Comments on: Catching Out

Catching Out

Happy Dave — Tue, 02 May 2006 09:03:18 -0800

Long for the lonely whistle and the curving rail? The documentary Catching Out expands on the fascinating world of hobos and freighthoppers as previously pointed out on MeFi. Of course, for those interested, there's the usual wealth of resources. Hell, you can even play the game.

By: nola

nola — Tue, 02 May 2006 09:38:24 -0800

this is something i have always thought was kinda cool , if not dangerous, uncomfortable, and foolish. did i mention dangerous? maybe someday i'll have the guts , or lack of sense, to ride the rails, just me and my one eyed, three legged , tailless dog lucky. great post.

By: Godbert

Godbert — Tue, 02 May 2006 10:23:27 -0800

Good timing on posting this. Just last night, I came across this tale of a guy who, in 1976, rode cross-country in freight cars.

By: cmonkey

cmonkey — Tue, 02 May 2006 10:29:37 -0800

this is something i have always thought was kinda cool , if not dangerous, uncomfortable, and foolish. did i mention dangerous? The danger is what makes it fun.

By: Postroad

Postroad — Tue, 02 May 2006 10:51:22 -0800

http://www.hobo.com/

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 02 May 2006 10:53:45 -0800

My friend's got a great story about how he and a friend planned to hop a freight in Western Canada. There was a big build-up, they got organized and lay in wait for the train by night. When it finally came, it loomed up out of the plains and blew by them so huge and fast and loud that they chickened right out. Of course, they would have done better trying to hop it at a yard, but didn't want to get caught by the bulls. Don'tcha know.

By: DieHipsterDie

DieHipsterDie — Tue, 02 May 2006 11:30:13 -0800

Don't forget these guys.

By: salvia

salvia — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:00:55 -0800

Back when I hitchiked a lot, I heard some scary stories about train hopping. There used to be a website (put up by railroad companies) with pictures of injuries and dead bodies and decapitations due to botched attempts. Scared me off. Romanticism aside, I say, hitchike if you want to travel for free. More freight moves by truck anyway, right? But if you do it, take a really good sleeping bag. I hear it's cold.

By: Liosliath

Liosliath — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:18:20 -0800

Another interesting source is "Hobo" by Eddy Joe Cotton.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:00:23 -0800

Nifty. Hail the Emperor of the North Pole.