Mar

28

Go sit in the bushes on the east side of the track along Beal Road. One train pauses daily here to let another pass or to change crew. The once-a-day is an average, is random, and the train rests for 10-15 minutes to allow boarding. Board toward the rear of the train to avoid the engineer’s glance, and choose a car with shade. In minutes, the train whistle sounds highball and you’re on the ride of your life.

These are the steps of each of my hundreds of freight rides, and of yours:

CATCH OUT: Where the hobo hops a freight.

FRISK THE DRAG: The drag is the string of cars behind the locomotives that you walk to pick a car.

BULLS: There are no RR bulls in Niland. As long as you’re not spotted by the engineer boarding it’s cool. Even then, he’ll likely look the other way.

THE RIDE: A freight train is a string of steel elephants that carry you across the country. It’s a notch above hitchhiking, faster than Greyhound, and you don’t need no ticket to ride.

AMERICAN DREAM: Congratulations, you’re living the American Dream!

ARRIVAL: Your arrival is the starting point of another ride. It doesn’t matter where you end up, because the journey is the destination.

A southbound freight out of Niland takes you three hours to Yuma which is an easy crew-change yard to catch out of. There’s a mission there. A northbound freight from Niland takes you to San Bernardino Colton Yard that is also an easy catchout for points east to Las Vegas or north to Portland.

Disclaimer: Freight hopping is illegal, this is not intended as an urge to freedom, and thousands are out there now on the iron road.


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