Train jumping

[Lone Star]

...looks like a lot of fun. Somebody 'round here has to have some good stories. Let's hear em!

[digitaldeath]

done it when i was 11-13 i grew up by railroad tracks, like in the 1940's

for real though ive done it its fun

[Art Shirk]

Paging Crass.

[Crass3000]

Paging Crass.

Lots of punk rockers train jump to get across the country. There are gangs like the FTRA (Freight Train Riders of America) to watch out so I wouldn't jump train looking to pretty.The FTRA like to punish you by putting your limb on the rail so you have one less it you don't obey.

[systemoverblow'd]

I used to live near a depot that offloaded car carriers. Can't tell you how many days we spent hopping trains and getting shot at with what I believe were salt pellets.

Crazy side story. I was riding legit on a commuter train about 5 years ago when we hit and killed a homeless person. He was sleeping on the tracks and it was ruled a suicide. We were stuck outbound from Boston to Fitchburg for a long time and then were escorted off the train to another down the tracks in the dark. I was supposed to get home around dinner time and I made it home around midnight. 2007 I think?

[Crass3000]

I was riding legit on a commuter train about 5 years ago when we hit and killed a homeless person. He was sleeping on the tracks and it was ruled a suicide.

Sounds like something these guys might do. Get you hammered and leave you on the tracks. But the FTRA is most active between MPLS and Seattle.

[mtngirl79]

damn, common law, you are good!

[Blurred]

Spook only has one arm.

[iceman]

I used to ride Amtrak for free between Boston, NY and Washington a lot back in the day when I had no money. I figured out a system that worked every time. Hell it'd probably still work.

[OldLarry]

There was an article on it nd the ftra in rolling stone a looong time ago which made it sound like many adventures- more to off then most can chew. like people who "experiment" with being homeless. No thanks-

[splat]

Jumped the midnite mail train to SLC in Jack London Square in Oakland to go to a Halloween party in Quincy once with Pokey The Edgemaster and some crazy guy named Jack and two chicks, We had packs, bedrolls, guitars and banjos. Pokey climbed 57 cars forward to the engines while it roared though the endless array of tunnels going up the Feather River Canyon. Some tunnels were so long we were gagging on the diesel exhaust of eight engines running in the red to get that metal chain of a train over the Sierra.

Our friends in Quincy lived right by the tracks, so Pokey had to go tell the engineers where to stop. It was sunrise in the canyon when he climbed out of the box car and up the ladder. When he cruised into the lead engine at 7am, he said the engineers were kinda shocked but gave him a cup of coffee. We had prearranged that if the train stopped, not to jump off til we saw Pokey was off. He was the only one who knew where we got off. But after working his way forward on a train going through tunnel after tunnel, and having gotten 57 cars ahead of us, he was around a curve when he got off and we couldn't see him. The engineers kicked those eight engines in the ass when they took off. We had crested the Sierra, so, with all those engines, that thing accelerated on the flats like it was coming out of a slingshot. We clung to the sides of the door in the box car, waiting to see Pokey to know if that was where we got off. Finally we see him waving us off and this thing is starting to haul ass, so I got the girls to jump first.

Kathy went, rolled and came up OK. Sherry was always kinda slow about...everything, She sat on the edge of the door, scared shitless. When I told her she had to go, she went. Face first. I felt responsible to get everyone off cause I knew it was gonna be ugly. I got Jack to jump and then helped the for realz wino bum we had picked up along the way. Out he goes. By then the car I was in was closing in on Pokey beside the tracks, so I threw him his guitar and my banjo, followed by my pack. But when I looked to jump, everything beside the tracks was giant boulder fill for a quarter mile. That fucking train was entering hyperspace and everybody was off it but me. It seemed like forever, but it was finally run of the mill roadbed gravel on the side again. I tranced, went limp and fell forward. I was pretty sure I was gonna break into pieces. It was fucking surreal. I hit the ground and bounced high, did a backflip and landed on my feet. Unfuckingreal.

I ran back toward the others, worried that someone might be hurt. It was Sherry. Kathy and Pokey were kinda holding her face. Sherry was a very pretty girl. Pokey ended up marrying her. When I got there, she sees me and says "I made it!" smiling real big. It was then that I noticed what Pokey and Kathy were looking at. Sherry had chipped her two front teeth in kind of a horseshoe shape. With her innocent naivete, it somehow kinda fit her overall presence perfectly.

I did a lot of shit like that riding trains for kicks and travels. Pokey and Wilbur stayed on that train once, got off in Colorado Springs, played music at a bar for two weeks and then caught another back home to Oakland.

[Crass3000]

There was an article on it nd the ftra in rolling stone a looong time ago which made it like many adventures- more to off then most can chew. like people who "experiment" with being homeless. No thanks-

Not sure what you mean but the FTRA are all homeless. They aren't "experimenting." They are the real deal. There are actually people who claim to be FTRA sown south and probably lot's of places. I find it interesting. A guy bought us a beer 10+ years ago who had one leg. We said we had money but he insisted. Real nice guy who must have got out of that cause he did lawn maintenance. He later showed us his FTRA tattoos and asked us if we knew what they were. At the time I didn't but when he told me we sorta clicked cause I have friends that ride trains.

Edit: Maybe you mean the yuppies experimenting are not so bright?

Edit: You can find a lot of information about the FTRA on the internet but a lot of it is inaccurate. My friends have told me numbers are quite a bit larger than usually reported.

[spook]

my buddy and i used to jump trains coming through town until one night a cop showed up while i was getting ready to jump on and the train was still moving pretty good. but i had to go and my only choice was a flatbed. jumped, missed the first thing i was reaching for, caught the second, but my whole body swung under the flatbed and i barely hung on. that was the last time i ever did it. still get chills seeing those wheels mashing me in half like roadkill.

[Blurred]

my buddy and i used to jump trains coming through town until one night a cop showed up while i was getting ready to jump on and the train was still moving pretty good. but i had to go and my only choice was a flatbed. jumped, missed the first thing i was reaching for, caught the second, but my whole body swung under the flatbed and i barely hung on. that was the last time i ever did it. still get chills seeing those wheels mashing me in half like roadkill.

What a loss that would have been.....lol

[iceman]

The guy can literally not help setting himself up. He's our little Gracie Allen.

[spook]

again, with the following around. the reason "i can't help but set myself up" is because i'm not worried about "setting myself up" for gotchas that a 12 year old would think of. seriously. can't you buffoons do better? actually, after years of reading your writing, i already know the answer to that. so i guess i'll just keep setting myself up and you will keep coming up with some real zingers!!!!

OWIE!!!

[OSECS]

When trains slowed down at the major RR crossings in our area (suburb) you could easily jump an open box car and ride into the city rail yard, wait a couple hours for a returning train. Not exactly cutting edge stuff but as we were kids in our early teens it was fun. A six pack or a joint made it even more fun. They don't slow down now so that little game is gone.

Gracie Allen ? Not nearly that lovable.

[Solesides]

Anyone seen the film Catching Out? Definitely worth a watch. Explores the many subcultures of train hoppers, including the more affluent thrill-seeking group that could be described as "experimenting with homelessness".

[OldLarry]

Anyone seen the film Catching Out? Definitely worth a watch. Explores the many subcultures of train hoppers, including the more affluent thrill-seeking group that could be described as "experimenting with homelessness".

Have not seen the film but yes, I'm referring to people treating it as a tourist experience or for a story...

[Hott Butt Mud]

again, with the following around. the reason "i can't help but set myself up" is because i'm not worried about "setting myself up" for gotchas that a 12 year old would think of. seriously. can't you buffoons do better? actually, after years of reading your writing, i already know the answer to that. so i guess i'll just keep setting myself up and you will keep coming up with some real zingers!!!!

OWIE!!!

OK, then be honest, you're just trying to get to 20K posts by the end of the year, right?

[spook]

uh-huh. i figured averaging 2 posts per day would get me there mid december. got a problem with it?

[Tunco]

Not me, but my Old Lady hopped the train in Mexico from Arriaga to Ixtepec last year.

Getting on.



Her posse.



Keep on truck'n



Free mangos

[Hott Butt Mud]

Hey spook moron, over the last 60 days you've been averaging more like 15-20 posts per day.

[spook]

that may be a little high. so what. people want to hear from me. who am i to deny the masses. i've just given 2 to you. be grateful. i'm a busy guy.

[iceman]

Treatment for the Asperger's has to take up a lot of the day.