SLO Boes rail hoppin' train page
(San Luis Obispo, CA Hoboes Page)
Where: It's okay, we're Rail Fans!

 

Welcome to the hobo page of The Cuesta grade, San Luis Obispo, CA.

A love of freight trains and adventure brought the SLO Boes together. But before most of us thought about "catching out" we simply were in awe of the mighty freight train, the local freight yard, and the beauty and history of Cuesta Grade. Thus, before becoming 'Boes On The Road, we accomplished the Infamous Rail Cart which became our first ride on the rails. Eventually we moved to adventure further, and soon a true love of the hobo life was ours: waiting patiently in the yard for hours, picking out a pullman, yearning to ride the power and blast the horn, and traveling the dirty road (I call it the SP Salon) became a way of life!

Cuesta, which means 'grade,' was the Spanish name given to 17 miles of winding trackage through the Santa Lucia Mountains between San Luis Obispo and Santa Margarita, California. In steam days, even the Coast Daylight required assistance over Cuesta Pass, and five-engine freights were common until the arrival of ACs. On April 6, 1980, the westbound LAOAF (Los Angeles to Oakland Forwarder) negotiates the curves through spring-greened hills near Serrano as GE U30Cs Nos. 7931, 7926 and 7914 climb towards the summit. (Photo: Brian Jennison)

See the Infamous Rail Cart video! (Railroad go-cart coaster)

Even if your mother didn't forget to warn you to keep away from railroad tracks because you could get hurt (or worse), you should ALWAYS be aware of the Hobo's Golden Rule.

SLO Boes offerings:

• "Balsa" gives his account of a May 1996 ride on SP9809!
• Pictures & history of the Cuesta Grade
• Pictures of the SP Helper engines at work with the crew (Don & Charlie)...we're hoping to get some sound bites of Charlie singing while working on the rails!
• Information on catching out of San Luis Obispo (and how to get back!)
• Pictures of joyful hobo occasions
• How to go on a two hour fun ride up Cuesta Grade without ending up in Oakland
• What the Bull (railroad police) will say to you if you end up in Oakland
• Listen to the local SP hot box detector at Stenner Creek bridge (MP 248.2)
• Required reading: Hopping Freight Trains in America by Duffy Littlejohn
• The local Boes: Chester, Mig, M-unit, Balsa & Beavis

Rail Links:

• Zephyr Rhoades Press - Hobo Related Books!
• Train hopping
• The Spoon

Photos:

Beavis, Chester, Meier, Mig and Balsa riding an eastbound piggyback from Oakland to San Luis Obispo!

Meier checks the scanner in attempt to find out why our train is stopped!

Stevo, Meier and Chester at the Wilhelmina Ave grade crossing in Santa Margarita. Photo by Balsa.

Riding the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (RBBX) westbound up Cuesta grade

Boes On The Road

Lange, Dorothea. Toward Los Angeles, California. 1937 March. Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, 1935-1945. American Memory. Lib. of Congress. 2006 Jul. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fsaall:@filreq(@field(NUMBER+@band(cph+3c29109))+@field(COLLID+fsa))

Goat Canyon (Jacumba Gorge, CA)

Contact: SLOBoes