The list of stupid shit no sane trainhopper would do is endless. I recommend you buy a copy of Duffy Littlejohn's 2001 book, Hopping Freight Trains in America. You can get it on Amazon. It's more-or-less the same information that I learned when I started out in 1970.

A very short and incomplete list:

--Do not hit rolling trains. Learn where the trains stop, and only board STANDING trains. 95% of the danger in trainhopping is in hitting trying to catch a moving train.

--Do not touch the draft gear, the coupler, the knuckle, or the cut lever. If the train moves and any part of your body is on the coupler you are very likely to get "pinched." (Most likely you will lose that part of your body.) I once saw a photograph of some idiot straddling a coupler. I guess he didn't care if he lost his dick.

--Only ride "rideable" cars. Some cars are "rides." Some are not, and for very good reasons. Do not ride tankers, open flat cars, empty bottom-dump coal or gravel cars, gondolas carrying any sort of load (especially something like scrap steel), hot "steel coil" cars, ribbed grainers, or any car carrying a load that can shift. Only ride behind a load, NEVER RIDE IN FRONT OF A LOAD. Do not ride empty TTX 53 container well cars (this is called "riding suicide." For a good reason.) TTX 48 well cars, with a solid steel floor, are great rides. But not empty 53's. A 48 with a 40' container loaded is a good ride, but only if you're riding behind the load.

--Never board a train without at least one gallon of water, per person, per day. If you are going to be on a train for three days straight, you need (wait for it) THREE gallons of water.

--"West of Fort Worth, double the water." Some people say, "West of Minneapolis" or "West of Kansas City." Imagine a line dividing the U.S. about where I-45 and I-35 run north and south. West of this line, you need double the water. In "The West."

--Wear durable, "lace-up" boots, either hiking boots or work boots. Steel toed boots are good, although some people complain about them. A railroad environment is hazardous to your feet. Some people bitch that wearing boots is uncomfortable. "Whatever." If you go out on the rails wearing sneakers (like idiot Brave Dave) you're going to learn this lesson the hard way, when your shoes disintegrate. "Do As Thou Wilt."

--Take durable clothes designed to endure a harsh, industrial environment. The old guys with whom I broke in would never have even considered wearing any sort of shorts. Young people today think differently about that. Blue jeans are durable, but really hot and sweaty in the summer. I recommend some kind of trousers like Dickie's work pants. Pretty durable--much cooler. In winter, you want winter coveralls. I recommend Carhartt's. I bought Wall's brand (at Walmart.) I don't recommend them, they are inferior to Carhartt's. In fact, it's hard to beat any kind of Carhartt's clothing for trainhopping, but obviously you wear whatever you've got.

--You need some kind of durable pack in which to carry your gear. There are lots of different opinions about what pack is best. In my opinion, any pack with an exterior frame (like a Kelty Trekker 65) is inappropriate. If you throw a frame pack like a Kelty off a train, it will destroy the frame. Pick a pack that can take a beating. I carried a military surplus ALICE pack, Large. (There's two sizes, Large and Medium. The medium is too small for trainhopping. It's intended for short combat patrols.) Other people hate ALICE packs. "Whatever." Mine served me well through four years of the Marine Corps and years of bumming around. They're heavy, and not all that comfortable, but they are very tough packs.

--You need a good sleeping bag, a foam "camping pad" and a tarp. There's tons of choices. You don't need a $400 sleeping bag. On the other hand, a cheap-ass bag will mean cold nights. Cheap bags are made with fiber-fil. Expensive bags are goose down. It's lighter, but expensive gear attracts rip-off artists. Used bags are fine. Buy a subdued-color tarp about 8'x10', camouflage, brown, etc. Avoid Katrina Blue. You can rig it ten different ways, but usually just as a "tarp taco."

--Take LOTS of socks. You don't need more than one change of clothes (so you can wash the ones you're wearing) but you need lots of good socks. You're on your feet 12-15 hours a day. Inspect your feet for blisters, and change socks frequently. Some people say, "Only merino wool sock$$$." Whatever. Just take lots.

--Never go under a train. If you have to pass through a string of cars, go up the ladder, across the catwalk, and down the other ladder. Never go under. If you have to pass by the last car on a "live" train with power on and running, do not walk close to the FRED. Go up the ladder, across the catwalk, and down the ladder.

Or you can walk way out away from the FRED (maybe thirty or forty feet) and cross the tracks.

Trains under power can move at any second. Never assume it won't move. The one time you make that assumption may be the one time they move the train and kill you.

--NEVER pass between two cars that are disconnected in the middle of a string. It looks so convenient. There's a four-foot gap! But if they move the train to couple the cars and you happen to be in between, you will be crushed and impaled in the couplers. Understand? CRUSHED between the couplers. And the knuckles will couple. Right through you.

--Do not "walk on the wood." This is a LONG TIME hobo taboo. Although it doesn't seem logical, trains make relatively little noise, even at 60 mph. A train traveling 60 mph is traveling 88 feet per second, or about thirty yards. Three and one-half seconds? One hundred yards. You will never hear it coming.

--Do not "walk on the rail." Most rail yard accidents are caused by tripping or stumbling. Railies never step on the rail. Tramps say it's bad luck. For a good reason.

--Beware of "overflow." Overflow is a razor-like edge on railroad rails caused by heavy pressure of railcar wheels. It can stick out beyond the rail as much as a half inch, sharp as a knife blade. It especially occurs on curves.

There is way too much to explain about trainhopping to be able to do it in an internet post. You need a mentor to safely learn to ride trains.