Wait until mark 1:13:29 (hour and 13 min into the video). Seems more people are riding the UP RR intermodal trains than the Amtrak Coast Starlight these days....
https://youtu.be/5KaCY6VcKCM?t=4281
Very sad.
We used to see large numbers of people riding Santa Fe manifests northward from San Diego back in the 1970s/early '80s. Trains would usually come roaring down off the short hill through El Toro around 2am. Me and a few friends all lived in homes on either side of the track, and if we happened to be awake at that dark, early hour we'd spot bodies standing in the doorway of nearly every open boxcar or sitting up on the rooftops. Can't say if there were any sitting on the end platforms of hoppers. Easily several dozen persons per train. I seriously doubt they were surfers returning from a weekend at San Clemente or Trestles Beach.
I remember a newspaper article from about that time on the problems of trying to keep the people off the trains. Most of the riders new to wait for the departure brake test and would run to the train while the brakes were in the process of being released for departure. One picture was of a "rider" hiding in a covered hopper car carrying flour, needless to say he was covered in the stuff.
From what I remember of the article, most of the riders were tring to avoid the San Onofre checkpoint.
Irresponsible idiots.
One day one of them will be ground to a pulp and of course, it'll be the railroad's fault.
Well it's news to me this has been going on for a while I thought it was a relatively new development. YouTube should ban the videos as it is a video of criminal behavior. Surprised none of the railroads haven't been riding youtube's case to get rid of the videos. The more viewership they get, the more the kiddies are going to want to try it.
CMStPnPThe more viewership they get, the more the kiddies are going to want to try it.
And yet you posted it here, why? All the while denigrating an entire state for some reason.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
CMStPnPWell it's news to me this has been going on for a while I thought it was a relatively new development.
It has been going on since the 1800s. In the pioneering era, it was more or less sanctioned as a class of ridership in which the riders informally paid a fair to the conductor and brakemen. The practice seems to be quite popular today despite security stronger and more stringent than say in the 1960-80 era.
You Tube will pull the posts if the railroads involved bring their attention to them. In fairness to Y-T with literally millions of posts there's no way humanly possible they can keep track of them all.
Y-T's pulled posts in the past for a variety of reasons such as copyright infringement, offensive content (although in some cases they won't pull but will post a viewer warning), or other viable reasons.
Bruce Kelly We used to see large numbers of people riding Santa Fe manifests northward from San Diego back in the 1970s/early '80s.
I grew up in a central Pennsylvania railroad town in the 1950s. My mother and father had lived through the Depression. They commented frequently about people riding "Side door Pullmans" during the 1930s. Of course, they were referring to boxcars.
During the Depression many out of work men rode in box cars or sometimes on the rods underneath them to get from one point to another in search of work. It was a desperate time.
Frequently, especially in the summer, when I came home I would find a grisly dude or two sitting on our back porch eating a grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwich. My mother, who had no fear of the homeless, fed them. How did they know to stop at our house? The hobos as they were called then marked the curb, which told the Knights of the Road – my father’s reference - that they could get something to eat at our house.
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
One can sympathize with the "knights of the road" of the past - those were hard times, and they were trying to find a way to survive.
A good many of the riders depicted in the video are simply in it for the sport.
Then there is the possibility that they might encounter someone who values that nice digital SLR more than they do. Possibly with dire consequences. It wouldn't be hard for a group with nefarious intent to watch such a video and know where to lie in wait.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68A good many of the riders depicted in the video are simply in it for the sport.
The real homeless panhandle until they have enough for a bus or they hitchhike. With a bus, I know the schedule and have safety. With hitchhiking, I go in the direction I want for free but with some risk.
If I hop a train, I have a higher of risk death/arrest, possible long-time delays in inhospitable places or going in the wrong direction. Jim Stobe (AKA: Stobe The Hobo) even admitted that hopping freight trains is not the most efficient way to get places.
The mountain scenery in beautiful and the change to more arid areas in the valley is a nice contrast. I would take Amtrak for a comfortable clean seat and a legal ride. UP is against riding the rails and the safety aspects causes enforcement. However it is almost impossible to prevent this. Just look at all the graffiti which is almost impossible to prevent. If you want to see freight train riding watch the news of the Mexican trains loaded with people coming north. Look at the pictures of the Indian Railways with so many people hanging on the train you cannot see the train. All of this is very unsafe and illegal.
JoeBlow tree68 A good many of the riders depicted in the video are simply in it for the sport. The real homeless panhandle until they have enough for a bus or they hitchhike. With a bus, I know the schedule and have safety. With hitchhiking, I go in the direction I want for free but with some risk. If I hop a train, I have a higher of risk death/arrest, possible long-time delays in inhospitable places or going in the wrong direction. Jim Stobe (AKA: Stobe The Hobo) even admitted that hopping freight trains is not the most efficient way to get places.
tree68 A good many of the riders depicted in the video are simply in it for the sport.
Yes, I would say that hardly anyone rides freights for transportation. They ride for adventure, excitement, and drama. The risk of getting injured or killed is always relatively high. But there is also the risk of getting busted which involves a charge of trespass, and that can entail fines that run into the thousand dollar range. It has always been illegal even during the early era when every train was full of riders and the brakemen and conductor collected "bo money" as fares to supplement their pay. But in this current era, the law against riding is vigorously enforced, and the riding experience includes lots of hiding from the "bull."
Stobe the hobo rode freights and made videos almost as a performance art with him playing piano as background music to his videos. He was a talented and articulate guy who depicted the riding experience in his numerous videos. A large part of that experience was the strategy of successfully choosing the right route and the right train-- plus the very frequent experience of waiting for a train in the middle of nowhere for sometimes 10-20 hours.
Unfortunately Stobe was killed during one of his adventures about one year ago in Pennsylvania. It is not well known how he was killed, but apparently he was not run over by a train.
"It is not known how he was killed, but apparantly he was not run over by a train."
And there's the thing, there are predators out there. One was apprehended about a year or so ago here in Richmond Va, a serial killer who rode the rails from point to point. Not everyone riding a boxcar is a poor soul down on his luck.
Again, not condoning what those young people are doing riding the train as they do, but they're doing one thing right, going as a group. There's always safety in numbers.
But they shouldn't be doing it at all.
ccltrains If you want to see freight train riding watch the news of the Mexican trains loaded with people coming north.
This has been brought up before in this forum, and I have answered it the same way. Hitching rides was not unusual, and someone can find pictures of it without any problem, but to say that they are headed north (to our border) seems to me an easy scare tactic. As a kid in Honduras, I remember seeing the passenger train coming in with a solid row of riders on the tops of the cars when there was a big fútbol game in town. I frequently saw riders in trucks, too, and even on cars, standing on the rear bumper leaning forward against the trunk.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Search Google for "Stobe the hobo" will find a couple articles about him and his death. Speculation on how it happened.No answer.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
DSchmittSearch Google for "Stobe the hobo" will find a couple articles about him and his death. Speculation on how it happened.No answer.
He was killed while performing the act but little details beyond that, if you read some of the Youtube comments section it will come up in the discussions from time to time. Nobody wants to admit they were there for obvious reasons of a LEO investigation on his death. Self-incrimination.
CMStPnP Surprised none of the railroads haven't been riding youtube's case to get rid of the videos. The more viewership they get, the more the kiddies are going to want to try it.
Witness in the movie "Emperor of the North"....I guess that conductors just aren't as dedicated anymore, as they once were.
"Kings of the road" they are not. More like spoiled adventure seekers.
How would they know when a stopped train out in the wilds would start moving again?
Playing Russian Roulette with their limbs?
GrampHow would they know when a stopped train out in the wilds would start moving again?
They don't but in a freight yard they learned the difference between the yard itself and the ready tracks..........they also seem to know from experience that intermodals are the fastest and most reliable trains. Some, and I don't know how they have this figured out, but some of them know when to get off before the train fully enters a yard so as to not get caught. They carry IPhones, so my guess is they are using Google Earth.
Convicted OneWitness in the movie "Emperor of the North"....I guess that conductors just aren't as dedicated anymore, as they once were.
I think for safety reasons they let the Police handle it........here is a guy that made a video about being caught. Sounds like a total buffoon though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWFxFw21WiQ
Another one (idiots):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvw_th5aYpo
See the idiots know what happened but they don't want to admit they were there nor do they want to tell the Baltimore Police, Passing Amtrak train snagged one of his backpack straps and pulled him off the freight..........was he thrown off the bridge or run over? Someone else will eventually post it.
CMStPnPI think for safety reasons they let the Police handle it....
Houston "Ed" had a nice little story a few years ago about the rough ride they gave a few freeloading stow-aways they found one shift.
CMStPnP Well it's news to me this has been going on for a while I thought it was a relatively new development. YouTube should ban the videos as it is a video of criminal behavior. Surprised none of the railroads haven't been riding youtube's case to get rid of the videos. The more viewership they get, the more the kiddies are going to want to try it.
It's not that hard to get videos removed. The major entertainment companies get movies removed regularly based upon copyright violations. Seems the railroads could do the same if they wanted to expend the resources. Railroads have to be the most tolerate of big corporations when it comes to trespass laws. I get the feeling they don't care, and accept it as part of the business. No doubt they have the resources to put electrified fences along their ROW's if they wanted to. Railroads are the most easy to commit a breach of security against, than any other mode of transportation.
As for portrayals of illegal activity on YouTube, train hopping is mild compared to much of the other stuff on there. Facebook is even worse in that regard.
BLS53 CMStPnP Well it's news to me this has been going on for a while I thought it was a relatively new development. YouTube should ban the videos as it is a video of criminal behavior. Surprised none of the railroads haven't been riding youtube's case to get rid of the videos. The more viewership they get, the more the kiddies are going to want to try it. It's not that hard to get videos removed. The major entertainment companies get movies removed regularly based upon copyright violations. Seems the railroads could do the same if they wanted to expend the resources. Railroads have to be the most tolerate of big corporations when it comes to trespass laws. I get the feeling they don't care, and accept it as part of the business. No doubt they have the resources to put electrified fences along their ROW's if they wanted to. Railroads are the most easy to commit a breach of security against, than any other mode of transportation. As for portrayals of illegal activity on YouTube, train hopping is mild compared to much of the other stuff on there. Facebook is even worse in that regard.
The basis for getting Youtube content removed for copyright infringement is that the the act of posting it amounts to theft. So posting it makes Youtube an accessory to that theft.
I am not so sure that a similar basis exits for getting Youtube content removed for depicting illegal activity. Depicting an illegal act does not make Youtube an accessory to that act.
And there are people who can't figure out why I avoid social media like they were radioactive.
CSSHEGEWISCHAnd there are people who can't figure out why I avoid social media like they were radioactive.
Isn't this social media?
zugmann CSSHEGEWISCH And there are people who can't figure out why I avoid social media like they were radioactive. Isn't this social media?
CSSHEGEWISCH And there are people who can't figure out why I avoid social media like they were radioactive.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Murphy Siding zugmann CSSHEGEWISCH And there are people who can't figure out why I avoid social media like they were radioactive. Isn't this social media? Technically, yes I suppose. But it tends to be mixed with a fair amount of anti-social media as well.
Technically, yes I suppose. But it tends to be mixed with a fair amount of anti-social media as well.
Today's 'real' social media is more anti-social than social.
Forums are more a social conversation on an agreed subject area.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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