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Server Time:
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 NotBatman
    
Location: MSP
Gender: Male
Secret Cult Member
 |  | Re: hobo train trip!
<Reply # 20 on 10/23/2010 2:33 AM >
|  | | | I have a noob question: If I jump onto a train because I have poor impulse control and it speeds up to where I can't safely jump off, how long of a ride can I expect to be on? Do trains roll nonstop between... stops? Do they have to stop every few hours for breaks or whatever? How long might some random ride go for before I can expect to get off?
And then how do I plot a course back in the direction of home again? If I jump onto something that starts off in the right direction but then it turns...?
Riding freight sounds like fun, but how much of a commitment do I have to be ready for?
I'm a "Leave only footprints, take only pornography" kind of guy, myself. |
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vov35
 
Location: Maryland
Gender: Male
| | Re: hobo train trip!
<Reply # 21 on 10/23/2010 2:57 PM >
| | | | from what I've seen tunnels, bridges, and sharp bends are grounds for a train slowing to 15-25 mph, which is safe enough to jump off at. Plus their acceleration sucks, not noticing it starting to move would be tricky. 
unfortunately it seems that they do go long distances without stopping.
And damn I've wanted to try a hobo train trip on the b&o freight trains for a while now...
EDIT: it may be worthwhile to note that the area I was observing this at has a sharp bend going through a tunnel, followed by a bridge, a tunnel, and another bend all in less than a mile....
[last edit 10/23/2010 3:01 PM by vov35 - edited 1 times]
"Only sheep need a shepherd." -- Voltaire |
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uLiveAndYouBurn
 
Location: Beyond
Anarchocommunist
| | Re: hobo train trip!
<Reply # 22 on 10/24/2010 2:27 AM >
| | | | Posted by NotBatman
how long of a ride can I expect to be on? Do trains roll nonstop between... stops? |
Crews can only go 12 hours at a time, so at the most a train can go nonstop for only 12 hours.
| How long might some random ride go for before I can expect to get off? |
Could be the full 12 hours, maybe less.
| And then how do I plot a course back in the direction of home again? If I jump onto something that starts off in the right direction but then it turns...? |
thats the tricky part. Knowing the call numbers of the route you want and having a scanner to hear when its departing helps. In the old days you could ask a yard worker but thats kind of risky these days.
Riding freight sounds like fun, but how much of a commitment do I have to be ready for?
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At least a week from when you start to when you have to be back. Be ready to wait for hours and hours with nothing happening. Be ready to be uncomfortable. Be ready to have to converse with and/or defend yourself against the dregs of society.
"Aint nothin' to it but to do it"
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dagnytaggart
| | Re: hobo train trip!
<Reply # 23 on 10/26/2010 4:28 PM >
| | | | Sorry for the neglect! Okay, so, we were pretty far back on the train (single stacks, rode the b&o, then up through Pittsburgh, through Ohio (I kind of wasn't paying attention to Ohio, or at least its political geography) then through Indiana and finally into Chicago. We were far enough back on the train that, in fact, it stopped with the butt still outside the yard! Total score. However, after having spent 28 hours on a 53 miniwell* we were a little dazed, to say the least. Anyhow, next to train tracks, often, there is a dirt or gravel or even sometimes paved road, called the "bull run," whose purpose, as I'm sure you can imagine, is the bull's access to the tracks. There are often train robbers (yes, train robbers, still, in 2010. I mean, those shits are full of ipods. It's not the worst idea) cracking containers to get to the goods inside. Thus, purposing a railroad bull's existence. Boo. Anyway, the train stopped so that our car was just before an overpass, but right next the bull run. We decided, lazily, that we should just walk down the fucking bull run. There was a steep grade of wooded brier on either side, also. It didn't seem like the worst of ideas. And it wasn't, if we were being scouts, and on top of our shit, it would have been fine. But we took our time, strolling along, just happy to be on solid, motionless ground. We were also in the middle of a pretty bad Chicago ghetto at 2am. I barely noticed the headlights until they were right on me. The bull got out and stopped us, ran our IDs and told us to get the fuck out of there. He was pretty condescending, as cops usually are. So that was our warning. If we ever get caught on CSX property again, it's the brig for us. 90 days I think. I don't know if that applies only to Chicago, or all of CSX property. Well, things to ponder.
Luckily, we took Canadian Pacific out of Chicago to get to Minneapolis. So I really wasn't phased by the whole situation. I really was just happy to be off that train.
I figured out how much I payed in bus fare and light rail fare getting from one train yard to another, and around cities and I think it cost me about $6.50 to get from Philadelphia to Minneapolis. Awesome.
And in case you're wondering, it's amazing. It's beautiful and scary and insane and intense and manic. Every single time my train airs up to go, and I hear the slack action coming up and bump around and feel the motion commence... there's really just nothing like it. Nothing will ever be that. It's special. I feel like an outlaw. Totally free, but at the mercy of thousands of tons of mass. It's overwhelming. Ah! I feel like I'm in love. Thanks for reading ya'll ;)
*53 miniwell: a car on an intermodal (high priority) train, holding a 53-foot long container, the space available on which is about 9ft by 3 ft by 2 ft, pictured here, protecting the identity of my buddy
| sounds like she/he got caught, decided that it wasnt worth the risk to try again in the same yard and is either in chicago still, or hitch-hiked/took the dirty dog onto greener pastures. |
FOR THE RECORD, sir. The dirty dog is never EVER the answer. I don't want to get my head chopped off!
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dagnytaggart
| | Re: hobo train trip!
<Reply # 24 on 10/26/2010 4:37 PM >
| | | | Posted by uLiveAndYouBurn
Crews can only go 12 hours at a time, so at the most a train can go nonstop for only 12 hours.
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From my experience, trains will stop every 6-8 hours for a crew change. But yes, legally they can only go for 12 hours at a time, thank you unions. THAT BEING SAID, it is important to remember that IF a train has not stopped in nearly 12 hours, it's because a schedule went awry, somehow, and their haul is taking much longer than usual. If this is the case, road crews are required by their union to stop the train, anywhere it is, when they have been working for 12 hours, period. Which means, the other crew might have to drive down the tracks to relieve your crew. In other words, you might be literally in the middle of nowhere. So be prepared with at least a little survivalist training, pay attention to the terrain, if you see lights, a city's loom, a water tower telling you your location, and, if you haven't seen anything but rails and swamps or woods or whatever for 15 miles. Those might be miles you have to hike, if you need to get off that train. And 15 miles with gear on your back is more like 25 miles. I always bring railroad maps, but they can be hard to find, so any road map and a compass, and a little mathematics should help. Once I knew I was in the right town using my watch, some maps, and speed approximation. I did it to impress a boy. It worked ;)
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lansiar
Location: Denver, CO
Gender: Male
| | Re: hobo train trip!
<Reply # 25 on 10/26/2010 6:42 PM >
| | | | Sounds like a pretty sick trip. I've always wanted to do something similar so your info really helps.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lansiar |
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emdf7a
Location: Illinois
Gender: Male
You dont want any of this.
| | Re: hobo train trip!
<Reply # 26 on 10/27/2010 2:29 PM >
| | | | I work for the railroad and in a container facility. I occasionally run across hobos and if you aren't drunk, on drugs, stealing stuff, or being a dick, I or guys I work with will just let you go. I personally don't want to deal with the hassle of waiting for the special agent to show up. A lot of times if you are decent, we can help you on your way. I know this sounds like a commercial for Avis or some crap but I just thought I'd throw it out there. Also, most trains will run for 100 to 150 miles before a crew change and can only run for a maximum of 12 hours before the crew must stop. Lastly, hopping trains is trespassing and railroads/cops are very hard on trespassers. I have heard of people getting harassed but not beaten up. I also don't want to see your dead or mangled body on the tracks, so please be careful if you do decide to ride the rails.
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