vpFREE2 Forums

A hot shot

#21

It looks like you broke off in the middle of a story, Mickey.

Hey, to change the subject slightly, I was just coming home from the casino at 2:00 a.m. and was thinking about your posts as I sat waiting for a train to go by. I live not far from a main artery of BNSF. I was watching this thing and thinking back to when I was a kid, back then they had the SD-9 six-axle locomotives that were about 1600 hp. Where I am at, it seems like the locomotive of choice nowadays is the "Dash 9s" put out by GE. These things are huge. I'm sitting there watching it, and there is easily 100 cars and I can tell they're loaded. It sounds different when they're loaded and when it's empties, I know you know the sound I'm talking about. So there's like four or five Dash-9s on the front, and two in the back, and that seems typical. I just googled CW44-9w, and these things are 4400 hp, holy crap! The shear tonnage, the power, it leaves me breathless as it goes by. Every loco was growling too, they were working overtime, man. Can you imagine how many tons of steel and cargo that is? It was easily going 60 mph too. Wouldn't want to get in its way. lol I love watching them. It is amazing to me what mankind has made, these huge machines are a picture of beauty in my opinion.

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--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Mickey" <mickeycrimm@...> wrote:

?Good Ole' Backpack Phil and me had jumped one of those hots shots north out of Las Vegas, We're were looking to make it to SLC to work day labor and use the soup lines to keep us out of spending our money. That is....if we could stay sober....but you know Backpack Phil and me....no chance in hell.....right?

#22

I don't blame the guy for what he did. He was in a bad spot. But I never would have put myself in the spot he was in. He put himself in a spot where he could have froze to death. I would have jumped in the back unit to begin with. Trains can be so long and heavy that it takes 4 or five locomotives working together to pull them. The Engineer and Brakeman are up in the first unit. No one is in the other units. I rode the back unit many times, especially in winter.

Tomflush wanted to know what the difference is between Hollywood and real life on the rails. In the movies they have a lot of scenes of people riding in boxcars. That's the biggest fiction. Empty boxcars are by far the worst ride out there. If a boxcar is the only choice I pass on it. I ride in a unit or a 48 or on a grainer. A full grainer with a nice little patio on the rear is my favorite.

If you are in an empty boxcar with a metal floor and going down the road at 50 miles an hour you could scream at the top of your lungs and not hear yourself. An empty boxcar with a wooden floor is not much better. The tracks are not exactly smooth rides in a lot of places. You could be laying in your sleeping bag and get bounced a foot off the floor.

In the second link a reporter actually takes a ride on a grainer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt4yzlsRPrU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDnerbAAIkg&feature=related

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--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "bobbartop" <bobbartop@...> wrote:

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Mickey" <mickeycrimm@> wrote:
>

>
> Yes, the rails were dangerous. It's a young man's game. Google "Freight Train Riders of America" and read about a guy named "Sidetrack." He was on the rails when I was. We couldn't wait for him to get caught. He was a serial killer.
>
> In the link this guy pretty much knows the rails.
>
> http://www.digihitch.com/article1525.html
>

Ok, I looked at this link. I later googled FTRA, and there could possibly be hours of stuff to read about it. I had never heard of this before. Wow!

I read some of it, and I read the article on digihitch. I had to look up some of the words. I didn't know what MRL was, now I know it's Montana Rail Link. I did know what an SD80 is. Did I understand this guy to say it was so cold that he climbed the ladders and walked across the tops of the hoppers until he reached the back locomotive? ON A MOVING TRAIN, IS HE CRAZY? lol

#23

I think I said I didn't ride trains anymore. But that's not exactly true. Just a couple of months ago I was up on the Hi-Line riding thru the northern Montana wilderness. It was the first time in years that I was on the Hi-Line. But I wasn't riding in unit or a 48 or a grainer. I was in the club car on Amtrak. Thank you Mr. Video Poker.

#24

That's alarming. And I always feel sorry for the dog when I see them with homeless people. But then I figure that if the homeless person is going through that much trouble to keep a dog, then he probably takes care of him best he can. Anyway, that's my rationale, but what do I know.

I just ordered Emperor of the North from Amazon, for like $7. Couldn't find it at Blockbuster. I remember another train movie I remember liking was with Jon Voight, Runaway Train or something like that. I'm not much of a movie buff, but occasionally there's one I like.

Mickey, that's some scary stuff you posted. I am glad you only ride Amtrak now!

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Mickey" <mickeycrimm@...> wrote:

In the second link a reporter actually takes a ride on a grainer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt4yzlsRPrU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDnerbAAIkg&feature=related

#25

For yuppie wannabe hobos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvphjCd0CeY&feature=related

···

________________________________
From: Mickey <mickeycrimm@yahoo.com>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, January 11, 2011 3:18:22 PM
Subject: [vpFREE] Re: A hot shot

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "bobbartop" <bobbartop@...> wrote:

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Mickey" <mickeycrimm@> wrote:
>

>
> Yes, the rails were dangerous. It's a young man's game. Google "Freight
Train Riders of America" and read about a guy named "Sidetrack." He was on the
rails when I was. We couldn't wait for him to get caught. He was a serial
killer.

>
> In the link this guy pretty much knows the rails.
>
> http://www.digihitch.com/article1525.html
>

Ok, I looked at this link. I later googled FTRA, and there could possibly be
hours of stuff to read about it. I had never heard of this before. Wow!

I read some of it, and I read the article on digihitch. I had to look up some
of the words. I didn't know what MRL was, now I know it's Montana Rail Link. I
did know what an SD80 is. Did I understand this guy to say it was so cold that
he climbed the ladders and walked across the tops of the hoppers until he
reached the back locomotive? ON A MOVING TRAIN, IS HE CRAZY? lol

I don't blame the guy for what he did. He was in a bad spot. But I never would
have put myself in the spot he was in. He put himself in a spot where he could
have froze to death. I would have jumped in the back unit to begin with.
Trains can be so long and heavy that it takes 4 or five locomotives working
together to pull them. The Engineer and Brakeman are up in the first unit. No
one is in the other units. I rode the back unit many times, especially in
winter.

Tomflush wanted to know what the difference is between Hollywood and real life
on the rails. In the movies they have a lot of scenes of people riding in
boxcars. That's the biggest fiction. Empty boxcars are by far the worst ride
out there. If a boxcar is the only choice I pass on it. I ride in a unit or a
48 or on a grainer. A full grainer with a nice little patio on the rear is my
favorite.

If you are in an empty boxcar with a metal floor and going down the road at 50
miles an hour you could scream at the top of your lungs and not hear yourself.
An empty boxcar with a wooden floor is not much better. The tracks are not
exactly smooth rides in a lot of places. You could be laying in your sleeping
bag and get bounced a foot off the floor.

In the second link a reporter actually takes a ride on a grainer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt4yzlsRPrU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDnerbAAIkg&feature=related

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#26

I have one and simple answer for you. Are you tough enough to ride the rails?

#27

You'll get my steel toe'd boot in you're face, bitch. Try me, tramp.

#28

I'm old and soft now but I was a pretty tough kid. I could stack 60 pound boxes for a 12 hour shift like it was nothing. And I knew how to handle myself in a fight.

Yuppie hobos stood out like red headed stepchildren. Nice clothes, designer backpacks and sleeping bags, $200 boots. They were easy marks for the FTRA. I imagine Sidetrack running into a yuppie hobo and looking down at those boots wondering if they will fit him.

Last night I was thinking about all the towns I worked day labor in. Here's what the list looks like:

WASHINGTON
Bellingham
Everett
Seattle
Redmond
Kent
Spokane

MONTANA
Missoula (first place I ever worked day labor, 1984

IDAHO
Boise

WYOMING
Jackson Hole
Cheyenne

ALASKA
Anchorage
Kodiak

NEVADA
Las Vegas
Reno

ARIZONA
Mesa
Tucson

New Mexico
Santa Fe

TEXAS
Austin
Fort Worth
Abilene

UTAH
Salt Lake City

COLORADO
Colorado Springs
Frisco
Breckenridge
Vail
Dillon
Silverthorne
Glenwood Springs
Aspen

SOUTH DAKOTA
Sioux Falls
Rapid City

NEBRASKA
Lincoln

#29

Mickey, I'm still curious, didn't any of these weekend warrior yuppies carry a gun with them in their backpack? I mean, the FTRA may be some tough hombres, but they're still going to have difficulty stabbing me if I've got at least a .380 in my pocket. It's difficult for me to imagine putting oneself in that environment without packing roscoe.

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Mickey" <mickeycrimm@...> wrote:

Yuppie hobos stood out like red headed stepchildren. Nice clothes, designer backpacks and sleeping bags, $200 boots. They were easy marks for the FTRA. I imagine Sidetrack running into a yuppie hobo and looking down at those boots wondering if they will fit him.

#30

Some guys did pack. But I've never owned a gun in my life. The problem with packing weapons is you are always subject to being arrested for trespassing on railroad property. Packing a weapon could get you another charge. The Santa Fe Railroad for instance, which connected southern California with Texas had an absolute zero tolerance policy against freight tramps. You get caught on Santa Fe you get arrested, period.

Burlington Northern connected Chicage with Seattle. It's the northern most track in the U.S and known as the HiLine. Union Pacific connects Los Angeles and San Francisco with Chicago. Southern Pacific connected Seattle with Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Pueblo, Colorado and Kansas City. They could be pretty lenient at times. But if any kind of thievery was going on with their cargo the heat was on. Packing a weapon could get you another charge.

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "bobbartop" <bobbartop@...> wrote:

Mickey, I'm still curious, didn't any of these weekend warrior yuppies carry a gun with them in their backpack? I mean, the FTRA may be some tough hombres, but they're still going to have difficulty stabbing me if I've got at least a .380 in my pocket. It's difficult for me to imagine putting oneself in that environment without packing roscoe.

#31

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "bobbartop" <bobbartop@...> wr>

Mickey, I'm still curious, didn't any of these weekend warrior yuppies carry a gun with them in their backpack? I mean, the FTRA may be some tough hombres, but they're still going to have difficulty stabbing me if I've got at least a .380 in my pocket. It's difficult for me to imagine putting oneself in that environment without packing roscoe.

I'm the real free, brother. I ain't no cheap immitation. I love you until the bitter end, brother.

#32

That's the truth, kids. I never packed a gun. I went on guts and glory.