"We were always worried about him. On November 9, 2017, James Stobie, better known by his YouTube identity Stobe the Hobo, a famous train hopper was killed when he was dragged to death by an Amtrak train. Each state has its own laws, so the maximum size of fine or arrest can be different. Above all, as any hobo will tell you, don't join anyone else in a box-car. Nichols videos led him to befriend a local family because the son watched them and became fascinated with the railroad lifestyle. ( I recently uploaded a new video of this same general area in Halethorpe taken on the same day in November 2017 that I shot this one. The case landed on Quakenbush's desk when a computer trace of the box-car revealed that it had passed through Salem, where the murder had probably taken place, according to an autopsy report. He was calm, polite, soft-spoken, 6ft tall and 180 pounds. The slang term shoestring often describes a small amount of money which may be an inadequate amount to fund the intended purpose of its use in full. He said railroad staff often dont care when they find him aboard trains. asked Garfinkle upon his return. The Utah victim had been beaten over the head with a board and stabbed in the ear. It saddens me to hear this, being in correspodance with him this last year a few times, and the guy had a real good outlook, bitter and positi e at the same time. Mark Nichols "Shoestring" Professional Hobo. While poking around Youtube this morning there were several recaps of the death of Jim Stobe, November 8th, considered by many other illicit train riders as somewhat iconic. Another such recreational rider was 20-year-old Santa Cruz engineering student Michael Garfinkle, the very opposite of the stereotype one might expect to see bumming on the rails. According to some reports, his bag became tangled in the Amtrak train and he was dragged to his death. Its a business lunch, so the company is footing the bill. He rode the rails in a way that was reminiscent of a desperate man searching for work at every city he could find during the Great Depression. James William Stobie gained considerable notoriety during his all too short life of thirty-three years as a filmmaker who self-produced documentary styled videos portraying life as a rail riding traveler AKA Stobe the Hobo. His accomplishments were many, but his time here on earth. Visitors can also visit the Hobo Memorial Cemetery, where many steam-engine era hobos are buried, and the National Hobo Museum, where authentic artifacts are on display. Some have called for fencing along known trespassing hot spots in order to prevent the number of pedestrian deaths. More than 7,200 pedestrians have been killed by trains in the United States since 1997. After about seven or eight years of 24/7 doing that, I pretty much learned the North American continent, Nichols said. Nichols said his mind never shuts off; hes always on the move. Scenic routes such as the Billygoat are particularly popular with growing numbers of "weekend riders", especially in the summer. H. L. Hobo Stobe in my movie was an alcoholic. According to some reports, his bag became tangled in the Amtrak train and he was dragged to his death. When one demanded to see his ID, he emailed his old Blockbuster card. The budgeting process is where the term will most frequently appear, as in a shoestring budget or alternately as on a shoestring.. How did he fall? "He was tired of the lifestyle. A trains diesel engine is a large unit, with around 16 cylinders. Is being a hobo illegal? More than 7,200 pedestrians have been killed by trains in the United States since 1997. But unlike the Depression, modern-day riders have the advantage of cellphones. It's illegal to ride a freight train, and I was trespassing on railroad property. When Quakenbush first laid eyes on Silveria at Placer County Jail, his appearance and demeanour were baffling. He told subscribers he was fined and was in a hotel. He told his mother he was in Georgia on his way to Florida because the weather up north was too cold. He showed me a three-inch scar on his forehead. By redneckhippie, February 25, 2020 in General Chat. Check out his channel at \"HobeStobe\" here on YouTube. In three days, you can be on the other side of the country. They have to stop in Bristol for a crew change. Grandinetti discovered the FTRA's existence after recording ten deaths between 1990 and 1992 on the "High Line" between Seattle and Minneapolis: "The bodies had their shirts and jackets pulled up around their heads, and their pants pulled down." What happened to Antonella Nester of QVC? Another reason for not turning off diesel train engines, lies in the engine itself. Fortin explained that the FTRA originally stood for "Fuck The Reagan Administration" and was founded by a "bunch of guys who wanted to ride together and just came up with a joke name". "I go anywhere," Silveria replied. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder but didn't like taking his medication. ", Hobos have been taking free rides on America's freight trains since Civil War days - they have always been a law unto themselves. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Rice listed the dangers of riding the rails: falling off the car, getting robbed by a vagrant, being jolted or crushed when the train's slack lessens. "Because of where she was dumped, we believed it could be the work of transients," he said. In early November last year, an Amtrak train operator found a body on the tracks outside Baltimore who authorities later identified as YouTube star James "Stobe the Hobo" Stobie. I know we lost a lot of good celebrities within the past year and a half, but it was a total blindside where I did not expect us to lose one of our own. This group is for Stobe related content from Stobe fans, there are lots of groups for riders and foamers to post things about trains and your personal trips. They traveled from Georgia to Chicago, then back to Tennessee, with Artes sending his mother pictures along the way. Why do trains not use cabooses anymore? Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. "Silveria said that Garfinkle didn't belong," Harper told me. Thats usually how I survive, Nichols said. The United States Department of Transportation administers various regulatory bodies, the most relevant to railway safety being the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). He was riding the rails, and stowing away on ships starting at the age of 11 and then he began to write about his journeys. Silveria, they said, had told them he was a travelling roofer by trade, using the rails to move between jobs. By Josh Katzowitz, The Daily Dot; November 17, 2017. We moved a lot when I was a kid, being a military family, said Nichols, who was born in Freeport, Texas, but grew up in Port Arthur. It was HIS decision, and his responsibility. [1] Pedestrian railroad accidents are the leading cause of death on railways. Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia. The railroad is my home, Nichols said. He drank like a fish while hopping trains. What happens if you get caught riding a freight train? Quakenbush thought he was now looking for two people: Sidetrack and Robert Silveria. The Silveria case broke open when Union Pacific Railroad police found another body in a box-car near the Willamette River in Portland. What had he learned, I asked, in following Silveria's tracks of death? In the Thirties, when a million Americans "caught out" - jumped a train - and wandered the West looking for work to avoid starvation, countless thousands were crushed between carriages or simply fell to their deaths from moving trains. "But they're real people, just like Pettit, who've often simply fallen on hard times. No, train-hopping is not a felony. In recent years, hobos, like Nichols, have used social media and gained many followers. Please subscribe to keep reading. Crazy I literally just ran into his videos the day before this happened via someone from StP documenting alongside him. Trains, being large and heavy, need the optimal brake line pressure for its efficient stopping. [13] After several deaths in Villa Park, Illinois, safety advocates built fences at spots where people would often walk across train tracks. His videos have been viewed about 1.3 million times. Start new topic; Recommended Posts. An Englishman who speaks Russian roam the former USSRs ragged villages and old buildings, downing moonshine with, (grannies) and vodka with a widower near Chernobyl. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). For more information, visit BrittHoboDays.com. Burton (girls) triumph in triple-header at UVa-Wise, VHSL HOOPS: Parker Bandy's emergence key for Honaker Tigers, In Tennessee, a Medicaid mix-up might land you on a most wanted list, Farmville native caught with 42 lbs of cocaine, $862K in drug money gets 17 years, Global race is on to improve EV range in the cold, Moscow reportedly threatened new parents in Ukraine: Register your newborns as Russian or else, The impact of climate change will be felt worse in these three U.S. cities, Scientists reveal hidden corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza. Bill Bryson suggests in Made in America (1998) that it could either come from the railroad greeting, Ho, beau! or a syllabic abbreviation of homeward bound. What happened to John F Kennedy's face when he was shot? But I can't find it. They wanted to spend winter in Florida because it was warm. Genuine train hobos attended throughout the 20th century, but in the absence now of real hobos, the event has gone country-fair mainstream. He is now serving a life sentence in Oregon, unlikely ever to get out. He used drugs and drank, but his mother said he had been clean in recent months. America's first known railroad serial killer then hit Garfinkle at least 13 times with an axe-handle. Soon, he had entered the world of the hobo, and was learning the rail-rider's lingo and habits. This is the reshoot with a better camera of this area in Halethorpe which is not far from Baltimore, Maryland. Train hopping, sometimes referred to as freight hopping, is against the law in all US states . Travel broadens the mind, they say, though it can have a tendency to narrow the wallet but it doesnt have to be so. "Stobe was an artist. used to describe two people who are often or usually together She and her sister used to be joined at the hip when they were kids. He was from Colorado but had been in the Coast Guard in my old town, Seattle, and sometimes hung out up there. Posted February 28, 2020. Ya gotta stay clean or it isn't much fun. Answer: In colonial times, people who were thought too loyal to Britain, or too outspoken against independence, or crown tax collectors, were sometimes tarred, feathered, and tied to a wooden fence rail and carried out of town. Quakenbush could barely hide his anger about the fate of the dispossessed and the "double standards throughout America": "There's a great system of justice for the rich. [2] Between 2001 and 2011, the number of deaths involving trains and motor vehicles dropped 42% to 248. c : repel. Except that Stobie, aka Stobe the Hobo, made YouTube videos about his experiences, hopping trains to move around the country for the pure fun of it. [19], Pedestrian railroad safety in the United States, United States Department of Transportation, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, List of common carrier freight railroads in the United States, "Critics Say Railroads Should Do More To Prevent Pedestrian Deaths", "Hundreds die walking the tracks each year", "Pedestrian deaths by train remain steady", "Train Deaths Rise Amid Energy-Driven Rail Transformation", "Manslaughter charges added in death of Sarah Jones", "Sarah Jones Family V. CSX: Location Manager Charley Baxter's Big Reveal", "Fitness Model Struck and Killed by Train in California", "Beloved Rice scientist dies in bicycle-light rail accident", "Stobe the Hobo, the internet's most famous train-hopper, dead after apparent accident", "Towns, train fight over fences -- and responsibility for safety", "Google, FRA team up for safety; will add rail crossing data to maps", "Agency Taps Mapping Technology to Curb Rail Crossing Accidents", "Highway Agency Disavows Claims by Rail Safety Group", "Operation Lifesaver, Inc. awards $217,000 for rail safety public awareness campaigns in 15 states", "Rail safety group shrinks as danger grows", "DuPage railroad safety group aims to cut trespassing, suicide deaths in half", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pedestrian_railroad_safety_in_the_United_States&oldid=1087840257, On August 26, 1991, 41-year-old Mary T. Wojtyla, of, In 2014, Camera Assistant Sarah Jones was killed when she was struck by a, In 2014, 'Jersey Boys' musician John Jeffrey Ray was killed by an Amtrak train while posing for a photo in, On November 9, 2017, James Stobie, better known by his, This page was last edited on 14 May 2022, at 20:39. Stobe the Hobo, the internet's most famous train-hopper, dead after apparent accident James Stobie was the most famous train-hopping hobo on the internet. According to these folks Stobe was crossing a railroad bridge in the Baltimore, MD, area with his usual gigantic backpack . Got me when I was asleep.". You are using an out of date browser. even tho the bar doesn't know. Growing up, he had dyslexia and other learning disorders, but he was a sweet boy, his mother said. Tiny houses, narrowboats and converted buses look artsy and cozy, but no thanks to climbing ladders to sleep in crawl spaces, disembarking narrowboats every few miles to crank open lock gates, or emptying "cassettes" of toilet "black water" at dump sites. It was called the Hobo Code. Mark Nichols is arrested in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, while riding Florida East Coast railway. As millions are dumped off welfare rolls and mental institutions are emptied, more and more homeless people cower in the box-car shadows, rolling cigarettes with hands shaking from the DTs and cold. Apparently his backpack may may have tangled with an Amtrak train and dragged him to his death. Do any train hoppers call Bristol home?
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