The Null Device

Train hopping in America

A good article about the hobo subculture in America today. The old hobos from the Great Depression are gone, but there is a new generation of outsiders, ranging from anarchist punks and ferals to migrant workers to train-obsessed dot-com yuppies (and the odd neo-Nazi psycho killer, or so the authorities say); all brought together by disenchantment with mainstream American life and/or a desire for something else. (via bOING bOING)

(I wonder if they have a similar subculture in Australia. There aren't as many train lines these days, so maybe not. Perhaps the local equivalent is the Cave Clan or something?)

There are 4 comments on "Train hopping in America":

Posted by: Burgatron http:// Thu Aug 8 06:59:31 2002

we don't have many (if any) box cares left on our railways (well not in nsw). So fr8 riding here is pretty dangerous, if it can be done at all.

Posted by: acb http://dev.null.org Thu Aug 8 08:55:53 2002

Come to think of it, I haven't seen many freight cars here either. Everything seems to be carried in sealed containers on pallets (which is probably a more sensible way to do things).

Posted by: Ben http:// Sat Aug 10 01:09:05 2002

You can ride for free on most trains now anyway, making this a mainstream pastime!

Anyway, the yegs of old are pretty much no more, there isn't a trace of their nobility and trtadition in the modern crack-addled paint sniffing homeless trash you see around.

Posted by: Edge http:// Sun Nov 9 04:37:23 2003

:P No hobos here!