Forgotten rail yard/Larry meeting me at camp

[@jesse-gz1ri]

No more bulls,no more hiding,all the rails are pure gold, all the trains go where you want when you want,the weather is always perfect. Well done Mark,we love you and miss you dearly.

[@GrayFoxAdventures]

Amen

[@Emslander]

This guy uses words that I heard growing up sixty years ago. It’s a kind of poetry.

[@kens.3729]

Just when you thought 🤔 the Day couldn’t get any Better and then you found a New Hobo Shoestring Video. What a Country. 😬👍

[@renegadebt1374]

Godspeed Mr. Nichols, We Thank you for all you have given, And all you gave.. R.I.P. Shoestring, You will be greatly missed.. ✌

[@randywilson6068]

RIP Shoestring. You are truly missed.

[@steveshap6219]

"I got everything I need here". Says Shoestring as he surveys an abandoned scrapyard. Gotta love the guy.

[@rubicon-oh9km]

Shoestring nearly has me convinced to sell my home and all worldly possessions and start hoboing and seeing this beautiful country from the railroad vantage point.

[@robertprice7246]

I'm with you on that ! I'd love to forget this bill due, that bill due, paid that, fixed this, get the cars oil changed ....... And go where the wind blows me. I retire I just might do it

[@OnTheHorizonSomewhere]

Purple flowered tree is a Paulownia Tomentosa I believe. Great wood and fast growing.

[@chuckbrown5484]

Japanese short sapphire maple.

[@wvsparkbuster]

@@chuckbrown5484 Japanese Short Sapphire maple lol

[@craigmurphy2046]

I wanted you to know , in 2019 I came down bad with the covid. I live alone but what helped me was listening to your stories Shoestring. Been a fan for awhile. God Bless.

[@ricgal50]

2019? It wan't until late 2019 that we heard of the covid19, and rare cases coming this way!?

[@chuckbrown5484]

I had it in 21. It was like a cold at worst for me 🤷‍♂️

[@mattaylor8935]

Gotta Love People who can find Solace in anything It keeps me alive !

[@willyphast2509]

love ya string and i miss ya. you rest in peace now,,

[@delstanley1349]

Sleeping under a bill board sign? Now THAT'S what I call room & board!

[@AS1llyPenguin]

Oooh boy a 40 minute Shoestring video is just what i needed to de-stress from the week. Hope you're doing well Mark!

[@lorettashepherd.]

Shoestring's videos are a great stress reliever. 🙂

[@51-FS]

Long videos take to long to watch.... I useley bounce out win first add pops up

[@lorettashepherd.]

@@51-FS you do know that the ads generate income for String right? His ads are monetized. How can you call yourself a fan if you don't watch the whole video? As if you have anything else more pressing at the moment. If you chose to watch the video in the first place at least you can view it to its completion. Sad that patience is a lost art these days

[@51-FS]

@@lorettashepherd. who said I was a fan? Maybe that's a nother reason I quit watching. I do watch ads on other channels. Don't have to be a fan to watch his videos do it? Is subscribing not enough?

[@lorettashepherd.]

@JEFF DOGG not desperate or crazy at all. Sorry you feel that way. String is a friend.

[@tariqsimona]

It was always so relaxing to watch your videos… something about your calm demeanour and your storytelling would bring me right into your world 😢

[@danbelzile4203]

Shoestring is the king of train hopping . Go Shoestring go.👍

[@elpocoloco8123]

Great views - thank you! Those butterflies were actually taking moisture out of that damp soil. Along with the water, they’re getting minerals from the soil too. The butterflies are called Spicebush Swallowtails.

[@froggy41u]

That's a Paulownia tree at 30:44 Shoestring. The blooms smell like grape kool-aid. I had a house & property next to the CSX North Mountain Sub near Greenwood Va. a few years back and those trees grew all over the mountainside along those tracks. Wishing you the best of luck with your surgery bud! [Dave]

[@christiaanmeadows9081]

Shiny blue butterflies were Pipevine Swallowtails Enjoyed watching this video, born in Huntington WV....been down by Ashland and the old Mansbach metals so many times

[@ashevilletrainman6989]

Sheooooot. It’s a dream of every hobo to meet ya on the rails and enjoy what stories you have to tell around a campfire. What a shining light you are in this world shoestring. Time to sit back and relax another great production. - A.T Edit; wow I never would of thought Kentucky to have such pretty scenery

[@C2K777]

I'd got farther. I'm not a hobo, I live in the UK and I'D love to share a beer or two ( alcohol free for Shoestring of course) in a bar or sat round a fire. I could happily listen to this guys stories for hours on end.

[@illustriouschin]

@@C2K777 Why torture him with the smell of alcohol?

[@C2K777]

@@illustriouschin He's a big boy and is around the stuff plenty. You ever seen a video of the Hobo Convention where they crown the King & Queen each year. Also it's not like i'd be wafting it under his nose ffs.

[@turtleraiderttv1010]

It does, I live in Mt sterling which is about a hour from ashland

[@doubled1425]

I am from Kentucky, but I think Tennessee is even more beautiful. Glad you think my birth place is a beautiful scenic place too🙂

[@Hippiestyle2007]

Such a knowledgeable fella. Knows his game that’s for sure.

[@johnwoodall3791]

Rest in Peace Hobo Shoestring .

[@louscannon7493]

A lifetime spent camping, in between riding the rails, something magical about it! Hobo, you could/should write a book about your experiences.

[@jonwatt678]

I'll second the motion that Shoestring writes a book! The knowledge you posses is far beyond what any college education could ever provide. Plus you probably understand more about the overall rail systems in this country than anyone on a RR payroll!! Your wealth of information should be recorded in books in conjunction with all these videos. Safe travels fellow veteran. I look forward to the next one!

[@Bmg009]

Playing with that kid you couldn’t tell he was in his 50’s. What a loss we suffered, he overcame alcoholism it appears, wish I would have met him. God bless shoestring.

[@mt-1457]

Shoestring, am sittin at the table having a cup of camp coffee! And enjoying the new SS flick! Here s to you SS enjoy while you can pushing all joy and energy to you👍😇🐈

[@torque-aholic5039]

My family and I love you. Been watching for a few years now, so inspired and a tad bit envious.

[@a661992]

Having some medical issues and being home for two weeks almost.. these videos help me relax and take my mind off things Keep on making ‘‘em and I hope your medical issues are resolved quickly Shoestring!

[@bebeandjohnnotsonomadiclif5287]

we got wild Honey suckle here and it grows as a large as 12 ft shrub, small tree. Loved the ride, thank you.

[@C2K777]

If this is the quality of your 'B-Roll' then tbh Shoestring I think I speak for us all when I say: Feel free to share more of it anytime!

[@TheTubejunky]

This is an example of a old American vacation. This seems more relaxing then a 9 - 5 job any day.

[@tobe1207]

Most things are more relaxing than a job. This video is about the "highs" of the hobo lifestyle, I'm sure it's less relaxing in winter,when there's no food,money in your pocket, restricted hunting and no way to quickly make money

[@richardcook4193]

After a day at work I can't wait to pull up your videos and unwind. Your amazing Mark, the knowledge you have about life and being free. Thank you

[@JeanieMills-l1e]

Rest easy mark we sure miss you 🙏💙🙏 thank you for your service,🇱🇷❤️🇱🇷💔💔💔we all miss you ❤️

[@vincekelly142]

32:14 Spicebush swallowtail butterflies: the sand is damp where you vidded them. I believe they were drinking. My understanding is that they are not blind but see different spectra than humans. They use their vision to help them locate the flowers they fertilize in exchange for the nectar they feed on.

[@mickymantle3233]

You sure am happy & in your element Shoestring ! Makes me happy too !

[@toddfraisure1747]

I enjoy seeing you and Ken spending time together. He seems like such a good young man and I can tell by his voice that he loves being with you also. I think he needs you also, just as you need him, and believe me when I say that you'll never regret the times you spent with him and you'll wish someday that you'd have spent more. Those are very important times for the both of you. You're a good man Mark Nichols.

[@Watchdoc65]

Beautiful country up there! The butterflies looked like pipevine swallowtails!

[@sararedfearn4691]

Thank you for the information on the type of Butterflies. From a fellow Shoestring admirer . Mr JR/UK

[@bobbyjones8752]

Just recently started watching these videos never heard of you shoestring. My friends and I hung at the tracks below the mill hill we grew up on. Fished at the creek beside of them. Walked to high school my first 2 years, couldn’t ask for better walk way.

[@veggiepowered]

Iam Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos John In Florida

[@mr.notsure9679]

The more I watch shoestrings videos, the more i see him hang out near where I was raised. I am pretty sure I've talked to shoestring once upon a time.

[@kevinsmith9502]

I love this dude.When I was a young guy I always walked the tracks.Never got the nerve to jump a train though

[@tommyc9659]

Same here

[@oneteaminbristolbcfc]

Great vid shoestring thanks ✌️❤️ as always from the 🇬🇧

[@eldergnome6311]

The butterflies 🦋 are puddling. Licking up salt and minerals.

[@Hercules718]

Good to see you supported America and finally bought an iPhone.

[@Cdog92704]

Great video..Shoestring..love all the different shots and information you gave us.Thanks for sharing..Cdog 👍👊

[@josephwoehlerii2855]

Thank you for the excellent video and thank you Larry for coming to the rescue too!

[@ROCKY-in2mg]

OH FOR 😃 SURE....NICE AND PEACEFUL.....LOVE IT .... BE SAFE ALWAYS 😉🙏 XÇ COOL

[@AnonyMous-gv9nz]

I'm from Fayette County West Virginia At 32 minutes of in your video I've been there many times swimming fishing etc it's beautiful there

[@revelationakagoldeneagle8045]

Great Content! Beautiful Scenery... Great campsite too! Safe Travels Brother ✌️😎

[@tallglider6313]

keep on keepin' on Hobo Shoestring! you do great vids...always entertaining...

[@devinsword5777]

shoestring, your such a charming fellow. you have a simple, yet concise way of seeing things

[@Oldpolcat]

I really enjoyed your "hodge podge" video! Seriously, it was so good it felt like it was only ten minutes long. Left me hoping for more. Take care Shoestring.

[@revharrycwigmoreiii5787]

Fully enjoy you Video Shoestring. Thanks.

[@Jloosphoto]

Just came across your channel and I'm enjoying your videos! The black swallowtail butterflies were taking up minerals in the mud

[@mevrammcoyoteV8f150]

Hello from Missouri...have you ever rode the MKT railroad in Missouri in the past..most of it now is a bicycle trail..thanks

[@jimmyjames6566]

Hey there shoestring.... Been waiting for this video

[@testosteroneinc.3800]

It's not a Shoestring video, unless there's camping involved. 👌

[@shaunrichardson2346]

hey Shoestring, not that it was brought up or that anyone asked,, just wanted to congratulate you on your continued sobriety. Youre looking great. Love to check in and see you doing well.

[@wilson561]

A 3.5 hour drive to go camp with you and give you a ride home. That's a rare friend you've got there. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@monmixer]

Have you considered writing a hobo's handbook? Crossed that New River Gorge bridge many times. Working mostly so one of these days I'm going to southern WV to relax and spend a week holed up on the new river. The eastern redbud's bright fuchsia blooms are often the first color you'll see among the still-naked trees in early spring. This tree grows to 40 feet and fares best in moist, rich soils - so much so that the early settlers often looked to the presence of redbuds as a sign that the land was good for farming crops. These trees can get 40 to 50 ft tall and flower in the spring in southern WV

[@gonagain]

You pieced together some scraps and it ended up being a great video! I enjoyed seeing Ken operating that train at the end. It took me back about 65 years.

[@1neAdam12]

@ 33:50 Larry seems like real good people too. Look at that spread he provided. That took lots of planning and care.

[@JawTooth]

Loved the video! Sometime this summer I will bump into you.

[@chuckbrown5484]

Nope

[@Marcuswelby-nx2te]

no bcuz you film trains

[@lorettashepherd.]

@@Marcuswelby-nx2te Jawtooth has bumped into String before so it can happen again

[@Marcuswelby-nx2te]

@@lorettashepherd. YA I WAS JOKING WITH THEM I ENJOY THEIR VIDS.I CALL HIM SHOESHINE SOMETIMES AND TAW JOOTH

[@lorettashepherd.]

@@Marcuswelby-nx2te glad to know you're one of the good guys

[@timothyxv171mmmpertinentgamer]

Welcome friend I'm proud you uploaded another special video in ashland. Awesome job filming a video at the abandoned rail sighting friend. WOW right where the grass grow on the track.. Look at those old rail tires are all lined up!!! It's a big steam engine track. RJ Corman is a big company for CSX, Norfolk Southern. I need good cold water, so good.!!!

[@musclecarmitch908]

Awesome video Shoestring! Packed full of beautiful places and great stories! Great one! Great to see you and Ken having fun with the model railroad! Thanks for sharing!

[@dmorgan28]

Good video Shoestring. Glad you had a good outing. Some beautiful country. Take care and have a good one. 👍👍👍❤️

[@flfun1684]

RJ Corman engine 8718 is a SD40T-2. T is for tunnel motor used to increase dynamic brake cooling in mountains..SP,, Cotton Belt, DRGW used these units

[@shawnamericanrebel5676]

Great Video Shoe, thanks.🇺🇸❤

[@Joe30101]

YES YES A train set up. your now one up on this old man.

[@Mpompadour]

It's always a pleasure for us to go on virtual trips with you Shoestring. The interesting places you go to, the riding on the trains and taking us through the U.S.A. most of of will never get to see. You capture the freedom loving spirit in us by showing all the beauty and wonder of nature. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[@alkennedy1124]

They look like bat butterfly 🦋 lol nice thanks, I don’t know 🤷‍♂️ lol thanks BigAl California

[@danielbatitsas]

Remembering Lionel and American Flyer steam trains in the 50's. My friends and I would set up the trains in my front room and be entertained for hours. They had little white pills that you put in the chimneys of the steam engines that made white smoke come out. Don't know what they were but they didn't last long and smelled like aspirin. Who cared? No computers, no games, no headsets. Just us, the trains and our imaginations. A lot of water has run under those bridges since then but I still remember cheap orange drink, popcorn, Dennis, Bob, John, Eddy, and trains that went wherever we wanted them to go.

[@robertclubs9908]

Awesome show. Thanks be safe.

[@David-pv4yl]

Mark, thank you so much for bringing such important knowledge about the railroads. Another insightful video that you have presented here on KZbin.

[@rynesherman9099]

This is my new favorite KZbin show!

[@unumnut2]

this dude the best

[@MikeG42]

I like those old rusty rails in the weeds. All around excellent video HS , thank you and hope you are doing well.

[@torque-aholic5039]

I moved my family from Conroe Texas to Washington State. It's beautiful here have you spent much time here other than van crazy LOL

[@Brenda-rx4wk]

Nothing like a good nature's shower . Just heaven.m

[@carlsonb20]

You the man shoestring. 👊🏻

[@cmeador2371]

Really glad you got out. The weather is getting nice. A great video please keep em comin. Ole Ken is a great engineer.

[@Lt_Tragg]

Nice teaser for my upcoming KY trip! That tree you spotted on the New River appears to be Weeping Wisteria.

[@ivanw3656]

The man is not only a historian but a biologist and national preservist as well.

[@bigmonmagoomba9634]

Yes, these videos will be a treasure trove for historians someday.

[@NSBlack_Stallion]

I’d say he’s a Legend. Which is pretty much what you said too. Few and far between are men like this that make a positive impact wherever they go.

[@robertprice7246]

You can't beat an evening with Hobo Shoestring ! I've seen more of this country through his videos than a History Book ever taught

[@d.s.davenport610]

Indeed

[@janastegall5015]

Thank you Shoestring, I enjoy the rural pictures and the history lessons. Take care and stay safe.

[@rodsmith3911]

Good to see you having some fun. That's the most important thing in life. Enjoy every day and make it count, that's what I learned from my cancer treatments. I've been lucky enough to have had another 20 years from my first treatment so I reckon you should just keep positive and enjoy life as much as possible. Glad you enjoyed Thurmond, it's a spot I'd like to have gotten to but at 75 I've not much chance of travelling to the States nowadays. I've seen a fair bit of the world in my time and have lots of good memories. Still enjoying watching mother nature turning out another springtime and enjoying the return of leaves and flowers. Also still enjoy watching trains go by. If I had my time over again I'd still enjoy working on the railways. Retired a long time ago but I still want more of the fun of the steel rails! Never could get enough of trains. Keep on travelling and stay safe son, and keep the video rolling.

[@rdecoster1]

I watched you for the first time a couple days back. Have been glued to your channel ever since! You really have a lot of adventures in a normal day! You have a pretty neat way of life! Your home is the railroad and all the stuff that goes with it. Great videos!!! Yes I subscribed!!!

[@DrMurdercock]

Found your channel two days ago and have been hooked. It reignited my dream of riding a freight train down south. I have been trying to do as much research as I can on this and your channel is priceless. Thanks so much for making these videos and sharing them with us man. Really appreciate ya

[@laurac.b.devlin8605]

it's the compendium of information you have and your humble delivery. been such a friend to us, bringing us along on what you love. now I love it too through you.

[@DrGonzo-jl9wq]

Exactly, well said.

[@alexblue6991]

I'm from Scotland I have always wanted to try this like most people watching

[@denniswilkins4514]

I'm a new subscriber from Trinity Texas. Sure do enjoy your videos. If you ever hop off in Trinity I'll cook you a home cooked meal and make you feel welcome. I'm an off grid prepper. Have safe travels and the good Lord bless and keep you.

[@j.l.daltoin2238]

the tree you thought looked like a honey suckle there is a honeysuckle bush that gets pretty big with flowers just the same as the vine has in looks

[@carlosrissler4939]

Interesting you were in Ashland, I don’t live to far from there. And have worked alot around the area.👍

[@debralavorata546]

Shoestring ur the best!!Thanks for bringing so much open space and serenity to this video,and less stress to my life!! Loved the scenery and the lonesome sound of the loco,loved that bridge,hope ur well and happy, godspeed always!

[@kennyrichard2971]

Hey thats a cool gift and a fan letter Hey Lisa always been a fan of yours from the beginning ice Road trucker‘s glad you started your own channel One little request would love to see you make longer videos 😃

[@CraigSmith568]

Watching this on 5/14 after just taking a motorcycle ride on 5/12 to the New River Gorge bridge. Watched a coal train go by on those tracks and thought about you.

[@clearlycaribbeanreb7176]

I grew up not far from the massive Russell yard during the Chessie era. Sad to hear the state it’s in now

[@atheistsince1210]

32:16 so so beautiful I wish I was there I never have enough butterflies in my life you are blessed ! 👑🌎

[@stackingdimes6939]

New to your videos and I must say they are fantastic, absolutely love them . Your wealth of knowledge is amazing. Safe travels shoestring,Peace brother.

[@DirectCurrent4u]

Thats a very beautiful area there Shoestring! Really love the history and stories You always give us. Keep up the great work and stay safe. 😎👍

[@JohnShinn6078]

Nice campin spot! 👍👍👍

[@philsalvage]

Damn, you sir are living life right.thank you for letting us tag along

[@philliplittle4335]

If the blooms on the "honeysuckle tree" were bright orange, it could have been a wild azalea, also called a flame azalea. The flower does not have the smell of honeysuckle, but does look a lot like it.

[@shac9131]

I haven't tasted a honey suckle since late 70's or '81. We'd find a few wild trees around town.

[@Prop_2112]

Thanks Phillip because we have one here in Scottsburg, In and I always wondered what that tree was. Just like you described but as a pretty good size tree !

[@charliewinkler4853]

Shoestring, you're the best!

[@lonnieboone2672]

We always enjoy your videos..I've said it before if your ever in SD black hills area let a guy know...The family wouldn't mind meeting you...