The American Hobo: History of the Railriding Worker

Hosted by Ernest Borgnine. Appearances by James Michener and Merle Haggard. Hobo songs by Merle Haggard, others. Hobo interviews by Bobb Hopkins. Features recreational railriders and retired hobos. Camera & audio by Chet Hopkins. Musical soundtracks by Supertramp. Digital resoration by Barrett Productions. (c)1986 Fogcutter Productions. WARNING: RIDING FREIGHT TRAINS IS DANGEROUS & ILLEGAL. DO NOT ATTEMPT ANYTHING THAT YOU SEE IN THIS FILM. For educational purposes, only.

[@backyardsounds]

I miss Merle Haggard - Ernest Borgnine too!

[@brownyes6211]

Tagged in memory of Hobo Shoestring!

[@sidv192]

Early Merle Haggard was the best country will ever be, underproduced and raw, still fresh from hard lessons learned in life

[@RailfanBobbyFocusMk208]

I keep getting the erge to ride the rails myself and thanks to Hobo Stobe and Shoestring Hobo I’m learning a lot, I’ve always loved trains and learning about the railroad, and seeing the adventures and gorgeous scenery that’s not usually seen from a car or bus would be well worth catching out sometime soon.

[@RailfanBobbyFocusMk208]

Hobo Stobe was a great and wonderful man from what I’ve heard , may he R.I.P. I am possibly going to catch out soon just to give it a try. I won’t know if it’s for me or not unless I give it a try.

[@viperrr6886]

@@RailfanBobbyFocusMk208 yea he wasssss

[@HoboRoadrunner]

@@RailfanBobbyFocusMk208 dont follow just shoestring or stobe. Theres lots of us out here in person or on youtube. Its a hard life if you dont know what your doing and its even harder if you drink or do drugs. But as I been telling people for years if.you keep your head clean and you stay out of trouble and you find what odd jobs you can ( if your a hobo you have to work) then its will be easier for you to do.

[@RailfanBobbyFocusMk208]

@@HoboRoadrunner I support every Hobo on the rails ,I apologize if it seems like I'm partial to a few , I'm from Binghamton NY and help every Bo that travels through here , I rode the rails a few times when I was younger and it is difficult and hard out there . I can't say I'm a Hobo because I've only rode a few times and camped out by the rails , I wish I was able to ride again but family calls and the wife would definitely leave me , she doesn't like trains and she's afraid of the rail areas . I'd prefer to be on the rails and making videos of trains . Hope your doing well and if you ever travel through upstate NY and I see you around I'll help out as much as possible , safe journeys and Ride on .

[@OthO67]

@@RailfanBobbyFocusMk208 Did you ever hop a train?

[@resident_alien5253]

I’m Not a Bo by the traditional sense, but have definitely been a wanderer in this life. Watching this makes the road call. It was the part about the wild mustangs and abandoned ghost towns that got me. Being In the middle of the American wilderness bowing few souls have experienced wat your seeing. The howl of the coyotes, the falling stars..the miles from civilization. It’s a Godly experience..

[@bigmonmagoomba9634]

From ages 16-24 I didn’t ride trains but I hitchhiked over 50k miles. Always enjoyed it. The thrill of the unknown is very enticing.

[@ParanoidLeadBuzz]

Badass

[@philfrizzell4571]

I started riding in 1988 til 2005 then again in 2015 to 2017. I. Miss it now its in my blood always

[@MadMax-sc1su]

I just find it ironic that Ernest Borgnine is narrating a special about the life of the hobos, yet he played a crazy train conductor in a movie who would kill and hobos riding his train with no remorse. Lol

[@russianthotbot6997]

This is real gem 💎 what a discovery!

[@LittleBirdPathfinder]

Most of us in life "go along to get along".....Was thinking the Hobo wasn't so free, after all.........In a way, he is the "slave" to so many conditions.....weather; not getting caught and so much more....That's probably why Hoboes are quickly disappearing....along with so many of the trains that they use to ride. For sure, we all have our passions....for the Hobo, he pays a price...In fact, a huge price to ride the rails. I can understand this lifestyle when there is no choice.....I LOVE traveling and have done a lot of it myself. Many Hoboes seem to think the price he pays isn't too great....don't we all think that based on the life we live? I LOVE trains and riding them but risking life and limb is just one price I'm not willing to pay. I really enjoyed this film, however. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@glenmcculley9752]

Damn! Can you play Super Tramp one more time "Stobe the Hobo lives forever."############## Ramblin Ed ##########

[@philfrizzell4571]

I was never in a hurry when i rode. Lotta times i ride to one crew change to another

[@Jayyy667]

“Now you kids with your loud music, and your Dan Fogleberg, your Zima, hula hoops and Pac-man video games, don't you see? People today have attention spans that can only be measured in nanoseconds!”

[@billchapel3194]

Yup, its hard to wait for a train for days, if you don't have any patience.

[@Lakeside_Rail_Productions]

this was not made in 1986, they show a scene of BNSF, which was founded in 1996, unless they started filming in 1986.

[@conradhappy7680]

The tag on the boxcar was also dated 96

[@akatripclaymore.9679]

Love the video, but the supertramp music is nauseating. I used to ride, mostly between Seattle & Whitefish Montana or Missoula. ❤

[@conradhappy7680]

Super tramp was not a good music choice for this doc.. very good tho

[@evmac]

i hopped a train one time... i love this era of hobos. seems like the new guys on the tracks are not as nice? i like shoestring

[@StrangeScaryNewEngland]

RIP, Shoestring

[@vladimirpoutine7522]

Seems like a thing that Hunter S. Thomson would've enjoyed.

[@killuminati63]

Where did they get all of this old footage!? wow and 20:31 !!!!!!!!!! SKILL

[@paulboyle5659]

Brilliant=)

[@philfrizzell4571]

Marquette iowa love it been there lots snall town very friendly

[@philfrizzell4571]

I usually rode alone

[@wealldieatthehandsoflovedones]

I rode with boxcar Floyd and totesack back in 92 to LA. Hope they ok

[@MacGregor.]

👍

[@fridasophia5356]

Ride hard!

[@kaganmcleod1299]

Wish they would chill with the music over top of everything, jeez

[@derekrohan9619]

I completely agree... ruined what would be a good video..

[@OthO67]

Thank you, I was looking through the comments to see if I was the only one who thought the music was too loud. I dig loud music, but not over narration.

[@TheIronweed-vx5lg]

Lot of shots of my home yard in Ogden.

[@philfrizzell4571]

I usually just rode grainers a few boxcars

[@anisshivani8684]

Works well as nostalgic look back.

[@andrewl6899]

Where was Hobo shoestring?

[@tpe54]

watched it on another channe l no background Supertramp Music Why is it on this one?

[@philfrizzell4571]

Ive stoll4 never been to.britt to national hobo convention

[@philfrizzell4571]

Good hobo movie is emperor of the north. Journey of natty gann. Into the wild

[@user-xd1gt9if2v]

Shoestring isnt dead....he just quit drinking. He is one in a million and im absolutley proud of that dude. He has rode the rails to a destination many never got to ride too. Congrats shoestring. RIP hobobstobe. Sorry if ive ever made a comment in pure ignorance. I am still learning and never meant to offend anyone.

[@swainscheps]

Not a single (or) double stack in the whole reel… What’s a 33:10 Frisco Circle?

[@philfrizzell4571]

Bulls were meaner back then too

[@kermi4]

Couple of these "hobos" look like they never left the library, let a lone hopped into a filthy boxcar

[@derekrohan9619]

Man I was thinking the same thing... most of them don’t look like hobos at all..

[@davidhamilton7628]

I've know a lot of train riders that you wouldn't peg as a hobo

[@user-zt1er1uj6i]

Does anyone know the chase music at 44min?

[@chascarpenter5006]

Tryed shazam several times. did'nt come up with anything, sorry.

[@byrdsdoityourselfgarage7330]

This is excellent except for the supertramp music.

[@derekrohan9619]

National hobo association?

[@MacGregor.]

Wonder lust - ⭐

[@brianmcintyre8563]

What about box car Bertha or killroy.

[@danzman101]

Can anyone guage when this film was put together?

[@byrdsdoityourselfgarage7330]

2003 is what I saw online. Of course a lot of the footage is from the 80s and 90s.

[@coyotefeather4896]

40 years later..............gutter punks

[@caseymclaughlin5376]

This doc is great but I’m a little skeptical of a few of these guys that claim to be or used to be riders. A few of them seem more like rail fans that wish they were riders.

[@chriskincaid6035]

Excellent video... The issue is that it lacks closed captioning... the sound quality is not great... and WHY is the music blasting over the speaking ??? Horrible. Having music playing while the people were being interviewed, was completely unnecessary. Trying to enjoy this video with my 85 year old mother... ridiculous and annoying.

[@jefftoler9017]

How does a man at 32:34 have a Black Label Society hat on? BLS was even a dust in the wind then, weird hmmmmm

[@jefftoler9017]

To be exact 1998

[@1AloneX2]

RIP Shoestring!

[@tommymann69]

Hobo shoestring

[@coyotefeather4896]

This was interesting...and cringey...and interesting....and cringey