I don’t know if it is true or not, but a friend of mine who has Hobo’ed ( hopped freight trains from place to place) told me that there is a disdain by railroad personnel , bordering on violence toward Hobo’s. These freeloaders who travel the rails could be put to use in cleaning up some of the ridiculous graffiti on the sides of box cars. The train is going to the destination, with Hobo’s or not. Let them repaint, and ride for free. Quit cracking skulls, and start handing out paintbrushes?
-- chrissayre, Mar 20 2004

The railway workers disdain very likely stems from the number of serial killers and other fringe elements who think an open boxcar is an open invitation. There is even a gang who ride the freight trains these days who are quite deadly. I don't remember the name of this gang, but there symbol is a tattooed spider. This idea could bake if the hobos were given a psyche evaluation and then put to work in the rail yards, given housing, and provided with groceries, etc. But in the mean time I can neither give it a crossie or a fishbone. It should be noted that when I was a teenager my friends and I made use of the more direct path of rail lines to walk to different places, and I often considered "hopping" a train.
-- Apologetic_Cynic, Mar 20 2004


Also, most of the desdain comes from the fact that it is the hobo's who put the graffiti on the train the first place. no hobo, no graffiti.
-- nomadic_wonderer, Mar 20 2004


Now, Hobo Cop might be an interesting concept...
-- DrCurry, Mar 20 2004


My grandfather rode the rails, before eventually becoming a railroad employee.

Once, the yard detective snuck up on a railcar containing my grandfather-to-be and a bunch of riders. The detective slammed the door closed, put a lock on it, and went off for reinforcements.

My grandfather used a piece of wire, and reaching through the crack between the locked doors, picked the lock.

Everybody got out of the car, the door was relocked, and the group went up the hill and hid to watch the detective return with club-toting reinforcements. Too much fun........
-- normzone, Mar 21 2004



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