My father rode the trains from the age of 12 to 22, being born in 1918. He told us his stories with detail to explain the life and experiences--he wanted to see the entire U.S., which he did. He told us of the places he saw and took pictures which we have today. He told of the sad stories: men with their orphaned children, sickness, alcholism, addictions, people who were attorneys, judges, singers: people who needed to get away from their "lives", and the train "bulls", his incarceration due to being caught on the train without a ticket, no I.D., a German name with no connections to home, how he kept from getting diseases and illnesses while riding the trains, families he met who gave him a meal, and the songs he learned. He would stop and work along the way and he carried a kodak box camera in a cardboard box in with his personal belongings on the journey. We have the many pictures and the camera. Of course, he made a 33 1/3 record of the Wabash Cannonball which we cherish.
You can't imagine how I've enjoyed reading the many comments and sharing my Dad's experiences herein. jediiladi-Minnesota