Why did 250000 teen hobos ride the rails?

Some left to escape poverty or troubled families, others because it seemed a great adventure. At the height of the Great Depression, more than 250,000 teenagers were living on the road in America. Many criss-crossed the country by hopping freight trains, although it was both dangerous and illegal.

Are there still hobos that ride the rails?

Very few people ride the rails full-time nowadays. In an ABC News story from 2000, the president of the National Hobo Association put the figure at 20-30, allowing that another 2,000 might ride part-time or for recreation.

What does riding the rails mean and who did it?

Riding the rail (also called being “run out of town on a rail”) was a punishment most prevalent in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries in which an offender was made to straddle a fence rail held on the shoulders of two or more bearers.

What are some of the reasons teenagers left home to ride the rails?

What were some reason teenagers left home to ride the rails? For adventure their families can support them so they tried to make their own money and they tried to ship out to see the world.

What was life like for teenage hobos?

The life of the Teenage hobos was one filled with strife but their ideals of freedom and their determination to be happy, safe, and successful helped generations to come avoid a tragedy as huge as the Great Depression.

Is it still possible to hop a freight train?

But why would people risk their lives hitching a ride on a freight train today? Train hopping, sometimes referred to as freight hopping, is against the law in all US states.

What is riding the rails in reference to the Great Depression?

During the Great Depression, people went across the country in search of work. But without a job, they didn’t have money to pay for transportation. The only way to get across the country, and potentially get the job, was riding the rails. This is how the hobos of the Great Depression lived from day-to-day.

How did hobos ride the rails?

Most hoboes would hide along the tracks outside the yard. They’d run along the train as it gained speed, grab hold and jump into open boxcars.

What did hobos do during the Great Depression?

During the Great Depression, millions of unemployed men became “hobos,” homeless vagrants who wandered in search of work. Once-proud men, the hobos rode the rails or hitchhiked their way across America, in search of jobs and a better life.

How did hobos communicate with each other?

These symbols, really hieroglyphs, appeared on posts and bridge abutments, on fences and outbuildings. Hobos scrawled the secret language with whatever writing implements were available—a lump of coal, chalk, a nail, or even a sharp-edged rock.