Riding the Rails

[sirhugs]

MC is female runaway, barely legal, dresses androgynously to hitch a ride on the rails.

I'm not a nonconsent fan, so am having trouble picturing how her gender switch leads to hilarity ensuing.
Does she seduce a railway cop?
A conductor?
A fellow hobo?
A fellow female disguised as a male?
A couple travelling together?
Does she literally "pull a train"?

 

[LupusDei]

For a rather traditional spicy romance it could be a man, not young, but perhaps not too old who's gone on a nomadic stretch for probably not really clear reasons. Maybe he's on a run being accused in a crime, or from mob over a potentially deadly dispute, or maybe he's just a weirdo running from own imagination, but he's not helpless, rather in the opposite. So he's going to teach the "boy" survival while they travel together. Maybe he ridicule "him" a bit for being so damn shy for some reason. Maybe he finds her clothes not very practical and offers a change? That doesn't mess with growing friendship either way.

Maybe they jump out somewhere scenic mountainside wilderness for a skinny dip, while waiting on another train to jump for the next leg of journey to nowhere in particular. Maybe the man doesn't pay at all that much attention, while she wonder what to think, until they have to hurry, and the gender confusion becomes very much obvious in a unquestionable way. Both try to claim it doesn't change anything, but it does, not immediately but soon enough.

 

[anopheles_leet]

I went through a phase of watching trainsurfing videos on youtube, I feel like that could make for a pretty neat setting. I guess that comes under the "a fellow hobo" label, but "hobo" to me suggests, like, a washed up homeless guy, rather than a young urban explorer type who breaks into abandoned warehouses and rides freight trains across the country because it's cool. I think there's kind of a network of people who do this kind of thing too, sharing knowledge and resources, so that might be cool to explore.

The other thing is that trainsurfing often involves long periods of nothing much happening, so there's definitely room for a "hey, I'm bored, wanna fuck?" sort of plot.

Does she literally "pull a train"?

I just watched Titane last week (French arthouse-horror film where a stripper with a metal fetish gets impregnated by a car) so you have no idea how ready I am for this

 

[gunhilltrain]

Is this taking place in the past, say the 1930s? I think a few people still ride freight trains, but it is a lot harder now with increased security. Also, the old boxcars that used to provide a good and fairly secure riding location have mostly been replaced by container trains.

The movie Emperor of The North (Lee Marvin, 1973) is set in the 1930s, and it gives a good look at what the old hobo culture used to be like.

 

[sirhugs]

Is this taking place in the past, say the 1930s? I think a few people still ride freight trains, but it is a lot harder now with increased security. Also, the old boxcars that used to provide a good and fairly secure riding location have mostly been replaced by container trains.

The movie Emperor of The North (Lee Marvin, 1973) is set in the 1930s, and it gives a good look at what the old hobo culture used to be like.

I might have thought of this in part because American Rust, the Jeff Daniels vehicle on Showtime, and a recent Katherine Heigl movie called Jackie & Ryan featured riding the rails in contemporary settings.

 

[Dingo_Triplesix]

I propose you thinking about the quality the MC is looking for at this trip:

1) If it is freedom from some cramped family background, then the partner should promise this freedom. Maybe an adventurous freethinker, a dropout from university, celebrating his roaming through the country. He will be her teacher, in a way (or more than one way).

2) If she is on the run from something, the partner may be the chaser, finally getting her - and at this time she loves to be caught.

3) If it is sheer desperation, the partner should be an incarnation of new hope.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I might have thought of this in part because American Rust, the Jeff Daniels vehicle on Showtime, and a recent Katherine Heigl movie called Jackie & Ryan featured riding the rails in contemporary settings.

Yes, here is an article about modern-day train-hopping.

https://people.howstuffworks.com/still-riding-the-rails-life-modern-hobo.htm

 

[sirhugs]

I propose you thinking about the quality the MC is looking for at this trip:

1) If it is freedom from some cramped family background, then the partner should promise this freedom. Maybe an adventurous freethinker, a dropout from university, celebrating his roaming through the country. He will be her teacher, in a way (or more than one way).

2) If she is on the run from something, the partner may be the chaser, finally getting her - and at this time she loves to be caught.

3) If it is sheer desperation, the partner should be an incarnation of new hope.

perhaps just an adventure?
or a chance to explore androgyny without anybody around who knows her?

 

[Zionisacat]

Also leads perfectly to the name of the sequel "Off the rails" as they return to civilised society.

 

[sirhugs]

Also leads perfectly to the name of the sequel "Off the rails" as they return to civilised society.

would she continue to live as non-binary?

 

[Carnevil9]

I imagine most hobos are males, so a female riding the rails who hooks up with others will provide pretty much ordinary hetero sex.

What if the main character is a young (but legal of course) man who is interested in anonymously exploring his homosexual leanings? Can't get much more anonymous than strangers on a boxcar. Maybe he even cross-dresses as a woman in order to help his chances.

 

[sirhugs]

I imagine most hobos are males, so a female riding the rails who hooks up with others will provide pretty much ordinary hetero sex.

What if the main character is a young (but legal of course) man who is interested in anonymously exploring his homosexual leanings? Can't get much more anonymous than strangers on a boxcar. Maybe he even cross-dresses as a woman in order to help his chances.

could get rough