Time to get the hobos out? How about some new scenes?

Almost from the beginning these two guys have been riding my routes. It is a memory for me. 

In 1969 on my final leave before being shipped out I "hoboed" the trains from New Orleans to Cincinnati and back to Atlanta to catch my flight to the Vietnam theater via LA, Camp Pendleton, and Okinawa.

Actually, it was very easy.  My brother was in the Air Force stationed at Kessler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi right on the Gulf Coast.   I was in the Marine Corps and went to visit him on my 10 day pre-deployment leave and I decided to hop a freight.

The Florida East Coast had a runner to New Orleans right out side the gate. A load of empty box cars was headed in the direction of New Orleans.  My brother and I used to do a lot of mountain camping and hiking and I borrowed his back pack and stashed a little food, water, a few clothes a roll of TT and then simply jumped inside one of the open box cars.  I got to New Orleans in about two hours.  I walked the yard without anyone saying a thing.  I actually went up to a RR worker and asked him what was going north he pointed to a consist and told me they were heading to Cincinnati in the morning.   So I walked downtown and grabbed some food, came back and climbed in another empty on the northbound and went to sleep.   I awoke in the morning to slack being taken up in the consist.  It took about 18-24 hours. I did a lot of viewing, the train stopped briefly about 5-6 times, I climbed the side ladders to get better views and I saw no one.  I was also getting a little nervous about it all.  It was eerie and I was all alone.  Remember, I was 19 years old at the time.

When I hit Cincinnati I piled out, walked the yard and talked to several yard workers.  I told them I wanted to get to Atlanta and they warned me to be careful because Atlanta was a protected yard.  They told me the train would stop about 3 miles out at some kind of waiting yard and it would be wise of me to get off there and hitch into town. So that is exactly what I did.  I arrived safely in Atlanta on my third day out. 

I hitch hiked to Atlanta Municipal Airport.  My brother drove up from Kessler with my duffel bag and told me I needed a shower.  I washed in the airport, threw my clothes away, changed into my uniform and caught my flight to LA.

It as a different time in 1969.  You could hitch hike on the highway and get a ride and feel safe about it.  The railroads did not have lockdown procedures.  Today every car, empty or not, is locked shut.  They did not have barbed wire surrounding the yards and you could freely walk around most yards.  The only people I saw were RR workers which were very friendly, particularly when I told them I was a Marine on leave.  But, I really wasn't looking for anyone and I kept myself pretty well hidden.  All in all I was lonely, cold (it was February), thirsty, and a little scarred.

Looking back it is a huge memory for me....  Thank you for asking me to tell the short story.....

Unique recounting of a time gone by.  When did they start locking all the car doors?

After 9/11 or after that Mexican hoboed a murder and robbery spree?

Here's some of my hobos .

Guy

Wood

Amazing story, thanks for sharing.

I'll appreciate my business class seat new time my company send me overseas

Building a new hobo scene...just not finished yet. Here are some pictures:

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day....let's see your hobo pictures.

Wow! Wood that was some adventure! I didn't know there was an actual former hobo here! Pretty neat I was 12 years old in 1969. I had just moved to Staten Island.

Thanks for the info. I currently have five hobo encampments on my layout. will upload the pictures later. My hobos don't like to mix with the regular folk, except the panhandlers.

Mike Maurice

Wood,

Thanks for sharing a very interesting story. And thanks for your service. I was a 17 year old High school Junior in 69. Things were a lot different then.