So I'm supposed to be
writing you something about how to ride trains and all I can think of to write
about is why you SHOULDN'T ride trains. The truth of the matter is, I love
riding trains. But that statement is a lot more complicated than it sounds. And
it took at least a year from when I learned to ride trains, after I'd done
quite a bit of traveling, for me to honestly love it. I'm so glad I learned,
but I think my experience would have been really different if I hadn't learned
from a boy. So basically, this is one big disclaimer, but I hope you'll learn
something from it.
HOW TO RIDE TRAINS (WITH DISCLAIMERS GALORE)
First off, this is not a
foolproof guide. This is off the top of my head and I'm sure there's lots of
important stuff left out. This is a starting point, but I suggest you go on
your first trip with someone who knows what they're doing (which doesn't mean
they've done it once for a minute) or at the least with someone else in case
your leg gets cut-off and they need to go for help. Cause that really could
happen, never forget that. At the same time, reading about this will never
teach you as much as just doing it. I would suggest taking this down to your
local train yard (if you call Amtrak in your town and ask them where the
freight train yard is they'll probably know) and looking at what I'm talking
about to get better idea. Experienced train riders die. I've known it to
happen. It is super fun, but don't be flip about it, realize always what you're
dealing with.
How to know what train to get
on: There are several things you need to consider. Where you want to go, what
you want to see while you go, how fast you want to get there.
Types of trains: There are two main types of
trains: hotshots or Intermodal (IM), and junk or general manifest (GM).
Hotshots are made up of piggyback cars, which look like the back trailer of a
Mack truck with wheels and all on a flatbed train car, and containers, which
are big rectangular boxes with ribbed siding dropped down into “wells”.
Containers can either be double-stacked (DS) or single-stacked. Junk is made up
of a mix of box cars, grainers, tankers, lumber cars and whatever else.
Basically any mixed freight is junk,
even if there are a few containers or piggybacks mixed in. Hotshots are priority trains. They carry more
important cargo longer distances. Junk trains pull over on siding tracks to let hotshots pass. Hotshots
are faster and usually go from one crew-change to the next. Junk is slower and
will often stop to drop or pick up cars. Hotshots are high on security, junk is lower, but both are accessible
depending on the yard.
Where its going:
A crew change guide and a map are really helpful to figure out where
a train is going. The crew change is put out just about every year. It has
every crew-change point in the U. S. and Canada, and some information about
each yard. Almost every town has a
small yard, but not all yards are crew-change points. Crew-change is where the trains stop to let off an
engineer and conductor and let a new pair on. Some hotshots stop for the
crew-change then keep right on going, some trains stop and drop off cars, pick
up cars, do work, change units (engines), whatever. The crew change will have info about what trains leave from what area of the yard but this
is not fool proof. Ask around or look in zines to find out
where you can get a copy of the crew change. It's all distributed not for profit by train
riders, you can probably just copy it from some one.
Maps help a lot, too. If a
train yard is small, it probably just runs along the tracks. There may only be
two directions a train will go in, so you can tell that if the units are pointed south, its probably headed south,
unless the track does a crazy loop past the yard.
You can also ask yard
workers. This can be very helpful but is best to use as a last resort, cause
every once and a while they'll turn you in, though less often than you might
think. Only approach them when they're
alone cause they don't want to be seen giving info if they're
with a co-worker who might not be down. Never ask them in view of the yard security tower for the same reason. Don't
scare them or sneak up. Just act casual and friendly. Try to make your
questions very specific, don't keep them too long, especially if they don't
seem into talking. Its probably a good idea to use some train jargon
like "Inter modal” or “unit” so they feel that you know what you're
talking about. They won't be so afraid you'll hurt yourself. This is probably
especially true for women, cause rail workers might be more likely to assume
you don't know what you're doing. When you leave try to pick a route where they
can't really see where you've gone in case they call you in. Then lay low a
little while. Check against your info to make sure the two things line up. Most rail workers won't lie to you, but
every once in a while they do. Go with your intuition.
So now you've picked a train going the speed, route and place you want. What car?
Always be sure you have a
good of idea of what type of car you are getting on before you get on. Some
cars do not have floors, it's just open between the wheels and the track below... be very careful, look first,
double check yourself etc. On a hotshot, as I said, there are piggybacks and container/wells. You can
pretty much look at piggybacks to see
if its rideable. Some of the trailers are on flatbeds and you can climb under the trailer and lie down.
Look to make sure it has a floor. One of the types of piggybacks are NOT
ride-able have smooth sides. Check all of them though. Piggybacks are a nice
ride for warm weather, but they can be windy and cold and don't provide
a lot of cover… I don’t recommend this in or out of a hot yard
(one with lots of security), or in the
cold or rain, since there are
no wells. On hotshots there are also container cars. As I described earlier, the well is the actual train car, and the
container is a rectangular box dropped down inside. If the well is
48 feet long, and the container is 40 feet, there is extra space in the
container for you! You Just
have to make sure to get a 48 with a floor. The ones with ribbed sides that are
square over the wheels (rather than curved or angled) DO have floors, but
always look first before jumping right in.
Junk trains have several possibilities of rideable cars. Grainers, which are hard to describe, have "porches" on either end, which sometimes have floors. Some of them also have holes that you can crawl in to hide if need be. Boxcars are always rideable if they're not full of cargo and if the doors are open. If you share a boxcar with cargo be careful cause it might shift while the train is moving. It's also a good idea to make sure doors are wedged open firmly. On coal trains, you can ride with the coal if you want, but you will get very dirty.
Getting
on and off trains: Personally, I choose not to catch on the
fly unless I absolutely have to and I feel very confident about it. Some people
like to always catch on the fly, this is up to you. Catching on the fly
(jumping on a moving trade) is much more dangerous, but can be exciting.
Whenever you get on a train, face the front of the train. First put
your closest hand on the ladder, then your closest leg, then turn to face the
car and climb up. Always make sure there is a floor. So if you are on the left
of the train face the direction the train will be moving, first put you right
hand an the
ladder, then your right foot. Then lift your left foot and turn to face the
train and climb the ladder. This is so that you are facing with the train and
can easily run in a comfortable and safe direction if the train starts moving.
Personally, I would never get on a boxcar on the fly because I don't have the
upper body strength to feel confident that I wouldn't go under the train. If
you're getting on a stopped boxcar do it quickly, pull yourself up either with
a handle on the door or with both arms on the floor, then crawl in.
To
get off a train you should always be going in the direction of the train. You
are more likely to have to get off a moving train than on. If you're slowing
down at a yard and don't want to have to wait for the center of the yard, you
can get off while going more slowly. This feels more safe to me than getting
on. To get off a ladder, basically do the reverse of getting on. Climb to the
bottom rung of the ladder. Face the front of the train so that one of your arms
and legs are still on the ladder, the other is hanging off. Once you get a feel
for the speed (it should be pretty slow) put your foot down and let go,
immediately start running or you'll fall flat on your face. Run at an angle in
the direction that the train is traveling, but away from the train.. So if
you're on the left side of the train you should have your right arm and leg on
the ladder, put down your left leg, then run forward and to the left at an
angle away from the train. As far box cars, I don't get off on the fly. You
should only get off trains that are going pretty slow. You can always wait for
it to stop if you don't mind being further into a yard.
General
tram patterns:
When a train is about to leave it “airs up”. This makes a loud hissing noise
and it usually happens right before it starts to move. When unit (engines)
detach from a train, or a train stops it will often "break air" this
makes a loud, sudden "PSSHHHTT" sound. Trains no longer use cabooses.
They use “Freddies” (Fucking Rear End Devices). These are little boxes that
they attach to the last coupler on the last car of a train. They have a
flashing red light on them and carry some sort of computerized info about a
train. Trains with freddies on them are fully made up trains that are about to
leave. Junk trains do a lot of dropping off and picking up. Generally cars on
the first half of the train are dropped off first, so that's the worst place to
be if you want a long ride. There are two types of units "yard dogs” or
“worker bees" which move strings and cars around inside the
yard, and units that move trains between yards. Yard dogs have a more grumbly
"put-put" sound, long distance units have a smoother sound.
Other yard safety stuff: Never cross trains or strings of cars over the
couplers, between the cars, or under the train. You never know when a string
could move. It might have units attached further up or get pushed by another
train. Never cross close to the end of a string for the same reason. It might
move and squish you. Always remain aware of your surroundings, where strings of
cars are, where people are, where tracks split, etc. Stay out of sight unless
you must ask a question. Most other hobos you might run into don't want to be
acknowledged if you see them from afar. Some yards are hotter than others.
Check out a yard in the crew change guide first so you have some idea who
you're dealing with, but know that the crew-change can always be wrong or out
of date. Bulls often ride in white SUV/off road type vehicles. Steer clear
cause many will arrest you.
I've probably left out lots
of important info and safety tips, so find someone to tell you about this in
person, walk you around a train yard, take you out on your first few trips.
This type of info is always best transmitted in person.