Railroad Semantics #4: Train Hopping Across Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California, and Oregon

by Aaron Dactyl

In the fourth Railroad Semantics collection, Aaron takes you along on an epic train journey through desolate stretches of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. His personal accounts of train hopping are paired with newspaper clippings, photos, rail yard graffiti, and ephemera to fill in the story. In this volume, Aaron survives encounters with police, railroad workers, and hipsters posing as hobos. He drinks under overpasses, is injured alone in the desert, and even takes a legitimate, ticketed Amtrak ride.

Genres: Travel

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2016

About the author

Aaron Dactyl is a photo-journalist and hobo living in Eugene, OR. He has been traveling via freights since the 90s and documenting these trips. He is a freelance photographer and his work has appeared in the Indecline Times, The Reader, Whisky Business Review, Pacific Northwest Buzzard News, and XXX Weekly.

Reviews

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love Aaron Dactyl's "Railroad Semantics: Train Hopping Across Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California, and Oregon". It is an excellent little book full of photographs, newspaper clippings, interesting stories and much more. The author did a great job of keeping and organizing information for the book and I would recommend it to those who like interesting travel-related memoirs with a twist.

I won my copy of this book from the Goodreads.com website and I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book. I am looking forward to more works by this author/photographer in the future.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

The romance of riding the rails or cruising the highways, bumming rides, meeting free spirits, and seeing the country for next to nothing holds a dreamy appeal for most at one time or another, so the draw of a zine like this is golden. I read the first issue from May 2012, which amounts to a slick production (thanks to publisher Microcosm) of Aaron Dactyl’s road diary. Although you’ll catch glimpses of a tramp’s life, don’t expect a reference guide that explains the rules, jargon, or how to ride safely.

Dactyl grabs a ride sometimes with a destination in mind and sometimes settling for a general direction or to get moving again. He takes a lot of pictures along the way, and many are reproduced here. Some make the journey from color pixels to black-and-white pages better than others. Some would be better off staying home with their muddy brethren.

To break up the monotony a series of newspaper reports about trains are reprinted, interspersed as breaks between diary entries. The trouble is they’re reduced, making the type so small some became illegible for these old eyes. Those readable were interesting.

I’m glad to have bought and read this edition, but it’ll be my last joy ride on this run.

[Emma Lovett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Railroad Semantics is a book my mother got for me many moons ago during my travel lust phase that I never outgrew. It’s been a favorite book of mine for years, and one I find myself reading whenever I feel too cooped up and longing for train rides and endless scenery. The pictures in this book, accompanied by the wonderful descriptions of the landscape, make this book easy to get lost in. I’ve passed this book around to people I think might enjoy it, but am always very careful to return it to my shelves.

[Jhn P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book on riding the rails. The danger that comes with the adventure. Never knowing where you end up at. Just living the American dream. Freedom of choice.