You all are trying too hard to make hopping a freight train sound like some sort of a romantic endeavour.
There's nothing romantic about it.
Just do it, use common sense, keep your wits about you and be careful if you choose to trust a stranger you meet on a freight train....
from maine to florida and florida to cali ,from cali to Montana. and a few other random trips...yeehaw fun times ...watch out for goon squad........they have new security measures it aint like it used to be....west coast in cali and Oregon is the easiest... florida ,Arizona and Chicago can be a bitch... got to get on and off on the fly so pack light...bend orgeon used to have hobo festival and then even well to do folks play hobo...fun times.....theres still a lot of train riders but a lot are gangs who bust seals on the containers and steal shit...don't get on a train if ya see lots of broken seals.... I once did it tho and got lots of booze...removed as many as I could while train was side tracked to let another pass....partied in the woods for like a week...aaah to be young ....ooh ya a hammock can be hung in some boxcars for a sweet ride..... the shipping container trains are faster than anything but flying but the ride aint so fun and your easier to spot...grain rides you can hide in the hidden spot in front...consider a coverall setup to cover your clothes cause you get dirty ....then when you stop you can pull it off and not look so hobo like.....peace.....the key to riding trains nowadays is catching train on the run as it leaves yard and jumping off before it reaches yard...but the train operators know this and try and make it hard ... I learned from Mexicans so I got it down .....some yards now have infra red night cameras and thermal cameras.. I know Chicago and some in florida do...Arizona has planes looking for illegals at boarder and your ass will get sidetracked and kicked off in the middle of no where......in oregon the bulls would take your picture and even tell you what track and time trains go...just stay off tracks till then...way cool...having a gps unit would rock as then you don't have to guess your location....Bakersfield ca, Roseville ca and pasco Washington were my fav spots...easy peasy to get on and go where ever... I wish I had had a camera as I saw a lot of beautifull scenery, some bad clearcut stuff too.....
take a cut lunch an tooth brush.
look for the older folks hanging out by the tracks..having booze will get you all the info you need , also a lot of times shelters and feeding places are located not far from the tracks...good place to get a feeling for whats going on...don't trust anyone 100 percent... I lost my gear once by a alleged friend who hopped next train with my gear while I was getting beer..i spent 6 months trying to find him as I almost froze to death in Oregon...if I ever see him I will kill him on the spot he looked like castro. don't ever leave your stuff ever. watch out for rail gangs as they have been know to toss folks from train and or rob kill you...once yall are in boxcar and moving your screwed..get good at jumping off moving train and also catching moving train as if you master that you can avoid a lot of bullshit with the yards...santa fe is the worst rail company the bulls are mean and will fuck you up.. Burlington northern running west coast is lax once your out of major cities . the flares found in the engine area and sometimes last car can heat a can of beans or coffee real quick and are free if your brave.always have extra water in case you end up on wrong train for a long haul.I will think of more its been a while...last trip a gang asshole and his friend tried me...he got his head opened up and his friend got chased down the street....fuck you catfish stay in texas bitch..goon squad are pussies and only tough in groups
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to stoned-trout again.
I went down to the yards and watched the trains, met workers and riders and hobos and vagabonds. I asked lots of questions and listened. I learned the lingo and started to understand the dangers and mystery and magic of freight trains. I caught my first train solo out of Sac, and rode mostly solo for a long time, not knowing anyone else who did it, thinking I was the very first and last rider since maybe Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. Eventually, I met other riders and we occasionally rode together. I met Hobo Lee in Santa Cruz and we worked together on the Something About a Train ‘zine that he published for more than a decade.
Bring 2 boxes of fabric softener and 3 empty toilet paper rolls. Cooler full of food