The Vagabond Express

8/12/2019 The Vagabond Express

1/3

In three yearsof hitch-hiking across the world, this isperhaps my greatest adventureof all. It was five days spenthopping freight trains throughthe Wild West; five days living

as the old-time American hobo;five days survival in a post-apoc-alyptic world; five days escapingfrom Nazi Germany. It was everychilds fantasy adventure; it wasbeyond any fantasy I could havedreamed as an adult.

The zombie apocalypse team walks fiveabreast along an empty, decrepit street onthe outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico.Houses lie overgrown, crumbling and for-gotten. A dog barks in the distance. I havefound myself amongst a group of maraud-ing train kids, living on the edge of society.They have no taste for societys expecta-tions, restrictions and monotony. Far awayfrom the hamster wheel of downtown, fivevagabonds tramp happily towards the railyard.

Walking beside me is Josh, the kingpinof this apocalyptic posse he holds a bookthat could have him arrested for treason;a book that lays out the rail network inexplicit detail, transcribed by a rogue railengineer for the benefit of freight hoppers.This ragged folder of photocopied sheetscan sell for a hundred dollars on the black

market. It is our ticket to Texas.The sun sets as we crawl through a

fence and into the rail yard. Darkness isour ally in this hostile place. The sicklysweet smell of oil rises from the gravel aswe hunker down out of sight. The silenceof the yard is broken periodically by thewrenching and clashing of metal. Hugecarriages are shunted about like tin cansas they connect the trains. Get down!bites Josh, as Brandon peers over theparapet. We wait; darkness settles itssinister cloak around us.

Suddenly, were running! Into the open,under betraying floodlights, out acrossthe tracks and up to the looming mass oflocomotive. We climb the ladder, looking

Words + Photos By:Will Pardoe

TRAVEL + ADVENTURE


2/3

left and right for enemy eyes. This bucketcar is filled with scrap metal; it will haveto do. We find what comfortable spotswe can and lie low. Did they see us?Again, we wait. Radio silence.

The train smells of iron. I can tasteit in my mouth like an old penny. The

industrial stench of old diesel sits in theair. A fine layer of dust and soot coverseverything; hands are soon black.

The train yanks! An immense barrage,the most powerful sound Ive ever heard,blasts along the train as hundred tonnecars are yanked into motion; a cascadingexplosion of metal on metal and werein it! A smile spreads across our faces.Were moving!

Clunking, lurching and rattling, we rollout of the yard and through a road-cross-ing. The bell chimes in the night, its redlight flashing across our faces.

It cant be that easy, comes Emilysvoice.

And with poetic tragedy, the brakesscream and the train grinds slowly toa hault. Have they seen us? The trainlurches again, back towards the yard. Thisisnt good. We lay low.

Over the next hour we roll in and out ofthe yard as more carriages are connected.We are just bodies riding atop an uncon-scious beast, and we go wherever it goes.Whether its even going where weregoing is a mystery well know when weget there.

Finally, we lurch into motion again. Weroll out of the yard, and keep rolling. Thisis it! This is happening. The clunking and

clattering pick up pace. Energy is build-ing; in this rugged machine and withinmyself. I am now a part of the beast,gathering speed. Wind whips aroundus and the trees warp into a blur. As werumble along through the deserts of NewMexico, I watch the stars. A shooting starbursts from Orions sword. I reflect on themost incredible day of my life.

Late in the night the rhythm slows as weapproach Belen. We lurch to a stop in themiddle of the Belen yard, twenty trackswide; the very heart of enemy territory. Wejump off the train, exposed like paratroop-ers landing into a foreign field. Luggingour packs, we run over the rails and be-

tween stationary carriages, looking for pa-trols between each endless corridor beforedarting to the next. If the trains move atthe wrong moment, we could end up un-der the wheels; between untold tonnes ofclamping metal. Finally we reach the otherside and duck behind an embankment. For

now, were safe behind enemy lines.Guys, says Josh. Theres no morewater. He throws down the jug.

Wheres there any water aroundhere? I ask.

Only place is in the engine cars... Itsthere for the engineers. Whos up for it?

Steve and I accept the mission. Withbandanas pulled up to our eyes, we jumpover the embankment and back intohostile territory. We climb to the roof of acarriage and look out across the yard. Itsprawls before us; endless trains dap-pled in an amber yellow light. We spotthe engines parked on the far side of theyard, fully illuminated in floodlight. Like

commandos, we sneak between shadows,evading the ATV patrols, until we see thetarget ahead; orange locomotive enginecars. Between us is an intimidating flood-lit stretch of open ground.

Legging it back across no-mans-land,we make it into the relative cover of theparked trains. Steve and I split up. I maketowards the left cars, he takes the right.As I draw close, I realise the ignition is on!Is there someone inside? The windowsare too high to see through, and I cantwait around out here in the floodlights.Theres only one way to find out. I climb aladder, walk along a gangway and open

the heavy door.Empty. No angry engineer who justspilt his coffee, but no water either. Justknobs, dials and paper clipboards. Slowly,I make my way through the connectingcorridor into the next engine.

Nothing. To reach the next car I mustreturn to the floodlit gangway. There areabout twelve locomotives whirring away;Steve is off searching the far engines...Or has he been captured? I enter thenext car; a few bottles. I take a drink andstash the rest. In car number five, I findthe motherload; a full case. So, we havewater! Now to rendezvous with Steve anddeliver the package.

Running and laughing, we make itback into the relative cover of the parkedtrains. There are still the patrols to getpast though. We jump between two car-riages and are greeted by the sight of anapproaching ATV. Jumping through an-other train, were out of sight. He stops.I can see his feet beneath the carriage.Suddenly my legs are caught in his torch

beam run! We run along the rails mak-ing for the end of the yard where werecamped. Another ATV passes across thetracks ahead of us, but in the darkness hedoesnt spot us. The water case collapsesand bottles spill everywhere. We scurryto grab what we can. My bandana fliesoff my face in the commotion. We run. Apickup is approaching us in the distance.We duck back over the embankment;safe, we burst into laughter. What fun!

Thanksgiving morning greets us in oursleeping bags. We make off towards townfor what Josh calls the best days busk-ing of the year. Playing Wagon Wheeloutside Walmart, people present us with

plate-fulls of food, money and handfuls ofthings I cant mention. Americans are in agood mood on Thanksgiving. We returnto the yard well stocked and full bellied.

Josh flicks through the Crew Changeas we lay low in a ditch. To Amarillo, TX:Take the second rails between 2:30 and8:00pm. If it turns left, jump off youregoing to Phoenix it reads. We settle inand wait... the group is soon asleep.

This is our train. Lets go! calls Josh in

MIDDLE EASTS OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE AUGUST 2014 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

OUTDOORUAE

Steve, Brandon, Emily and Josh


3/3

the twilight. After hours of waiting, again

were running. This train is a high-priorityintermodal a high-speed inter-statelocomotive, hauling semi truck trailers.We choose two that have wind guards wecan hide behind; Josh, Emily and I takethe front trailer, Steve and Brandon headfor a trailer two carriages behind.

An engineer passes, pressurising thebrakes of each car. The enemy! But he

doesnt see us. The train seems to prickle

with energy its about to leave, my bodyknows it. I look at Josh; he knows it. Weshare a grin - wanderlust has answeredour howls.

The train shunts forward. The ripplingshockwave is music to my ears; a climac-tic crescendo of iron and steel, biding ourdeparture. It cant be that easy, jokesEmily. But it was, and we soon settled

in to the melodic, chaotic rhythm of thejourney. Chugging of the engine, wail-ing horns, shrieking wheels; a beautifulorchestra playing as we rumble towardsTexas.

MIDDLE EASTS OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE AUGUST 2014 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

PIVOTThe 2015

Sizes: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14

Freeride/Wave

The Pivot emerges as a smooth, all-around freeride/wave kite for a wide range of riders and styles.

Its overall structure and ability to pivot on a small axis of rotation provides quick and easy turning, intuitive steering

and predictable power development. It features a medium aspect ratio for substantial low-end power, a sheet-in

and go feel, easy jumping and great upwind performance. Thanks to its ability to make precision turns on a small

axis with minimum power increase in the turn, the Pivot is also the perfect tool for smooth kiteloops.

Aside from being a fantastic freeride kite, the Pivots characteristics also make it a great wave kite. Its lightweight

design delivers smooth power, controlled turns and superior drifting in a variety of wind and wave conditions. The

ABS bridle also helps decrease the amount of pull on the harness for forgiving strapless riding.

Recommended Control System: FUSION CONTROL SYSTEM

NAISHKITES.COM Naishkiteboarding>

Precisely intuitive.

n Sports FZE: +971 (0) 55 935 2735 - [email protected] - kitesurfsup.com

PIVOTThe 2015

Sizes: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14

Freeride/Wave

The Pivot emerges as a smooth, all-around freeride/wave kite for a wide range of riders and styles.

Its overall structure and ability to pivot on a small axis of rotation provides quick and easy turning, intuitive steering

and predictable power development. It features a medium aspect ratio for substantial low-end power, a sheet-in

and go feel, easy jumping and great upwind performance. Thanks to its ability to make precision turns on a small

axis with minimum power increase in the turn, the Pivot is also the perfect tool for smooth kiteloops.

Aside from being a fantastic freeride kite, the Pivots characterist ics also make it a g reat wave kite. Its lightweig htdesign delivers smooth power, controlled turns and superior drifting in a variety of wind and wave conditions. The

ABS bridle al so helps decre ase the amount of pull on th e harness for forgivi ng strapless ridin g.

Recommended Control System: FUSION CONTROL SYSTEM

y

y

NAISHKITES.COM Naishkiteboarding>

Precisely intuitive.

Ocean Sports FZE: +971 (0) 55 935 2735 - [email protected] - kitesurfsup.com

Documents

The Vagabond Express