# Train surfing? It’s a thing. 2 SF CA teens died in the last 2 weeks (WARNING: graphic photo) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2024, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590 "2024-02-15T03:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/21 "2024-02-15T13:55:21Z")
Ayup, we called it hooky-bobbing. My crowd was fortunate in that there were a couple of us with driver’s license and access to a car…good times ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/22 "2024-02-15T14:10:14Z")
In India - at least they generally remain seated when riding on the roof. [People sitting on roof of train at Kamali Ghat Jodhpur Rajasthan India Stock Photo - Alamy](https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-people-sitting-on-roof-of-train-at-kamali-ghat-jodhpur-rajasthan-india-95898376.html?imageid=B769687F-AA86-4D38-A2BE-CED44448C4E5&p=148098&pn=1&searchId=235d19e20edc95da9f2dd1295df5231e&searchtype=0) ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/23 "2024-02-15T14:47:40Z")
Detroit in the 60s & 70s this was called “shagging.” ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/24 "2024-02-15T15:08:40Z")
We always called it [skitching](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skitching). ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/25 "2024-02-15T16:14:04Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > _ **Kids have been doing this for over 10 years.** _ > > Try 40+… Train surfing was how I got to school for a couple of years. We did not do it for fun. Not the same thing. Train surfers ride - and run along - the top of the train, hang way off the side, or monkey around between the cars, and they do it for kicks. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/26 "2024-02-15T16:19:55Z")
So did we. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/27 "2024-02-15T16:25:05Z")
If people can get on top of something that moves, they will. > **[Elevator surfing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevator_surfing)** > > Elevator surfing, also known as lift surfing, is an activity involving riding on top of elevators, rather than inside them. More experienced surfers may attempt riskier maneuvers such as jumping between moving elevators, or riding the elevator's counterweight. Elevator surfing is typically considered a form of urban exploration, more aligned with investigative experiences like rooftopping and tunnel hacking rather than adrenaline-inducing urban sports like train surfing. While elevator s Entry in... ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/28 "2024-02-15T16:30:52Z")
Have _you_ ever done it? We all called it train surfing, _and_ we did it because we had to. We did fool around while we did it - because we were kids. But that wasn’t the primary motivation. That some kids do it only for kicks doesn’t mean what we were doing was any different. [And Wiki doesn’t agree with you](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_surfing#Current_state): > Train surfing is a common and usual way to ride trains in countries such as [Bangladesh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh) and [South Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa), where this type of riding by trains is compelled due to the high population density and severe overcrowding of trains. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/29 "2024-02-15T17:16:06Z")
Never underestimate the power of that endorphin rush when a stranger “likes” your social media post. More powerful than crack, and easier to get. Sadly, the Darwin Award comes to mind here, and I think all the news media attention on this will result in continued risky behavior and more maiming/deaths. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/30 "2024-02-15T17:51:18Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Have _you_ ever done it? Actually, I could have hopped a train to cut down on some school walking time. Didn’t seem like a smart thing to do, even to my teenage brain. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/31 "2024-02-15T18:07:38Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Never underestimate the power of that endorphin rush when a stranger “likes” your social media post. More powerful than crack, and easier to get. Sadly, the Darwin Award comes to mind here, and I think all the news media attention on this will result in continued risky behavior and more maiming/deaths. [[LIKE]] 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/32 "2024-02-15T18:09:22Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > In the winter it was considered normal boyhood fun to sneak out into traffic, grab the rear bumper of a big bulky 1930s-era car, & be towed through the snowy streets hunkered down where the driver couldn’t see you. > > Kids in my school were doing that in the '70s. We called it bumper shining. Teachers were not amused. We did something similar with skateboards. I probably could have killed myself 5x skateboarding in my youth years. ---
**Author:** ![Drummond\_Bays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@Drummond\_Bays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drummond_Bays)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/33 "2024-02-15T18:24:54Z")
Used to skitch trains and trucks for both fun and transport. Dangerous as all hell running alongside a moving train, grasping for the ladder. Used to scare the Bejeezus out of me, but did I want to be “that kid” that didn’t go along? Of course not. /Toronto Skitching a cube van west on Lawrence, cubevan starts taking the Northbound ramp onto the DVP, have to jump off in motion. Hit the ground in a rolling heap forcing the car behind to skid to a stop, driver laying on the horn. Jump to my feet running, cackling like an idiot trying to catch my friend… Fun times! /Toronto Knew a fellow who would regularily skitch Toronto to Vancouver. Was always envious. Never jad the cojones, myself. The grand prize was hopping onto the “liquid cars” where there is a flat area fore- and aft- of the taper of the tank. A can of spraypaint and low-quality weed rolled in a cheap cigar. Ahhh, to be 16 again. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/34 "2024-02-15T20:48:08Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > then make sure that they are HO or N-scale model trains But watch out for Lionel! They have been known to kill. And LGB - they’ll run you down in your yard! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/35 "2024-02-15T20:52:06Z")
Shouldn’t “riding on the train roof to get somewhere”, like is normal in India, be separated from “surfing” for fun? > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > 10 years? That’s been a thing in NYC for as long as I can remember. CSI:NY had an episode featuring subway surfing in 2006. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/36 "2024-02-15T20:59:00Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > > [@snowthx](#): > > > > Never underestimate the power of that endorphin rush when a stranger “likes” your social media post. More powerful than crack, and easier to get. Sadly, the Darwin Award comes to mind here, and I think all the news media attention on this will result in continued risky behavior and more maiming/deaths. > > [[LIKE]] > > 😉 I suppose we could simply call it Darwin’s razor and then it’d be a good thing. I fail to see the need for pearl-clutching. There are 30 million kids in the USA. A tiny fraction are going to die during their youth from doing stupid shit. And modern media will ensure that if you’re tuned in, you’ll know about every one of them by name. A parent should do what they can to instill sensible behavior in their own kid(s) and stop right there. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/37 "2024-02-15T21:03:54Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Have you heard of this? It’s not a recent phenomenon. _ **Kids have been doing this for over 10 years.** _ Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell’s alter nom-de-plume) wrote a book with train-surfing characters in 1991. So, over 30 years. At least. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/38 "2024-02-15T22:06:09Z")
The dramatic chase along the top of a moving train has been a staple of cinema since the silent film era. It would not surprise me a bit if some kids decided to try it in real life just as long ago. And of course in San Francisco standing on the running board of a moving cable car is a long standing tradition. Ok, the cable cars only move at like 9 mph, but IIRC they do have a fairly high accident rate compared to other forms of transit. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/39 "2024-02-15T22:14:29Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Don’t try train surfing in Indonesia: Yeah, after reading the thread title I came in here to say that there has long been plenty of train surfing in Indonesia - I first moved there in 1993 and it was a thing then. It was fairly common to read in the paper about people dying as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590/40 "2024-02-15T22:15:42Z")
In San Francisco you don’t even need the train. When Lincoln Steffens was a kid there in the 1880s they’d grab the cable with tongs stuck through the slats of crates and get dragged up and down the streets. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-surfing-it-s-a-thing-2-sf-ca-teens-died-in-the-last-2-weeks-warning-graphic-photo/997590.md?page=3)