Catching trains in Maryland and nearly blinded for life
This was one of the fastest, smoothest catch-outs ever. I dropped off my rental car at the Citgo station in
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Abdul Rahimov has a Ph.D. in Russian history from Stanford. He studied earlier at Harvard and grew up in Illinois in a railroad-dominated town.Rahimov prefers to use a pen name to avoid attracting unnecessary attention from railroads. He lives on the East Coast.
Author: Abdul Rahimov
Groundhog Day in Nevada with road kill along the tracks
It had been nearly a year since my ecstatic daylight ride through the Wind River Canyon of Wyoming. I flew
Read moreExploring St. Louis’ sights not on the tourist map
St. Louis always has occupied a peculiar lacuna in my personal history. It was the big city nearest to my
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Chasing freights in Dick Cheney’s hometown
There are few experiences sadder than returning to a Western railroad yard 12 years later. In 1993, starting out of
Read moreColorado outlaws and a bloody train ride from Fort Collins to Denver
After six years, I saw the Colorado outlaw known as TTK again in Fort Collins, Colorado. I’d slept behind a
Read moreRiding in darkness with the stars from Hagerstown to Harrisburg
It was time for a training ride, nothing glamorous or long, but a tune-up for a much longer trip up
Read moreHoboing north from Roanoke to Hagerstown
The Norfolk Southern’s Valley line runs up from Roanoke to Hagerstown, Md., through the Jefferson and George Washington national forests
Read moreHoboes are disappearing like dinosaurs from Manassas to Hagerstown
Bruce came by, with plans that lifted me out of my post-injury depression. After committing sedition for a couple days,
Read moreColorado River promises death to derailed hoboes
For three days in 2003 I had relentlessly pushed a rental car through the splendors of western Colorado, what they
Read moreSo why do I jump trains?
Three years later, I flew back to far northern California to revisit the place and the memory of those adventures.Now
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