--Melvin Belli, attorney

--Vachel Lindsay, poet

--George Orwell, author of "1984" and "Animal Farm"

--Steve McQueen, actor

 

considering how many on this list are writers, poets or authors, perhaps I should have called it a list of famous writers who have been hobos!

[KaBar2]

I was rambling through old posts and i found this piece of video that ewas posted by Rolling Nowhere some time ago. I really enjoyed it and I wanted to bump it. I especially enjoyed the last song, "Rock Me Mama" by the Old Crow Medicine Show. Good stuff.

 

In general it's not a bad piece of video for instruction purposes, much better than that one that showed some crazy British kid swinging off railcar ladders at 60 mph, etc. I found a website somewhere where he had discovered my comments about his idiocy and he complained that I was a prick, etc., etc. That's all fine and good. He rode trains the stupid way and didn't get killed, so now he's an expert.

 

But if he had slipped and fallen, it would be a completely different story. It would be all about his horrible ordeal waiting for help, and how he begged God not to let him die, and how difficult rehabilitation was, all those agonizing surgeries, and how somehow or another IT WASN'T HIS FAULT. No, somehow or another, it must be somebody else's fault and they should pay for his pain and his suffering and compensate him for his disability. It would be all about him getting "justice" from the railroad, and how they owe him millions of dollars for his injuries (and of course, 33% for his lawyer). All because he is an ignorant, careless idiot who is reckless with his own life. Did he get hurt? No. By the grace of God, he managed to behave like an irresponsible kid riding trains and did not get hurt. Lucky for him.

 

I can remember Rufe telling me "Never ever walk between two cars that are uncoupled," and me going right over there and doing it, and telling him "If I pass between these two open couplers, I am exposed to danger for a split second. The chances of me getting crushed at that exact second are incredibly small!" And Rufe looked at me like I was some sort of mental defective and said "Yeah, that's true. But if you don't pass between two cars that are uncoupled the chances do not exist at all." At age 20, I could not understand his logic. Why would I be afraid of such a small chance?

 

But once I got older, and had some life experience, I realized that the consequences if you lose are SO FUCKING HORRIBLE than taking any chance whatsoever is totally unjustified.

 

The video is good, though.

 

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=9095597077356846996

[ValueHorse]

that video is great, got any more good links to videos?