Strobe the Hobo

[BigMoaner]

I'm a bit obsessed with this guy. he's a true original. He filmed a series of videos of him riding frieght trains accross america and gained a cult following. He's knowledge of trains is incredible. He drinks a lot. He's a republican, but i'd ride the rails with him. He died by getting hit by a train. There's an obvious drink problem there. But it's a fascinating insight into a strange, gentle character, lost in all those wide open spaces.

Worth a watch. Not much happens, but it sucked me in. he plays the piano and sets his vids to his own music.



Anyone ever ridden freight trains like this? it's part of my soppy assed romanticism based around the states.

 

[Bus Honeygun]

I used to have a bit of an infatuation with underground/alternative USA in the 90s (on top of a life-long obsession with railways), and in the early days of the internet, around the time I discovered this site, I used to have bookmarked a trainhopping page where someone used to keep a proto-blog of their trips, along with amazing photos. Can't even remember the name now, but I do remember the owner/writer commenting back then (1999ish) that it was getting harder and harder due to a combination of more young people doing it for fun (as opposed to hobos and migrant workers) and the rail authorities clamping down as a result. I think the last time I tried to look at the site I was redirected to some horrific police photos of people who'd been killed trainhopping and some kind of brutal 'don't fucking do it' message, and that was the end of my curiosity. There is still something romantically fascinating about it, but the dangers from both the trains and the people you might encounter are very high.

A bloke I knew of back in the late 80s used to jump on freights here. His motivation was a combination of romantic and railway enthusiasm. He had some stories about heating up pies and pasties in the middle of the still-hot steel coils that worked overnight from Llanwern to Mossend in Scotland. Given UK weather conditions and the fact that those wagons had no shelter (or barriers to falling off), I can't say I was keen to follow him. He was a bit mad.

 

[stockwelljonny]

I'm a bit obsessed with this guy. he's a true original. He filmed a series of videos of him riding frieght trains accross america and gained a cult following. He's knowledge of trains is incredible. He drinks a lot. He's a republican, but i'd ride the rails with him. He died by getting hit by a train. There's an obvious drink problem there. But it's a fascinating insight into a strange, gentle character, lost in all those wide open spaces.

Worth a watch. Not much happens, but it sucked me in. he plays the piano and sets his vids to his own music.



Anyone ever ridden freight trains like this? it's part of my soppy assed romanticism based around the states.

Enjoyed that, sorry to hear the guy died. Liked his style “there is absolutely no reason for a town like this to exist”