Freight train hopping!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 9:43 am

Remember Greyhound's slogan-
"There's always a prisoner on the Greyhound."

Buses wouldn't be so bad, if they used european style buses here with the ZF suspension and 8 speed automatics, like the newell.

I think trains must be unforgiving, if you don't match their speed.

Once I ran an antique german carousel for a summer.
All wooden and weighed many tons.
If you tried to jump on, it had no give to your weight at all.
Misjudge even a little and it would fling you hard when it caught up with you.
The first time I did it, I was close and got thrown on the deck hard.
In months I could jump on with two drinks and not spill a drop.

I saw people get thrown thirty feet trying to jump on.

I once met a serial killer on the greyhound.
And I got sick twice because they let people ride seriously ill.
Airplanes are bad with the curtailed ventilation, but it's a relatively short time in the petri dish aircraft have become.

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:35 am

Twin City Surplus has also been desginated a hitchhike to BM meeting point, though the airport outer loading zone or the major supermarkets are also good chances.

This sounds like a great idea. I can certainly swing by such a place with my... well, it's not the London double decker mentioned earlier, but darned close.

Does Twin City Surplus have plenty of room?

I'm thinking this information ought to be a Sticky.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:25 am

Just be careful with trains. I was lucky. I'm still alive.

Timezone LaFontaine · Post by **Timezone LaFontaine** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:14 pm

I did a little bit of freight train hopping in earlier years. Rule number one for me was forget what you've seen in movies, you never try to get on or off a train while it's moving. Took a little longer to get some places but I don't recall being up against any tight deadlines back then.

I'd never even consider it for getting to BRC, because you'd show up with hardly anything and just be a burden on other people.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:19 pm

Does Twin City Surplus have plenty of room?

YES....but it's all filled with things that I WANT. (I'm probably the only person in Michigan with a TCS sticker on my car.)

....Which serial killer, Gyre? Details, please.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:37 pm

It was in florida and when we passed the federal prison, the bus filled up with the rehabilitated.
There was this real jerk bragging about what a smart guy he was, while the rest of the people blew him off as an asshole.
He mentioned traveling with a carnival.

So later I saw him on most wanted and it mentioned him working at a carnival and so on.
Just another punk like you meet every day, except he is supposed to have killed a number of people.
I don't remember his name.

I have a friend that got home too late to meet Ted Bundy in her sorority house.
Hers was one of the rooms he went into the night he finally flipped out.
Another life saved by excessive partying.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:39 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:Just be careful with trains. I was lucky. I'm still alive.

I think you should stop hopping freight trains, fishy.

Thecatman · Post by **Thecatman** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:39 pm

Look at what happened to that young girl (about 11 years old) in Houston recently. Grabbing hold of the ladder of a railcar of a slow moving train and letting it drag her. When she let go her legs landed on the rail and one leg was severed and doctors were optimistic about saving the other. Her body or head could have landed on the rail. When the train crews climb off or on a moving train, its only moving at the most about 10mph

Post by **mdmf007** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:56 pm

10MPH off of a train - no way. 3-5 is more like it. a 4minute mile is only 15MPH.

That means 10MPH is a 6 minute mile. not many train conductors and engineers in coverlls, and boots and 30 pounds overweight can run 10MPH.

Trains are notoriously undercalculated due to their scale. An aircraft carrier at sea looks like it is lumbering along, you look at the radar and realize he is doing 50-55 MPH

My advice - jump on when its stopped, and get off when its stopped.

Heed Cryptos advice.

Thecatman · Post by **Thecatman** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:01 pm

That was just a guess. You're probably right because the area a train crews jump off or on is usually slopped with balast and probably debris. Best advise is don't do it. Look for obvious signs of a vehicle going to BM at a store and try to hitch a ride

skibear · Post by **skibear** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:52 pm

mdmf007 wrote: Trains are notoriously undercalculated due to their scale. An aircraft carrier at sea looks like it is lumbering along, you look at the radar and realize he is doing 50-55 MPH

Conventional Aircraft Carriers I've measured can only go 32 Knots (about 38mph) Nuclear ones don't either. Can't give out numbers or I'd have to kill you.

Large Comercial wavepiercing catamarans, like ferries between UK and
France OTOH can.

Post by **mdmf007** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:53 pm

I have personally been passed by the Abraham Lincoln between Hawaii and Seattle we were doing 12 knots, they passed 3 miles starboard on a parallel course at over 50 knots.

Theres plans on the works for a hydrofail built RORO carrying 10 containers open top at over 100knots.
ridiculously expensive and inefficient.

later

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:30 am

mdmf007 wrote:I have personally been passed by the Abraham Lincoln between Hawaii and Seattle we were doing 12 knots, they passed 3 miles starboard on a parallel course at over 50 knots.

Theres plans on the works for a hydrofail built RORO carrying 10 containers open top at over 100knots.
ridiculously expensive and inefficient.

later

It might be efficient as a substitute for air cargo, or is it even more expensive than that?

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:16 pm

Gyre -

The one I was reeading about was ridiculously inefficient. The only real need I saw was in the area of response to an incident. One of them had 140000 HP (turbine) did 150 knots in sea state 2, had a 10000 gallon fuel capacity and 150 NM range -

I can move 300 containers on a barge at 14 knots at 450 gallons an hour - or 370isNM NM. This works to about 6000% more efficient. Container ships are even more efficient - economy of scale and all that.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:25 pm

How do you think it would compare to air costs lb/$ or for people?
It seems like that would be the competition.

I took the ferry on the channel and it seemed fairly zippy.
It was faster than flight when you took boarding time into account.

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:32 pm

I dont have the numbers on air transport -

Playa Tom · Post by **Playa Tom** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:54 pm

Aside from all the other reasons not to hop a freight from Reno to Gerlach is the fact that the rails through Reno and Gerlach are parallel lines, the tracks from Reno to Gerlach are rarely used.

FilXeno · Post by **FilXeno** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 11:17 am

[quote="Simon of the Playa"]
and i Really Hate Buses. Actually, thats not true, i really hate the PEOPLE on buses, and that stems from a five day nightmare from reno to rochester.

Never Again. i would rather hop on one foot the entire way than listen to a choir from nebraska practice "holy holy holy" for 12 hours straight.

God, i hate Nebraska too. Fucking Corn-Huskers.[/quote]

I agree wholeheartedly.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:00 pm

gyre wrote: Once I ran an antique german carousel for a summer.
All wooden and weighed many tons.
If you tried to jump on, it had no give to your weight at all.
Misjudge even a little and it would fling you hard when it caught up with you.
The first time I did it, I was close and got thrown on the deck hard.
In months I could jump on with two drinks and not spill a drop.

I saw people get thrown thirty feet trying to jump on.

Good practice for hopping freights. You might look jumping on with a bedroll.

Tamino · Post by **Tamino** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:21 pm

If anyone is from New England and wants to hop a freight train to BRC we can pack you in the Boston Containers and you can ride out that way! ;)

geospyder · Post by **geospyder** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:37 pm

My grandfather tried hopping a train in Leadville, CO on 17 June 1917. He missed and died "...due to the great nervous shock he substained from the accident and from the large amount of blood which he lost." Considering that he had both legs cut off I'd say he lost a little bit of blood. Hopping train can be a wee bit dangerous

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:48 am

*uh-oh........*

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:08 pm

geospyder wrote:My grandfather tried hopping a train in Leadville, CO on 17 June 1917. He missed and died "...due to the great nervous shock he substained from the accident and from the large amount of blood which he lost." Considering that he had both legs cut off I'd say he lost a little bit of blood. Hopping train can be a wee bit dangerous :shock:

Indeed.

Post by **Sham** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:11 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:
geospyder wrote:My grandfather tried hopping a train in Leadville, CO on 17 June 1917. He missed and died "...due to the great nervous shock he substained from the accident and from the large amount of blood which he lost." Considering that he had both legs cut off I'd say he lost a little bit of blood. Hopping train can be a wee bit dangerous
Indeed.

Ranger Genius · Post by **Ranger Genius** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:37 pm

It's just a flesh-wound.

FilXeno · Post by **FilXeno** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 10:32 am

Union Pacific has a line that runs up from Reno, into California, and then over through Gerlach. They used to run more Intermodal trains from the bay area up to the Reno junction, through Doyle, ca and Flannigan, nv to Gerlach. But, they recently lowered rail beds and notched out tunnels on Donner pass, so most double stack trains go to Reno/Sparks before going to Elko. Theoretically, you could catch going north (in the small yard near the University) or on the fly (hella dangerous) and take it up north on a junk train. BUT, you'd have to hope that it won't be heading west at Flannigan. AND, you better hope like hell that there is a crew change in Gerlach. It doesn't run through town, so they don't necessarily have to slow down enough to get off on the fly. And if not, you're going straight to Winnemucca.
It doesn't look like the original poster has (or will) come back, so this is probably a useless post.

Short answer...unlikely!

Johnny Payphone · Post by **Johnny Payphone** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:30 pm

As you may already know Gerlach belonged to the railroad until they sold it to the town's residents. I believe passenger rail service ended in the 1970s, possibly with nationalization. It's worth noting that the movie "Bad Day At Black Rock" takes place in a town where the train no longer stops, but it is supposedly based on Black Rock, Arizona.

There has been talk for a long time about running private passenger and freight service to and from Gerlach for the event. The sidings and station are in place and a driver, locomotive, and private cars are available. Such service would theoretically depart Emeryville for Gerlach with stops along the way and could offer freight service up to the containerload including flatbed art car transport. Transpo to and from town would have to be included. Given the massive numbers of attendees from the Bay Area, and the massive savings offered by a train, this idea is certainly economically viable but requires some organization.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:26 am

Wasn't there a year in which a train rain to Gerlach for the event? 1998 Maybe?

boulderburner · Post by **boulderburner** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:26 pm

This morning I checked out our local (Boulder, CO) paper to see what the news has been in the last week while I was at the burn. One of the most prominent stories is of a college student that lost both her legs just yesterday trying to hop a train.

No matter how many people say "it's easy" and "I've done it a million times" - DON'T DO IT!!!

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_18830265? ... ost_viewed

gerlachedNloaded · Post by **gerlachedNloaded** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:53 pm

reason number 1211253415456453415634135445153453153153153156531313151531351 i'm trying to get the hell outta here Simon

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