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Video: How To Hop Trains In Queens Like An Old-Timey Hobo
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 13, 2012
Modified Sep 13, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 13, 2012
Modified Sep 13, 2012
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Last summer we interviewed Brooklyn comedian Jeff Seal, who has an abiding passion for train-hopping adventures. In this funny new video, Seal gives a demonstration on how New Yorkers can live out their latent Jack Kerouac fantasies without having to leave city limits. Starting in Fresh Ponds, Queens, Seal enjoys a scenic train ride all the way up the Bronx. Pro tip: Don't trip:
How To Train Hop from Jeff Seal on Vimeo.
Last year, after he returned from a four day rail jaunt, we asked Seal how dangerous this sort of thing really is (it's obviously illegal). He told us, "I guess it's dangerous, but I don't know. It's one of those things where if you know what you're doing, it's not that dangerous. I wasn't too worried. I guess if I got my legs chopped off I would be kind of screwed, but I don't know. I didn't think that would happen." And look—one year later, and he's still got both stems!
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train hopping
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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