Customer Reviews

Hopping Freight Trains in America

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I first hopped freight trains, in 1970, there were no books to explain it or to allow one to learn the safe way to do it. Littlejohn is an entertaining writer, but most of all, his information is accurate, and his advice is sound. He approaches the subject from the viewpoint of a "sportsman," and he does gloss over some of the negatives, but the book is informative and intelligently written. I know of only one other book about trainhopping, and of the two, I find Littlejohn's book to be the more timely and superior of the two. In a way, the people that most need to read Littlejohn's book are those least likely to do so, but I would have benefitted enormously if it had been available when I was a neophyte tramp. Youngsters reading this book may get the idea that trainhopping is just one big lark. This isn't true, but at least if they follow Littlejohn's rules they will avoid getting hurt long enough to figure it out. I have ridden trains for years, and I learned a lot I didn't know. If you intend to trainhop, READ IT WITH AN EYE TO SURVIVAL. Just the list of rules in the front is worth the price of the book, if you follow them.

This is a fabulous book for anybody wanting practical knowledge and a how-to guide to freight- train hopping. I bought the book for that reason, to hone my own skills. But I also got a fascinating history of the railway in North America and a lot of entertaining ancedotes. This is a great book for anyone interested in hopping trains and for students of American history.

For many years I have looked at freight trains and wished I could just jump on board and travel to where ever they were going. This book is a "how to" manual on just that. This is an amusing and historical book on how to get where you want to go by somewhat "illegal" means. A perfect manual for the weekend hobo. It includes everything you need to know to have a safe adventure aboard america's rail system. It even includes a bit of operational backround that is informative and just plain interesting. Duffy's written a great book and it should have its place on any rail road buffs or arm chair adventurers bookshelf. I give it four out of five stars. Nice job Duffy and Thank you!!!!!!

This book tells everything you need to know about hopping freights. And I liked the author's background history and personal tales.

You need to know what you're doing if you want to hop freights. This book tells all.

Littlejohn's book is an ideal gateway into the world of freight hopping. It is well written. The author's personality & outlook as they come through in the book are encouraging. It is full of advice, both with respect to general things such as the broad makeup & functioning of the railroad system & particular things such as what time of the week you are more likely to find a train & what air brakes sound like (you'll find out why knowing this sound is important). It incorporates personal anecdote without relying too heavily upon it.

I have a few reservations, however. While I wouldn't call it outdated, it does show a few signs of age. It mentions the possibility of riding on automobile carriers, for instance. It would be inadvisable to do this even were it feasible, but with the new designs of car carrier, it is next to impossible to ride one. There are other instances of Littlejohn's writing bearing the stamp of age, but fortunately, not very many of them concern vital things. In other words, most of what is dated is either relatively unimportant to the actual practice of freight hopping or still viable with the application of some common sense (which you'll need a lot of to ride the rails successfully anyway).

In addition, the book skimps on some aspects of modern freight hopping, such as radio frequency scanning, but this is no big deal. In my opinion, Littlejohn is wise to concentrate on the more fundamental aspects of hopping freights.

This book will start preparing you for hopping freights. If you take the advice in this book, start small, supplement it with information from the Web (for instance, the freight hoppers e-mail list at train-hoppers@nw.com ), & practice, you should be well on your way. Moreover, once you have caught out a few times, you can return to the book often to hone your skills.

A valuable book, highly recommended.

As far as I know (or can find) this book is the ONLY book that explains train hopping from the perspective of the participant in an almost manual, or instruction-like fashion. If you want to get a practical explanation of the sport of train hopping, then this is the right book to purchase.

Personally, I would feel comfortable attempting such an adventure now - I understand the dangers, history, and method. In the book's 353 pages, he covers safe practices, the mechanics of the the rail yard (Both literal mechanics and the interactions and jobs of workers) as well as lists of rail yards in America and whether it is best to attempt there at day or night (about 10 pages). He also includes a list of railroad terminology used by railroad employees and hobos (around 40 pages).

At times some of the wording is a bit awkward, but that's my only (slight) problem with this book.
Oh yeah, and the book makes good use of some black and white pictures to clarify abstract instructions.

the book was very informative. gives a good idea of what train hopping and the respect it deserves is all about. would recomend this book to any person who is interested in the safety of cargo travel. I even used the knowledge I gained from this book to travel by freight in mexico.

This book was well thought out, and well written. Duffy does a perfect job of laying at all out like it is. Perhaps a little outdated at this point, but all in all a must read for anyone looking to hop trains. 'cause its not for just anyone.

Duffy sure knows his stuff. I haven't train hopped yet but I feel more confident after reading this book. Thanks!

I haven't read though the entire book yet but what I have read is vary informational which is exactly what I was looking for. Anyone looking for a how to guide to freight train hopping this book is for you.