>>302467what i've heard from stories is that no longer happens. instead, you'll often get off with a warning.
>Many yards have a railroad cop – commonly known as the Bull. Back in the Dust Bowl days, it’s said that bulls would wait at the yards with shotguns and pop off the hobos as they came through. Luckily, this isn’t a concern any longer, but that doesn’t mean you want to get caught by one. Keep off of the roads within the yards and don’t go near the office to avoid a Bull. Keep an eye out for the bull-mobile (usually a white pick-up) and walk in between the strings of cars rather than in the open.>Avoid tank cars, loaded flatcars, loaded gondolas and cars marked “Bad Order,” they’ll either be transporting something nasty, provide no comfortable place to ride or will be extremely dangerous, likely all of the above. Instead, look for the open boxcars or the rear platform of a hopper or grainer. When you’re waiting to catch out – and you will – do your best to maintain some level of patience. It’s a waiting game, where walking and slouching will take up more time than the actual riding.Once you’ve chosen a route and you’re clanging along on some rough rider, keep your eyes peeled on the scenery. You’ll find that perfect, desolate landscape, or that serene river full of trout. Riding rails is place to find the beauty of outside America and an experience that will expand the soul.
