Shown below are actual records and also my compilation of the info from a cross country trip my Dad took 80 years ago in the Summer and Fall of 1932. He was only 18 years old at the time of the trip. He had quit his job during the height of the "Great Depresssion" and decided to "Ride the Rails" across country in search of adventure.

He was not alone in his travels as entire families hopped on freight trains and set out for a new life, a new job and a new home. He left Baltimore, MD on June 17th and returned to Philadelpnia on October 31st. As you can see by the log of his trip which I have transcribed he criss crosssed the country and spent time in many locations. Along the way he stayed in "Hobo Jungles", flop houses, slept under the stars and worked lots of different jobs. He told me some of the stories of his adventures, but I wish I had recorded more of the tales for our family history.

He picked cherries (and ate as many as he picked) in Washington State, nearly froze to death crossing the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains and even got chased by a Texas Ranger in Western Texas. He stayed away from the deep South because if you got caught "riding the rails" down there they would arrest you and put you an a "Chain Gang" to do forced prison labor.

Dad pasted away at the age of 71 in 1985.

I thought about his journal that he keep and dedicated my cross country trip to the Convention this year on the 80th anniversary of his epic jouirney. My trip was quite differnt than his but I believe I inherited his love of travel and adventure. I plan on posting a recap of my trip in a few days here on the Board. Ironically I followed in Dad's foot steps as we visited many of the same towns on our two trips.

In the Birl family - at least as far as my Dad and myself are concerned we kept almost everything family related hopefully to past down to the next generations of Birls. Dad's "Road Notes" journal is one of my most prized possesions.

I hope you get a kick out of seeing his old journal that records his travels and all the places he stopped and all the different railroads he traveled on. Many of these railroads no longer exist but are kept alive in his "Road Notes".

Take care,
Jerry "Traveling like Dad" Birl