Riding the Coalies – Boxcar Art on a Railroad in Pennsylvania

I went for a long run in rural Pennsylvania along railroad tracks and brought a camera. I took shots of boxcar monikers. What would it be like to use coal cars to travel around? The monikers are also made by car inspectors, brakemen, dudes working the rails. Railroads are apparently becoming important again, and I saw monikers dated to last year, “Creak” from D.C. Hobo culture will never die, it just goes on to the next town…

Here’s a great site for boxcar art.

Here’s a great site for hobo signs and their meaning. I didn’t really see any of this stuff on the train. People usually just write out what they want to say.

My favorite moniker was used by Travis “Conrail Twitty” Conner, who apparently died. He worked on the railroad, and he tagged cars. I backpacked and hitchhiked across Alaska and Europe when I was younger, and I was able to make enough to keep moving, but I used the youth hostel network instead of rail cars.