Should I Join? Contemplation, Freight Hopping and the Death of the American Hobo
“HERE DOWN ON DARK EARTH
before we all go to Heaven
VISIONS OF AMERICA
All that hitchhikin’
All that railroadin’
All that comin’ back
to America
-Jack Kerouac (Lonesome Traveller, 1960)
“As you watch humanity pass by here. One thing you see is not really anything different from car to car. That car, that car, what’s the difference? But underneath this bridge you’ve got a different form of reality… It just seems like people are hellbent on focusing straight ahead. Like these cars, they all look the exact same. And conformity is one of the things that pisses me off because I just can’t do it. It doesn’t mean I’m better, it doesn’t mean I’m superior. These people are doing it because everybody else does it…. To find anybody doing anything new or interesting is difficult these days…. It’s just not possible to feel the real rush of things when you’re the same and you’re doing the same thing everybody else is doing. These are things I think about when I’m out here…Do we conform or not? Because not conforming means that you’re (under a bridge). This is a lonely place. It’s dirty. It’s not that fun…Do I want to join (the conformers) or do I want to stay under here? It’s something you’ve got to think about if you want to take up (travelling by cargo train). It’s not popular. There’s no evidence to suggest anyone cares about (this lifestyle). This is not going to get you friends. It’s not gonna get you acceptance. But on the other hand, do you care? Do you care about being (a conformer)? These are some of the things you think about when you’re sat under an overpass waiting for a freight train. When in this day and age you can get Amtrak. You can get Megabus and be in your destination. But I’m still under here. And I’m gonna stay under here.
At least until tomorrow…. when I’ll probably wimp out and get the Amtrak or the Megabus. These are the things you think about when you’re drinking beer under a bridge.”
-Jim Stobie
When thirty two year old youtuber Jim Stobie spoke the above words into a video camera he was sat under a filthy and graffiti strewn railway bridge somewhere in America’s Midwest gazing at cars on the nearby freeway. He is clearly experiencing something of an existential crisis but in doing so manages to neatly summarise a consistent theme explored within his videos probably without the realisation that he is properly doing so: the conflict between conformity and non-conformity.
Stobie is underneath the bridge waiting for a freight train to pass, hopefully slow enough to surreptitiously jump onto one of its many preceding wagons and ride to a new destination. Sometimes he will have a relatively good idea of where the train will eventually end up, other times only a vague sense of which direction it is heading and where it will stop or at least be going slow enough to jump off whilst the train is still moving. He is motivated by a desire to travel, to see more of his home country and by doing this in perhaps the most cheap, thrilling and dangerous way possible he is adhering to one of its most integral traditions.
Stobie is living the life of the American hobo. Like most modern-day freight riders he is a nomad and a wanderer living in the grey area between civilised and uncivilised existence long after the conquering of America’s frontier. Migrant workers no longer hop freight trains in search of work as they did during the Great Depression but the tradition is kept alive by a core group that continue to ride for the thrill.
From watching many of Stobie’s videos it’s clear that parts of the American interior that once bustled with industry and commerce are now experiencing a dramatic social and economic decline. His videos often see him marooned in a desolate town somewhere in America’s deep south or Rustbelt; whatever industry that once breathed life into the area is either demolished or lying abandoned. One video even shows Stobie arriving in a town whilst a huge factory is in the process of being dismantled. Shops and businesses either close early or are completely boarded up, no bars or restaurants are open as most of the town’s inhabitants have moved to nearby cities leaving behind a few gas stations and liquor stores to cater for the remaining residents. Like the few visitors to these towns freight trains pass through but rarely stop for long, giving wanders like Stobie enough time to jump off and resupply at the nearest gas station before catching another train out.
Capturing these places on video for his YouTube channel Stobie’s reaction varies from bemused astonishment to mild contempt. How can a country as prosperous as the United States that professes to offer such a high standard of living for all its citizens contain such desolation? Do the empty store fronts and vacant buildings demonstrate that small town America and the American dream itself is dying? Does this say anything about why a divisive president that promised to reverse such economic and social decline won the last election and looks set to win a second term of office despite their obvious personal and political flaws?
Living this nomadic existence travelling via freight train allows Stobie to experience and document this way of life first hand. He is adhering to principles associated with the American national story whilst all around him it appears parts of his country are changing dramatically. He visits desolate towns that come to life only when a colossal freight train, sometimes over three miles long, hurtles through at high speed. Other times he stops in major cities or soulless tourist destinations that make him wish he had stayed on the train and not even bothered to disembark. Camping next to the railway yards allows Stobie quick access to the trains when he’s ready to move on and whilst the train is moving between towns and cities he watches beautiful rural scenery pass by that would be largely inaccessible to those travelling by road or foot.
Though this sounds like a romantic and thrilling method of transportation Stobie acknowledges in numerous videos that this is often not the case; there is very little glamour in living this transient and unpredictable lifestyle. In many videos Stobie is stranded in remote locations, the train having “dead ended” far from the nearest town and is subsequently forced to hitchhike or wait several days for another train to stop, possibly running out of food and water whilst doing so. Unless he’s lucky enough to find a rail car that provides sufficient shelter Stobie is also exposed to the rain, wind and cold with nothing in the way of home comforts. There are obvious risks that come with freight hopping which include being maimed or killed whilst attempting to “catch out” as well as being arrested for railway trespassing which often comes with a fine or possible jail time.
Stobie knows that these are risks that have to be taken in order to experience the thrill of freight train hopping. Though an experienced rider he is at times painfully truthful with his audience concerning the reality. It is clear throughout many of his unique videos that despite a genuine love for travelling and what the freight hopping lifestyle has to offer, at times he is tempted by the lure of civilisation and the safe, predictable ways of living that comes with it. This understandably seems more appealing than a life riding freight trains and avoiding its inevitable hazards. Living the life of a hobo allows somebody to feel free from the burdens of everyday living and gives riders a sense of freedom and adventure unobtainable to those shackled to normality – but comes with its own burdens of loneliness, isolation and substantial risk of arrest or death. The temptation to abandon the adventure and find easier and more conventional methods of transportation is always there, as is the desire to potentially give up freight riding altogether.
Stobie’s videos are a craft and an art form in their own right portraying a way of life that is on the decline. A talented musician, each video is peppered with unique piano arrangements played and recorded by Stobie himself that complement the footage of sweeping landscapes, empty railway yards and forgotten rural towns perfectly. His narration is informative and witty; though often derisive of what he sees around him his love of freight hopping and the affection he has for his country despite honestly documenting its flaws and contradictions seeps into every video. Despite occasional cynicism he remains consistently charming, remaining optimistic about his situation even if he finds himself in the most difficult of circumstances, recognising that as long as he is close to the railway tracks and a grocery store to pick up supplies and cold beer there is little else worth worrying about.
These videos have become all the more poignant. Last November will mark the second anniversary of Jim Stobie’s death.
There is still uncertainty and speculation regarding exactly what happened amongst fans and other freight riders. General consensus is that he was caught unaware by an approaching passenger train as he was traversing some railroad tracks near Baltimore. It is perhaps unsurprising that anybody engaged in such a precarious activity would ultimately succumb to its inevitable dangers but to his fans and others that feel his loss keenly, the fact that he died doing what he loved provides little consolation.
The act of freight hopping itself puts nobody in physical danger apart from the rider themselves and Stobie always stressed his awareness of its inevitable hazards whilst discouraging amateurs, either from taking up freight hopping altogether or at least from riding without being accompanied by someone with experience. Unlike more vacuous YouTube content Stobie’s intention was never to create videos of himself partaking in a dangerous activity simply to become famous, and expressed concern at how popular his channel was becoming and the potential consequences an increasing viewership might have.
His goal was merely to explore his home country whilst capturing it from a truly unique perspective whilst documenting his passion for freight hopping and what he considered to be a declining American tradition, keeping a relatively low online profile whilst doing so. Stobie’s channel deserves to be thought of not only as Youtube content but as valuable documentary evidence of what parts of America were like during the Trump era. In years to come his freight hopping videos may become the online video equivalent of Alexander De Tocqueville or Mark Twain for their clarity, insightfulness and ability to provide a unique glimpse into the American psyche.
Stobie was one of the last of the great American hobos. He lived a life dedicated to his craft whilst never succumbing to convention or conformity. The fact that we will no longer be able to watch any new content is sad but also irrelevant when one remembers that he will always be very much alive thanks to the wonderful legacy of videos he has left behind.