Gidday everyone,
Just watched brave Daves latest freight hop videos which are great. I've done a few jumps myself but wanted to know of any one elses advice. What part of the yard or track do you wait at, everyone says outside the yard entrance but the last few times they've being going about 10 miles an hour -a bit fast. There's a switch track which all the trains go over further down the track, would that be a better bet? The looked to be going real slow over the switch but what do you guys think. Also noticed the freighters will sometimes go really slow through smalls towns at night, are those places good to catch out? Another problem is being seen which screwed up my last jump. Here in New zealand the freight cars have no cover. What do you do to hide at level crossings? Thought I'd put a trash bag over me next time so the dam cars can't see me at crossings haha.
Just watched brave Daves latest freight hop videos which are great. I've done a few jumps myself but wanted to know of any one elses advice. What part of the yard or track do you wait at, everyone says outside the yard entrance but the last few times they've being going about 10 miles an hour -a bit fast. There's a switch track which all the trains go over further down the track, would that be a better bet? The looked to be going real slow over the switch but what do you guys think. Also noticed the freighters will sometimes go really slow through smalls towns at night, are those places good to catch out? Another problem is being seen which screwed up my last jump. Here in New zealand the freight cars have no cover. What do you do to hide at level crossings? Thought I'd put a trash bag over me next time so the dam cars can't see me at crossings haha.
Hello, Mr Fake Ass!
Every yard will be different. If the trains leave a yard at a catchable speed then you're much better off waiting for them out there. However, as you'll already know, catching a train on the fly means that you have very little time to find a suitable car and could easily end up on a less-than-ideal one. Having time to find a good car and not having the risks involved with being in a yard can only really be done at a sidings, so if you know of a spot where trains pull over to let other trains pass by then this is the best place to catch them. However, these tend to be out in the middle of nowhere, not near to towns, as otherwise they'd probably just go into the yard.
Freights might slow down through small towns at night but I don't think they go slow enough to catch. "Slow" is about 20mph. In my experience they only go slow enough to catch if they're stopping or if they're going around a sharp corner.
Having a dark bag to lay inside is definitely a good idea as even just something to break up the shape of a human body will reduce the risks of you being seen, especially if the train is moving.
Every yard will be different. If the trains leave a yard at a catchable speed then you're much better off waiting for them out there. However, as you'll already know, catching a train on the fly means that you have very little time to find a suitable car and could easily end up on a less-than-ideal one. Having time to find a good car and not having the risks involved with being in a yard can only really be done at a sidings, so if you know of a spot where trains pull over to let other trains pass by then this is the best place to catch them. However, these tend to be out in the middle of nowhere, not near to towns, as otherwise they'd probably just go into the yard.
Freights might slow down through small towns at night but I don't think they go slow enough to catch. "Slow" is about 20mph. In my experience they only go slow enough to catch if they're stopping or if they're going around a sharp corner.
Having a dark bag to lay inside is definitely a good idea as even just something to break up the shape of a human body will reduce the risks of you being seen, especially if the train is moving.
Thanks for the info.
Just did some scouting and this switch track looks promising, saw two freighters going at a fast jogging speed over the switch. I also did some research and found somewhere trains going over switches are suppose to go 5 mph but I'm not sure the drivers follow that. How near the exit of the yard do you need to be to catch them slow enough there? From what I've seen they are going pretty fast, maybe 15 mph about 200 meters from the yards exit. I can get right up near the exit but its riskier with the massive flood lights. Seems like they start to accelerate as soon as they come out so maybe I will have to get closer to the exit.
Just did some scouting and this switch track looks promising, saw two freighters going at a fast jogging speed over the switch. I also did some research and found somewhere trains going over switches are suppose to go 5 mph but I'm not sure the drivers follow that. How near the exit of the yard do you need to be to catch them slow enough there? From what I've seen they are going pretty fast, maybe 15 mph about 200 meters from the yards exit. I can get right up near the exit but its riskier with the massive flood lights. Seems like they start to accelerate as soon as they come out so maybe I will have to get closer to the exit.
@fakeassbasard How have your previous jumps gone? I've always wondered how it'd go doing a jump here in Aus and NZ seems pretty similar in terms of freight trains. What cars did you ride? I'm hoping to do a bit of snooping around some larger train yards when i pass through Adelaide some time next year and might try a jump if i can find something rideable. From what i've seen the auto racks are probably gonna be the best option but we really don't have shit to ride compared to overseas
Oh also as far as cover goes i was thinking about that one myself and i was thinking a poly tarp would be handy. Cheap and waterproof so it would come in handy if you needed to sleep out anywhere as well. When you're rolling through a town or what not If you wrap yourself up in it and lie down anybody you pass would just assume maybe it's some tools or cargo the rail workers have covered up. No ones gonna call the cops for something like that i'd think. Might not be ideal but thats the best i've been able to come up with so far
Had mixed success with my jumps, so far the biggest problem has just been finding a place where the trains go slow enough. I think with our trains or at least here in New Zealand they go a little faster out of the yard maybe cause there a bit smaller but I don't know. You can still do it you just gotta be ready to run.
Yeah the carriages are pretty shitty, no grainers so I've had to ride between on shipping container type cars with no cover. You want to be careful with being seen. Unless your riding out in the wops you pretty much gotta ride at night but beware of level crossings with cars lights on you as you roll past.
Some carriages have two small containers on them and a small gap in the middle which are good for sleeping and a bit more hidden but besides that you just gotta ride between cars here. Don't know who filmed this but this gives you a bit of an idea about what jumping on our type of carriages is like:
Yeah the carriages are pretty shitty, no grainers so I've had to ride between on shipping container type cars with no cover. You want to be careful with being seen. Unless your riding out in the wops you pretty much gotta ride at night but beware of level crossings with cars lights on you as you roll past.
Some carriages have two small containers on them and a small gap in the middle which are good for sleeping and a bit more hidden but besides that you just gotta ride between cars here. Don't know who filmed this but this gives you a bit of an idea about what jumping on our type of carriages is like:
