BUMPINSLAPPERS Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 bout to hop out for the first time with some friends who've done it for a grip, any tips for my first time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acer910 Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 ha, doin the same. ive ridden before, just not further then a mile or two. riding over a river. bout to be nervous as helllllll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 bout to hop out for the first time with some friends who've done it for a grip, any tips for my first time? have fun. dont do dumb shit on/around trains. how far are you going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 ha, doin the same. ive ridden before, just not further then a mile or two. riding over a river. bout to be nervous as helllllll a mile or 2 doesnt count. haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acer910 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 gotta learn to walk before you can run... anyways, i went with a friend whos done it before. the train came later then expected, at about 2am. we rode it till 430am. saw a lot of neat shit, went through a swamp, crossed a bigass river (which kinda fucked us over, we didnt know the bridge was a automatic triggered bridge so we couldnt walk back home on the tracks). we had to jump on while it was moving because it pulled out of the yard, stopped once it cleared the gates (we got on when it stopped) and we saw someone walking up from the behind with a flashlight and we didnt want to find out who exactly it was so we hopped off and hid in the trees (there wasnt room for both of us in the grainer hole) getting on was sketchy, but it worked. i knew enough to wear a "pair of boots with a profound heel" (to quote kabar) wich helped a bunch, especially when it started raining and the whole car got wet as fuck. we jumped off as the train slowed to pull into the next town overs yard, back tracked down the tracks for about 2 and half hours and walked up onto the highway and walked to a friends and slept there. i know yall probably dont care about some kids first "adventure", but i figure id share. maybe bring back some memories from the early days? also, ive read through the first 75 pages in this thread and everything kabar has said has helped. if i hadnt worn boots i probably would have slipped off a ladder at some point in the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 hah. this thread was what gave me the intestinal fortitude to climb up in that coal car the first time. i had done a lot of hitch hiking over the course of my time outdoors and really wanted to hop a freight but had no clue as to how to go about it. i finally got my north american rail atlas and thought i had the system beat. i got a friend to drop me off in nashville and posted up by the tracks. the trains running through were going way too fast to catch on the fly and we were starting to give up hope. the local cops were patroling pretty heavy, running the bums out from under the bridges. rather than get a trespassing ticket we walked up about 3/4 miles. i was tired and miserable, wanting nothing but a few shots out of our bottle and to sit down. nashville is the most uphill fucking city anywhere. so i sit down and my buddy points out on the side of this box is a drawing that says one track goes to birmingham and one goes to atlanta. a train stops maybe a 1/4 mile p and we run and jump on the third car from the rear. rode that bitch all the way to jacksonvile fl. i spent the next 2 years exploring the usa and havn't regretted a minute of it. thanks kabar, rolling, and the rest of you riders. i met the best, the worst, and the otherwise out there on the road. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Thank you guys, both for the stories and the propers. I'm sure there are some parents out there somewhere who are saying "Where in the hell did he (or she) get the idea to go hop a freight train? I'd like to kill whoever suggested it!" A lot of old trainhoppers (like up at Britt) are always saying things like "Well, we don't ever advocate trainhopping, but . . . " I actually hope that this thread might deter some kids who might have some mistaken romantic idea of hopping trains, yet at the same time, I'd be a huge hypocrite if I didn't acknowledge that I loved living on the road and that I'd be out there right now if I could. Living on the road isn't for everybody. I know guys that have done it for nearly thirty years, like King Stretch, and occasionally I meet people who are trying going on the bum for just a few weeks or months. Just the same, Tramp Life has led a lot of people to an early grave, especially from years of hard living---drinking heavily, smoking tobacco, using other kinds of drugs, sleeping on the ground, living out in really bad weather, eating out of dumpsters and so on. Just look at the long list of guys I know who have died since this thread has been running. The hardest of the hard core, the guys that were completely fearless and lived through countless fights, and brawls and hard winters, some who even survived a train climbing the rail and folding up--Space Man John, Eight Ball, Shot Down Wills, New York Greenie, Preacher Steve and a bunch of others. Dog Man Tony is really sick. King Frog lost a leg. King Iwegan came in off the road and has an apartment for the first time in his life. He told me with great pride that he was arrested on a train and the judge wanted to fine him. Iwegan asked for public service because he had no money and one of the options was reading to the blind. He finished his sentence, and has continued on for months afterwards, twice a week he reads to the blind for several hours, and sees the same clients in his group week after week. He has slowed down his drinking a lot. It's really good to see him getting so much pride and self esteem from a public-spirited thing. He told me "Really, I think I get more out of it than they do." It's not so much that tramp life itself is so horrible. It's not. But the other things in someone's life that lead them to stay on the road for twenty years--those are the things that get you. Drinking a fifth of booze a day. Smoking every day for twenty years. Staying high, not going to school, not ever getting an education, not ever getting a trade, not having decent medical care or dental care. It adds up, all the things you don't have that people ought to have. Tramping is a hard life, and it takes its toll on you as the years go by. I've always said that the most dangerous thing about hopping trains is that you may never want to quit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 I hear what you are saying. living on the road is in no way shape or form easy or romantic. it means starving, freezing, whatever the outdoor element is, you have to suck it up. i am now married, dealing with a minimum wage job, paying bills and all the bullshit that comes with being an adult but i wouldn't trade the experience of being out there for any thing in the world, just like i wouldn't give up my homebum life now. i am grateful that i had this advice to get me on down the line. it's just that now i have something to compare it to, and i like capitalism. i miss the road though. it gets in your blood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 whats the worst town any of you have been through? like hating train riders and what not... id say whitefish was numero uno. i think the cops got called on us for doing nothing except existing like 5 times in the 6 hours we spent actually in town. fuck that place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblaze2k Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Hey Kabar what's up man it's Murt i stayed in your hooch and tagged it a year ago now?, unfortunately I caught out right before you called back, that train I caught just took me to Settegast but after a couple hours of getting eaten by skeeters including running out of the wide open yard so i didnt get switched I caught a 48 up to Little Rock and then Salem IL before i rode back to Houston and out on the sand line to CA. Hopefully we'll get to meet up sometime. I saw someone was writing about Iraq vets, Jobo is probably the only person I know of who went to Iraq that's ended up riding trains. He's a hell of a motherfucker with the curse of the Irish. He beat another rider half to death with a lead pipe for trying to steal his gear and will fight anyone who gets on his nerves. We get along good but you don't want to be on his bad side for sure. Rolling, dixiebeer any of you guys seen him? I'm hoping he's still free and not back in the pen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Hey Kabar what's up man it's Murt i stayed in your hooch and tagged it a year ago now?, unfortunately I caught out right before you called back, that train I caught just took me to Settegast but after a couple hours of getting eaten by skeeters including running out of the wide open yard so i didnt get switched I caught a 48 up to Little Rock and then Salem IL before i rode back to Houston and out on the sand line to CA. Hopefully we'll get to meet up sometime. I saw someone was writing about Iraq vets, Jobo is probably the only person I know of who went to Iraq that's ended up riding trains. He's a hell of a motherfucker with the curse of the Irish. He beat another rider half to death with a lead pipe for trying to steal his gear and will fight anyone who gets on his nerves. We get along good but you don't want to be on his bad side for sure. Rolling, dixiebeer any of you guys seen him? I'm hoping he's still free and not back in the pen. met him in whitefish as a matter of fact. seemed like a pretty alright guy compared to the slackjawwed morons i usually run into. but thats was a good while ago so who knows right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 kidblaze2k--- Sorry I missed you. It's been a busy-ass summer, wet, rainy and HOT, so I haven't been down to the jungle in a while. The weather seems to be cooling off though, so maybe it's time I dropped by. Never met Jobo, but I don't get to ride much these days. And if he beat some asshole up for trying to steal his gear, then the asshole deserved it. It's a major violation of the rules: Never touch anther tramp's gear without permission. Same goes for his dog. And if he is travelling with a woman, leave her the hell alone, LOL. If you're ever back this way, give me a shout. K-Bar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixiebeer Posted September 27, 2010 Share Posted September 27, 2010 Never touch anther tramp's gear without permission. Same goes for his dog. And if he is travelling with a woman, leave her the hell alone, LOL. +1 -dixiebrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUMPINSLAPPERS Posted September 27, 2010 Share Posted September 27, 2010 have fun. dont do dumb shit on/around trains. how far are you going? Seattle to LA, then on to new orleans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 whats the worst town any of you have been through? like hating train riders and what not... id say whitefish was numero uno. i think the cops got called on us for doing nothing except existing like 5 times in the 6 hours we spent actually in town. fuck that place. i would have to say that nashville was the roughest, though i know i've said the same about them all. but seriously, the local cops in nashville fucked with me more than anywhere but jacksonville, fl bulls were no joke. that was the only place that they left railroad property to try and catch my dumb ass. when they finally caught up with me, the called in the local gentry and went through my pack. my scanner had the local rail frequencies so they were pissed about hearing themselves talking. the bull tried taking my rail atlas but i told them i bought it at a college book sale and since they couldn't prove otherwise, the local cop told the bull there was nothing he could do about me having it. (it is now 4 years overdue so i guess i could return it and pay the fine......) http://www.12ozprophet.com/forum/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch122 Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 Hey Kabar what's up man it's Murt i stayed in your hooch and tagged it a year ago now?, unfortunately I caught out right before you called back, that train I caught just took me to Settegast but after a couple hours of getting eaten by skeeters including running out of the wide open yard so i didnt get switched I caught a 48 up to Little Rock and then Salem IL before i rode back to Houston and out on the sand line to CA. Hopefully we'll get to meet up sometime. I saw someone was writing about Iraq vets, Jobo is probably the only person I know of who went to Iraq that's ended up riding trains. He's a hell of a motherfucker with the curse of the Irish. He beat another rider half to death with a lead pipe for trying to steal his gear and will fight anyone who gets on his nerves. We get along good but you don't want to be on his bad side for sure. Rolling, dixiebeer any of you guys seen him? I'm hoping he's still free and not back in the pen. TX bound in 2 weeks from milwaukee for the winter stretch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch122 Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 TX bound in 2 weeks from milwaukee for the winter stretch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Stretch--- The jungle is pretty trashy, but the hooch is still there. I was down there last weekend for a minute. No signs of anybody living there, but he could have taken all his gear with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Seattle to LA, then on to new orleans. watch out for border patrol heading east if you take UP. once you get to tx especially. other than that thats a pretty easy trip. going down the west coast is awesome. through the desert too. i might go to nola for halloween if i get motivated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarr Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 RN^ I think Ima be in nola ovr that weekend too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 i wont be there. art gallery opening on the 29th forgot about that shit. rollingnowheretheartfaggottrainbumoner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaryletters Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 i'll be in nola for haloween, in tucson now, so definitely got plenty of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 i'll be in nola for haloween, in tucson now, so definitely got plenty of time. should be going to tucson when it gets colder out. probably my #3 favorite city. met a guy there with half a face. HALF A FUCKING FACE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 http://vimeo.com/2252756 things i seen. places i been. one for the fantasy train hopper league... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSO Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 http://vimeo.com/2252756 things i seen. places i been. one for the fantasy train hopper league... on behalf of the FHT league...thank you. post more please :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamEncinoMan Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 http://vimeo.com/2252756 things i seen. places i been. one for the fantasy train hopper league... Just gave you props, otherwise u'd get more. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolling nowhere Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 That was my first time watching that the other night. Not bad. Made me want to say fuck it and go get on one. Its hard staying focused dudes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 someone finally said it. fuck a damn boxcar. i'd rather hitchhike. being in 55 gallon drum, pushed downhill by a gang of sledgehammers doesn't make for the best sleep, even with a half gallon of whiskey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaryletters Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 someone finally said it. fuck a damn boxcar. i'd rather hitchhike. being in 55 gallon drum, pushed downhill by a gang of sledgehammers doesn't make for the best sleep, even with a half gallon of whiskey. I take it you don't ride in winter much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 nope. i only spent 2 years out there and came off the road in the south for the winter. rode a couple of coal cars in the snow and was pleasantly comfortable. i see the advantages of boxcars but if there is an alternative, i'd take it. and fuck a boxcar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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