I just saw this thread, and have not looked back to see if there are accounts of riding freight trains.
I remember once riding the old BCR passenger train- had not been on a passenger train for some time. The scenery was nice, but I couldnt help feeling the view was a lot better hopping a freight.
Lots of interesting rides through mountains all over Western US and Canada. But maybe my first ride, could not be more unplanned, makes the most interesting story.
I was hitchiking from the Rockies in Wyoming, having walked out of spending the summer is the high valleys, headed for San Fransisco. Hitchiking in the early 70's was almost always slow. And dreadful for long haired youth in the US West. [The Deep South was much better.] I needed a sign that said, Heh, I'm really a cowboy you know. [Just dont look the part.]
I had spent all day getting from nowhere to nowhere, still a long way from the Interstate. Hot. Plenty of traffic, but no one stopping.
The tenth nowhere spot of the day I had been. Bored. And I'm watching this milk train picking up cars that were waiting on a siding.
Now I knew nothing about freight trains. Never even heard about people hopping them for anything other than a short joyride. And I had enough sense to know that a milk train is not a great prospect for getting places.
But the train is going south. Considering the alternatives.... I'm going.
Couple hours later I arrive in the yard outside Salt Lake City. Pleased as punch. Get off the train. First worker I see, I ask him how I get to the I-80. He asks me where I'm going. When I tell him San Fransisco, he tells me which train is going there in about an hour. Wow, this is working out great.
Unlike the I-80, the train goes on a LONG causeway over Salt Lake. It was spectacular. Colours in the setting sun sky like I had never seen.
After the sun set, as it does in the mountains, temperature immediately drops. Now I should have thought of this. I grew up in the dessert, and spent a lot of time in the high dessert. And nights are very cold. And here I am, on a train going 70 mph, on a flat car, wearing nothing more than a windbreaker.
"I'll have to get off the first stop."
Did not take too long to realize there were not going to be any stops. I got myself to a piggyback trailer car. I stood behind the trailer, hanging on to the gear, walking and jogging all night long to keep myself from freezing to death. I knew the danger of giving in to urges to just have a little nap. Got so exhausted that I hallucinated.
But obviously I made it. After that I figured out how to do it right, and had many a spectacular and reasonably comfortable ride while getting from point A to point B.
