Civil War-era hobos hopped trains to find work. Content creators hop trains with their GoPros. Hitching rides on the railroad is an American... A moving train fills the frame of a shaky video.

A moving train fills the frame of a shaky video. A ladder looms, and hands grip the rungs. A blur of movement, and you're inside an open train car piled with coal, trees whipping by on either side.

and you're inside an open train car piled with coal, trees whipping by on either side. "It's super fun," says Will, whose GoPro camera captured the action. Will is a train hopper and, despite the ...