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R No.6272
>>6273, >>6309
I've done it across Canada and Russia a few times. What would you like to know? It's a fairly broad topic so I don't want to write a whole wall of text as there are plenty of sources online.
Biggest things I'd say are the 3 point rule. Always have 3 points of contact unless you're feeling suicidal.
Have enough water and food because your train could stop in the middle of nowhere for a long time and if you're ever totally out of supplies and in a deadly situation, if possible go to the locomotive and admit what you're doing. They will help you out, but you might find yourself charged (not always though, some engineers don't care about riders).
Know where you're going and what sort of trains to get on...you can't just get on a random junk train, you want to get on one going a long distance. You also need one with ridable cars (certain grainers you can hide in; intermodals are great but many don't have bottoms so you need to get the right ones; boxcars are comfy but risky because the doors can jam shut and lock you inside for days or even weeks). Related, a radio scanner helps. It would allow you to listen to the engineers which is helpful if a bull (rail police) sees you.
A solar powered charger is necessary because you won't get to charge your phone and you'll need it to know where you are and for safety (but a lot of times there's no coverage for cellular service, just GPS).
If you live in the US and you're near the Mexican border, don't get on a train going to Mexico. The cartels will fuck you, the police will fuck you and if you somehow had to get back through a border crossing good luck explaining why you didn't leave a port of entry or exit.
Again, if you're in the US watch out for insane tweakers and bums. They won't hesitate to rob you of everything you have though most riders are fine, if not a bit eccentric.
Bring a few pairs of earplugs because trains are really god damn loud. It's very uncomfortable.
Be extremely careful on the trains because they jerk around like crazy, often with no notice. For example you can be sitting idle on a car but then the locomotive has started moving. You may not even know until the slack of the cars tightens and it can send you flying. Or certain cars or tracks might cause them to wobble. Again be extremely careful, it's an easy way to die or get seriously maimed, often with no chance of rescue. If your legs get cut off in the middle of the desert or mountains you're fucked.
Know how to get on and off. Usually you will have to get on and off moving trains before they go to a yard, so you have to be sure you aren't going to break your ankle. If it's going too fast you can die.
Etc...there is a lot to learn. Best advice is to ride with someone who has done it a bit. Befriend some dirty crust punk drifters or something. Doing it alone is sketchy. Tell someone where you're going in case you're not heard from in a while (so you'll want to check in when you can). Ideally maybe just do some local hops, riding on short line railroads and stuff so you can learn how to get on and off, how to hide, what cars to ride etc without going too far. It's loud, scary, uncomfortable, extremely deadly but one of the best ways to see a country. Just know that you could be one of the unlucky ones who loses a limb or gets brutally killed.
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