Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Train shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Train offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Train at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Train? Wrong! If the Train is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Train then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Train? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Train and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Train wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Train then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Train site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Train, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Train, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
freight train west of
Chicago in 1992.,
Norway at McIver railway station, Perth, Perth, Western Australia
Diesel Multiple Unit 500 Series Shinkansen (
High-speed rail);
Coventry, England commuter train test driving towards
Tokyo, Japan. passenger train speeding up the main line towards
London, England
electric locomotive used in passenger train service. slowly making its way towards London,
EnglandIn rail transport, a
train is a series of rail vehicles that move along guides to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The guideway (permanent way) usually consists of conventional
rail tracks, but might also be
monorail or magnetic levitation train. Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate locomotive, or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Most trains are powered by diesel engines or by
electricity supplied by
Railway electrification system. Historically the steam engine was the dominant form of locomotive power through the mid-20th century, but other sources of power (such as horses, rope, wire,
gravity,
pneumatics, or
gas turbines) are possible.
In American railway terminology, the term
consist is used to describe the group of rail vehicles which make up a train. When referring to
motive power,
consist refers to the group of locomotives powering the train. Similarly, the term
trainset refers to a group of
rolling stock that is permanently or semi-permanently coupled together to form a unified set of equipment (the term is most often applied to
passenger train configurations). In the United Kingdom, the interchangeable terms
set and
unit are used to refer to a group of permanently or semi-permanently couple vehicles such as those of a
multiple unit. While when referring to a train made up of a variety of vehicles, or of several sets/units, the term
formation is used. (Although the UK public and media often forgo 'formation', for simply 'train'.)
In the United Kingdom Section 83(1) of the Railways Act 1993 defines "train" as follows:
:a) two or more items of rolling stock coupled together, at least one of which is a locomotive; or
:b) a locomotive not coupled to any other rolling stock.
Similarly, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's 1948 operating rules define a train as: "An engine or more than one engine coupled, with or without cars, displaying markers."
Types of trains
There are various types of trains designed for particular purposes.
A train can consist of a combination of one or more locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit (or occasionally a single powered coach, called a railcar). Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, or run downhill by gravity.
Special kinds of trains running on corresponding special 'railways' are
atmospheric railways, monorails,
high-speed railways, Maglev train,
Rubber-tyred metro,
funicular and Rack railway.
A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives, and one or more coaches. Alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a "multiple unit". In many parts of the world, particularly Japan and Europe, high-speed rail is utilized extensively for passenger travel.
Freight trains comprise wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains (especially Travelling Post Offices) are outwardly more like passenger trains.
In the United Kingdom, a train hauled by two locomotives is said to be "double-headed", and in Canada and the United States it is quite common for a long freight train to be headed by three, four, or even five locomotives. A train with a locomotive attached at each end is described as 'top and tailed', this practice typically being used when there are no reversing facilities available. Where the second locomotive is attached temporarily to assist a train up steep banks or grades (or down them by providing braking power) it is referred to as 'banking' in the UK, 'helper service' in North America.
Trains can also be mixed, hauling both passengers and freight, see e.g.
Transportation in Mauritania. Such mixed trains became rare in many countries, but were commonplace on the first 19th century railroads.
Special trains are also used for Rail tracks#Track Maintenance; in some places, this is called
maintenance of way.
Motive power
The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses, but from the early 19th century almost all were powered by steam locomotives. From the 1920s onwards they began to be replaced by less labour intensive and cleaner (but more complex and expensive) diesel locomotives and electric locomotives, while at about the same time self-propelled multiple unit vehicles of either power system became much more common in passenger service. Most countries had replaced steam locomotives for day-to-day use by the 1970s, usually with diesel locomotives. A few countries, most notably the People's Republic of China, where
coal and labour are cheap, still use steam locomotives, but this is being gradually phased out. Historic steam trains still run in many other countries, for the leisure and enthusiast market.
Electric traction offers a lower cost per mile of train operation but at a very high initial cost, which can only be justified on high traffic lines. Since the cost per mile of construction is much higher, electric traction is less favored on long-distance lines with the exception of long-distance high speed lines. Electric trains receive their current via
overhead lines or through a third rail electric system.
Passenger trains
Passenger trains have
passenger cars.Passenger trains travel between train station. The distance between stations may vary from under 1 km to over 1000 km, and their journey time may vary between minutes and days.
Long-distance trains
Long-distance trains travel between many cities and/or regions of a country, and sometimes cross several countries. They often have a dining car or restaurant car to allow passengers to have a meal during the course of their journey. Trains traveling overnight may also have
sleeping cars. Very long distance trains such as those on the
Trans-Siberian railway are usually not high-speed.
High-speed trains
High speed trains normally travel during the day, and arrive at their destination before the night falls and are in competition with airliners in speed. In
Japan, most of the public transportation travel between the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Osaka metropolitan area (with around 500 km in distance between them) is dominated by the Shinkansen, however in travel further than around 500 km (such as
Tokyo-
Hiroshima) more people prefer to travel by air.
Very fast trains sometimes
tilting train, like the
APT or
Pendolino or
Talgo. Tilting is a system where the passenger cars automatically lean into Curvature, reducing the centrifugal forces acting on passengers and permitting higher speeds on curves in the rail tracks with greater passenger comfort.
The fastest train on rails is the
France TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) (French for High Speed Train) which achieved a 574.8 km/h (356 mph) speed in testing in 2007. However, TGVs run at a maximum commercial speed of 300-320 km/h. The German ICE uses this commercial speed of 300-320 km/h too.
Inter-city trains
For trains connecting cities, we can distinguish
Inter-city rail trains, which do not halt at small stations, and trains that serve all stations, usually known as
local trains or "stoppers" (and sometimes an intermediate kind, see also
limited-stop).
Branch line trains
Connections to local stations or local lines and are usually stopping services, running usually to all stations or the majority of stations on a line.
Commuter trains
For shorter distances many cities have networks of
commuter trains, serving the city and its suburbs. Some carriages may be laid out to have more standing room than seats, or to facilitate the carrying of
Baby transport#Pushable vehicles, bicycle or wheelchairs. Some countries have
Double decker#Train for use in conurbations. Double deck high speed and sleeper trains are becoming more common in Europe.
Passenger trains usually have
emergency brake handles (or a "communication cord") that the public can operate. Abuse is punished by a heavy fine.
Large cities often have a
metro system, also called underground, subway or tube. The trains are electrically powered, usually by
third rail, and their railroads are separate from other traffic, without
level crossings. Usually they run in tunnels in the city center and sometimes on elevated structures in the outer parts of the city. They can accelerate and decelerate faster than heavier, long-distance trains.
A light one- or two-car rail vehicle running through the streets is by convention not considered a train but rather a tram, trolley, light-rail vehicle or streetcar, but the distinction is not always strict. In some countries such as the United Kingdom the distinction between a tramway and a railway is precise and defined in law.
The term
light rail is sometimes used for a modern tram, but it may also mean an intermediate form between a tram and a train, similar to metro except that it may have level crossings. These are often protected with crossing gates. They may also be called a
tram.
Maglev train trains and monorails represent minor technologies in the train field.
The term
rapid transit is used for public transport such as commuter trains, metro and light rail. However, in New York City, lines on the New York City Subway have been referred to as "trains".
Some commuter trains in
Tokyo,
Japan have special cars which the bench seats fold up to provide standing room only during the morning rush hour (until 10 a.m.). The E231 series train has two of these cars in each set (usually as part of a 10- or 11-car set), officially nicknamed "roku-tobira-sha" (literally, "6 door car") - all the other cars have four sets of doors on each side.
An estimated 3.5 million passengers ride every day on Tokyo's
Yamanote Line, with its 29 stations. For comparison, the New York City Subway carries 4.8 million passengers per day on 26 lines serving 468 stations.
Named trains
Railway companies often give a name to a train service as a marketing exercise, to raise the profile of the service and hence attract more passengers (and also to gain
kudos for the company). Usually, naming is reserved for the most prestigious trains: the high-speed express trains between major cities, stopping at few intermediate stations. The names of services such as the Orient Express, the
Flying Scotsman (train), the Flèche d’Or and the Royal Scot (train) have passed into popular culture.
A somewhat less common practice is the naming of freight trains, for the same commercial reasons. The "Condor" was an overnight
London-
Glasgow express goods train, in the 1960s, hauled by pairs of
British Rail Class 28 diesel locomotives. In the mid-1960s,
British Rail introduced the
Freightliner (UK) brand, for the new train services carrying
containerization between dedicated terminals around the rail network. And the
W.V. Awdry coined the term
The Flying Kipper for the overnight express fish train that appeared in his stories in The Railway Series books.
Freight trains
Freight trains have
Railroad car#Freight cars.Much of the world's freight is transported by train. In the United States the rail system is used mostly for transporting
cargo (or freight).
Under the right circumstances, transporting freight by train is highly economic, and also more energy efficient than transporting freight by road. Rail freight is most economic when freight is being carried in bulk and over long distances, but is less suited to short distances and small loads. Bulk aggregate movements of a mere twenty miles can be cost effective even allowing for trans-shipment costs. These trans-shipment costs dominate in many cases and many modern practices such as containerization freight are aimed at minimizing these.
The main disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility. For this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to
road transport. Many governments are now trying to encourage more freight onto trains, because of the benefits that it would bring.
There are many different types of freight trains, which are used to carry many different kinds of freight, with many different types of
Railroad car#Freight cars. One of the most common types on modern railways are container trains, where containers can be lifted on and off the train by
crane (machine)s and loaded off or onto
trucks or
ships.
This type of freight train has largely superseded the traditional boxcar type of freight train, with which the cargo has to be loaded or unloaded manually.
In some countries "Intermodal freight transport" trains are used: trucks can drive straight onto the train and drive off again when the end destination is reached. A system like this is used through the
Channel Tunnel between
England and France, and for the trans-Alpine service between France and
Italy (this service uses
Gondola (rail)#Modalohr road trailer carriers). 'Piggy-back' trains are the fastest growing type of freight trains in the United States, where they are also known as 'Semi-trailer on flatcar' or TOFC trains. 'Piggy-back' trains require no special modifications to the vehicles being carried. An alternative type of "inter-modal" vehicle, known as a
Roadrailer, is designed to be physically attached to the train. The original trailers were fitted with two sets of wheels: one set flanged, for the trailer to run connected to other such trailers as a rail vehicle in a train; and one set tyred, for use as the semi-trailer of a road vehicle. More modern trailers have only road wheels and are designed to be carried on specially adapted bogies (trucks) when moving on rails.
There are also many other types of Railroad car#Freight cars, such as "low loader" wagons for transporting road vehicles. There are
refrigerator cars for transporting foods such as ice cream. There are simple types of
Gondola (rail) for transporting minerals and bulk material such as
coal, and tank car for transporting liquids and gases. Today however most coal and aggregates are moved in hopper car that can be filled and discharged rapidly, to enable efficient handling of the materials.
Freight trains are sometimes illegally boarded by passengers who do not wish to pay money, or do not have the money, to travel by ordinary means. This is referred to as "
freighthopping" and is considered by some communities to be a viable form of transport. Most hoppers sneak into train yards and stow away in boxcars. More bold hoppers will catch a train "on the fly", that is, as it is moving, leading to occasional fatalities.
See also
References
Further reading
| last = Glancey
| first = Jonathan
| title = The Train
| publisher = Carlton Publishing Group
| year = 2005
| id = ISBN 978-1-844423-45-3-->, 256 pp.
freight train west of
Chicago in 1992.,
Norway at McIver railway station, Perth, Perth, Western Australia
Diesel Multiple Unit 500 Series Shinkansen (
High-speed rail); Coventry, England commuter train test driving towards
Tokyo,
Japan. passenger train speeding up the main line towards London,
England electric locomotive used in passenger train service. slowly making its way towards
London, England
In
rail transport, a
train is a series of rail vehicles that move along guides to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The guideway (
permanent way) usually consists of conventional rail tracks, but might also be monorail or magnetic levitation train. Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate locomotive, or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Most trains are powered by diesel engines or by electricity supplied by Railway electrification system. Historically the
steam engine was the dominant form of locomotive power through the mid-20th century, but other sources of power (such as horses,
rope, wire, gravity, pneumatics, or
gas turbines) are possible.
In American railway terminology, the term
consist is used to describe the group of rail vehicles which make up a train. When referring to
motive power,
consist refers to the group of
locomotives powering the train. Similarly, the term
trainset refers to a group of
rolling stock that is permanently or semi-permanently coupled together to form a unified set of equipment (the term is most often applied to passenger train configurations). In the United Kingdom, the interchangeable terms
set and
unit are used to refer to a group of permanently or semi-permanently couple vehicles such as those of a
multiple unit. While when referring to a train made up of a variety of vehicles, or of several sets/units, the term
formation is used. (Although the UK public and media often forgo 'formation', for simply 'train'.)
In the United Kingdom Section 83(1) of the Railways Act 1993 defines "train" as follows:
:a) two or more items of rolling stock coupled together, at least one of which is a locomotive; or
:b) a locomotive not coupled to any other rolling stock.
Similarly, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's 1948 operating rules define a train as: "An engine or more than one engine coupled, with or without cars, displaying markers."
Types of trains
There are various types of trains designed for particular purposes.
A train can consist of a combination of one or more
locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled
multiple unit (or occasionally a single powered coach, called a
railcar). Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, or run downhill by gravity.
Special kinds of trains running on corresponding special 'railways' are atmospheric railways, monorails, high-speed railways, Maglev train,
Rubber-tyred metro, funicular and Rack railway.
A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives, and one or more coaches. Alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a "multiple unit". In many parts of the world, particularly
Japan and Europe, high-speed rail is utilized extensively for passenger travel.
Freight trains comprise wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains (especially Travelling Post Offices) are outwardly more like passenger trains.
In the
United Kingdom, a train hauled by two locomotives is said to be "double-headed", and in
Canada and the
United States it is quite common for a long freight train to be headed by three, four, or even five locomotives. A train with a locomotive attached at each end is described as 'top and tailed', this practice typically being used when there are no reversing facilities available. Where the second locomotive is attached temporarily to assist a train up steep banks or grades (or down them by providing braking power) it is referred to as 'banking' in the UK, 'helper service' in North America.
Trains can also be mixed, hauling both passengers and freight, see e.g. Transportation in Mauritania. Such mixed trains became rare in many countries, but were commonplace on the first 19th century railroads.
Special trains are also used for
Rail tracks#Track Maintenance; in some places, this is called maintenance of way.
Motive power
The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses, but from the early 19th century almost all were powered by steam locomotives. From the 1920s onwards they began to be replaced by less labour intensive and cleaner (but more complex and expensive) diesel locomotives and electric locomotives, while at about the same time self-propelled
multiple unit vehicles of either power system became much more common in passenger service. Most countries had replaced steam locomotives for day-to-day use by the 1970s, usually with diesel locomotives. A few countries, most notably the People's Republic of China, where
coal and labour are cheap, still use steam locomotives, but this is being gradually phased out. Historic steam trains still run in many other countries, for the leisure and enthusiast market.
Electric traction offers a lower cost per mile of train operation but at a very high initial cost, which can only be justified on high traffic lines. Since the cost per mile of construction is much higher, electric traction is less favored on long-distance lines with the exception of long-distance high speed lines. Electric trains receive their current via overhead lines or through a
third rail electric system.
Passenger trains
Passenger trains have
passenger cars.Passenger trains travel between
train station. The distance between stations may vary from under 1 km to over 1000 km, and their journey time may vary between minutes and days.
Long-distance trains
Long-distance trains travel between many cities and/or regions of a country, and sometimes cross several countries. They often have a dining car or restaurant car to allow passengers to have a meal during the course of their journey. Trains traveling overnight may also have sleeping cars. Very long distance trains such as those on the
Trans-Siberian railway are usually not high-speed.
High-speed trains
High speed trains normally travel during the day, and arrive at their destination before the night falls and are in competition with airliners in speed. In
Japan, most of the public transportation travel between the Tokyo metropolitan area and the
Osaka metropolitan area (with around 500 km in distance between them) is dominated by the Shinkansen, however in travel further than around 500 km (such as
Tokyo-Hiroshima) more people prefer to travel by air.
Very fast trains sometimes tilting train, like the APT or
Pendolino or
Talgo. Tilting is a system where the passenger cars automatically lean into
Curvature, reducing the centrifugal forces acting on passengers and permitting higher speeds on curves in the
rail tracks with greater passenger comfort.
The fastest train on rails is the
France TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) (French for High Speed Train) which achieved a 574.8 km/h (356 mph) speed in testing in 2007. However, TGVs run at a maximum commercial speed of 300-320 km/h. The German ICE uses this commercial speed of 300-320 km/h too.
Inter-city trains
For trains connecting cities, we can distinguish
Inter-city rail trains, which do not halt at small stations, and trains that serve all stations, usually known as
local trains or "stoppers" (and sometimes an intermediate kind, see also limited-stop).
Branch line trains
Connections to local stations or local lines and are usually stopping services, running usually to all stations or the majority of stations on a line.
Commuter trains
For shorter distances many cities have networks of
commuter trains, serving the city and its suburbs. Some carriages may be laid out to have more standing room than seats, or to facilitate the carrying of Baby transport#Pushable vehicles, bicycle or wheelchairs. Some countries have Double decker#Train for use in conurbations. Double deck high speed and sleeper trains are becoming more common in Europe.
Passenger trains usually have
emergency brake handles (or a "communication cord") that the public can operate. Abuse is punished by a heavy fine.
Large cities often have a
metro system, also called underground, subway or tube. The trains are electrically powered, usually by
third rail, and their railroads are separate from other traffic, without level crossings. Usually they run in tunnels in the city center and sometimes on elevated structures in the outer parts of the city. They can accelerate and decelerate faster than heavier, long-distance trains.
A light one- or two-car rail vehicle running through the streets is by convention not considered a train but rather a
tram, trolley, light-rail vehicle or streetcar, but the distinction is not always strict. In some countries such as the United Kingdom the distinction between a tramway and a railway is precise and defined in law.
The term
light rail is sometimes used for a modern tram, but it may also mean an intermediate form between a tram and a train, similar to metro except that it may have level crossings. These are often protected with crossing gates. They may also be called a
tram.
Maglev train trains and
monorails represent minor technologies in the train field.
The term
rapid transit is used for public transport such as commuter trains, metro and light rail. However, in New York City, lines on the
New York City Subway have been referred to as "trains".
Some commuter trains in
Tokyo, Japan have special cars which the bench seats fold up to provide standing room only during the morning rush hour (until 10 a.m.). The E231 series train has two of these cars in each set (usually as part of a 10- or 11-car set), officially nicknamed "roku-tobira-sha" (literally, "6 door car") - all the other cars have four sets of doors on each side.
An estimated 3.5 million passengers ride every day on Tokyo's Yamanote Line, with its 29 stations. For comparison, the New York City Subway carries 4.8 million passengers per day on 26 lines serving 468 stations.
Named trains
Railway companies often give a name to a train service as a marketing exercise, to raise the profile of the service and hence attract more passengers (and also to gain kudos for the company). Usually, naming is reserved for the most prestigious trains: the high-speed express trains between major cities, stopping at few intermediate stations. The names of services such as the Orient Express, the
Flying Scotsman (train), the Flèche d’Or and the
Royal Scot (train) have passed into popular culture.
A somewhat less common practice is the naming of freight trains, for the same commercial reasons. The "Condor" was an overnight
London-
Glasgow express goods train, in the 1960s, hauled by pairs of
British Rail Class 28 diesel locomotives. In the mid-1960s, British Rail introduced the
Freightliner (UK) brand, for the new train services carrying containerization between dedicated terminals around the rail network. And the
W.V. Awdry coined the term
The Flying Kipper for the overnight express fish train that appeared in his stories in The Railway Series books.
Freight trains
Freight trains have
Railroad car#Freight cars.Much of the world's freight is transported by train. In the
United States the rail system is used mostly for transporting
cargo (or freight).
Under the right circumstances, transporting freight by train is highly economic, and also more energy efficient than transporting freight by road. Rail freight is most economic when freight is being carried in bulk and over long distances, but is less suited to short distances and small loads. Bulk aggregate movements of a mere twenty miles can be cost effective even allowing for trans-shipment costs. These trans-shipment costs dominate in many cases and many modern practices such as
containerization freight are aimed at minimizing these.
The main disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility. For this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to road transport. Many governments are now trying to encourage more freight onto trains, because of the benefits that it would bring.
There are many different types of freight trains, which are used to carry many different kinds of freight, with many different types of
Railroad car#Freight cars. One of the most common types on modern railways are container trains, where containers can be lifted on and off the train by crane (machine)s and loaded off or onto trucks or
ships.
This type of freight train has largely superseded the traditional
boxcar type of freight train, with which the cargo has to be loaded or unloaded manually.
In some countries "
Intermodal freight transport" trains are used:
trucks can drive straight onto the train and drive off again when the end destination is reached. A system like this is used through the Channel Tunnel between England and
France, and for the trans-Alpine service between France and
Italy (this service uses
Gondola (rail)#Modalohr road trailer carriers). 'Piggy-back' trains are the fastest growing type of freight trains in the United States, where they are also known as 'Semi-trailer on
flatcar' or TOFC trains. 'Piggy-back' trains require no special modifications to the vehicles being carried. An alternative type of "inter-modal" vehicle, known as a Roadrailer, is designed to be physically attached to the train. The original trailers were fitted with two sets of wheels: one set flanged, for the trailer to run connected to other such trailers as a rail vehicle in a train; and one set tyred, for use as the semi-trailer of a road vehicle. More modern trailers have only road wheels and are designed to be carried on specially adapted
bogies (trucks) when moving on rails.
There are also many other types of Railroad car#Freight cars, such as "low loader" wagons for transporting road vehicles. There are refrigerator cars for transporting foods such as ice cream. There are simple types of Gondola (rail) for transporting
minerals and bulk material such as coal, and
tank car for transporting liquids and gases. Today however most coal and aggregates are moved in hopper car that can be filled and discharged rapidly, to enable efficient handling of the materials.
Freight trains are sometimes illegally boarded by passengers who do not wish to pay money, or do not have the money, to travel by ordinary means. This is referred to as "
freighthopping" and is considered by some communities to be a viable form of transport. Most hoppers sneak into train yards and stow away in boxcars. More bold hoppers will catch a train "on the fly", that is, as it is moving, leading to occasional fatalities.
See also
References
Further reading
| last = Glancey
| first = Jonathan
| title = The Train
| publisher = Carlton Publishing Group
| year = 2005
| id = ISBN 978-1-844423-45-3-->, 256 pp.
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