CATCH A TRAIN HERE LbNA #21044
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Add Location| Owner: | 'DDD'  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Mar 26, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Pepperell |
| County: | Middlesex |
| State: | Massachusetts |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Nairon |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Aug 20, 2023 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Mar 26, 2006 |
DIFFICULTY - Easy
TIME REQUIRED – 30-45 minutes includes stamp-in time
STAMP: Hand Carved
This is the fifth in a series of letterboxes depicting hobo symbols. (The others are Kind Hearted Woman, Good
Campsite, Sleep Here, and Barking Dog. Search on placer ‘DDD’ for clues.)
Hobo is the name coined for men (or women) who left friends and family during the Great Depression of the 1920’s & 1930’s or after wars when there was no work in their home cities. They traveled as migrant workers or just to avoid the stress and strain of life in a family they could not support. They would hop a freight train and ride in boxcars to the next city in search of temporary work, perhaps in construction or on a farm. There is a resourcefulness to the idea of being a hobo that says you will survive by doing what you have to do.
Hobos developed a system of symbols - a code through which they gave information and warnings to their fellow travelers. Usually these signs would be written in chalk or coal on a trestle, fence, building, sidewalk, or railroad equipment to let others know what they could expect in a given area - where it was safe to camp or sleep, whether the local authorities were friendly or not, where a free meal might be available. All these symbols aided the hobo in finding help or steering clear of trouble.
The symbol on this stamp let the hobo know that this was a good place to catch a train. Perhaps the train was going slower at that spot and was easier to hop on to. To look at other hobo signs and symbols try this web site… http://www.slackaction.com/signroll.htm#
Directions: Follow Route 111 to Hollis, NH. Cross the Nashua River and take a right on Depot Road. Take the 1st left onto Twiss Lane. At the end of Twiss Lane, go left and then an immediate right onto Blood Road. At the end of Blood Road take a right and then an immediate left on to Worcester Road. Follow Worcester Road to the end and take a left. (You’ll see the Beaver Brook Association W. Hollis Street parking lot next to the Nissitissit River which is the starting point for the Barking Dog letterbox.) Cross the river and take your next right onto Bemis Road (a dead end road). You will see a green sign on the right just after #27 Bemis Road that says “A Cooperative Conservation Project between the Pepperell Conservation Commission and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts”. Park on the side of the road just after that sign in the gravel. Please don’t block the home’s driveway and be respectful of the abuting property owner. Standing near the green sign look into the woods and you will see a rusted metal gate.
Walk around the gate and follow the wide main path. Do not take any side paths. Go past a granite marker in the ground to the right of the trail. The main trail will curve to the left and as soon as it does you will notice it straightens out and you can clearly see that it is an old railroad bed. I believe this is another section of the old Potanipo Railroad. After a bit, the trail makes a sharp turn to the left marked by an orange arrow painted on a tree. (As of 10/12/09 this arrow is very, very faded and somewhat hidden behind a growth of fungus. It is on a 4 trunked tree on the right just as the trail makes the sharp left.) From the orange arrow, count about 65 steps and you’ll see a yellow pipe planted in the hill on the left. From the yellow pipe walk straight back into the forest for 17 or 18 steps. Look off to your right and you’ll see the remains of a stump. Catch a Train Here is hiding under the bark and branches. Be sure to rehide carefully please. When you return to the trail, look across the pond and you can see that the beavers have been at work on a rather large tree on the other side.
NOTE: I'VE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE POLICE ARE WATCHING THE WATER PUMPING STATION AT THE END OF BEMIS ROAD. DON'T BE SHY ABOUT TELLING THEM WHY YOU ARE IN THE AREA... IT'S CONSERVATION LAND AND NOT PRIVATE, SO GO FOR IT!
TIME REQUIRED – 30-45 minutes includes stamp-in time
STAMP: Hand Carved
This is the fifth in a series of letterboxes depicting hobo symbols. (The others are Kind Hearted Woman, Good
Campsite, Sleep Here, and Barking Dog. Search on placer ‘DDD’ for clues.)
Hobo is the name coined for men (or women) who left friends and family during the Great Depression of the 1920’s & 1930’s or after wars when there was no work in their home cities. They traveled as migrant workers or just to avoid the stress and strain of life in a family they could not support. They would hop a freight train and ride in boxcars to the next city in search of temporary work, perhaps in construction or on a farm. There is a resourcefulness to the idea of being a hobo that says you will survive by doing what you have to do.
Hobos developed a system of symbols - a code through which they gave information and warnings to their fellow travelers. Usually these signs would be written in chalk or coal on a trestle, fence, building, sidewalk, or railroad equipment to let others know what they could expect in a given area - where it was safe to camp or sleep, whether the local authorities were friendly or not, where a free meal might be available. All these symbols aided the hobo in finding help or steering clear of trouble.
The symbol on this stamp let the hobo know that this was a good place to catch a train. Perhaps the train was going slower at that spot and was easier to hop on to. To look at other hobo signs and symbols try this web site… http://www.slackaction.com/signroll.htm#
Directions: Follow Route 111 to Hollis, NH. Cross the Nashua River and take a right on Depot Road. Take the 1st left onto Twiss Lane. At the end of Twiss Lane, go left and then an immediate right onto Blood Road. At the end of Blood Road take a right and then an immediate left on to Worcester Road. Follow Worcester Road to the end and take a left. (You’ll see the Beaver Brook Association W. Hollis Street parking lot next to the Nissitissit River which is the starting point for the Barking Dog letterbox.) Cross the river and take your next right onto Bemis Road (a dead end road). You will see a green sign on the right just after #27 Bemis Road that says “A Cooperative Conservation Project between the Pepperell Conservation Commission and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts”. Park on the side of the road just after that sign in the gravel. Please don’t block the home’s driveway and be respectful of the abuting property owner. Standing near the green sign look into the woods and you will see a rusted metal gate.
Walk around the gate and follow the wide main path. Do not take any side paths. Go past a granite marker in the ground to the right of the trail. The main trail will curve to the left and as soon as it does you will notice it straightens out and you can clearly see that it is an old railroad bed. I believe this is another section of the old Potanipo Railroad. After a bit, the trail makes a sharp turn to the left marked by an orange arrow painted on a tree. (As of 10/12/09 this arrow is very, very faded and somewhat hidden behind a growth of fungus. It is on a 4 trunked tree on the right just as the trail makes the sharp left.) From the orange arrow, count about 65 steps and you’ll see a yellow pipe planted in the hill on the left. From the yellow pipe walk straight back into the forest for 17 or 18 steps. Look off to your right and you’ll see the remains of a stump. Catch a Train Here is hiding under the bark and branches. Be sure to rehide carefully please. When you return to the trail, look across the pond and you can see that the beavers have been at work on a rather large tree on the other side.
NOTE: I'VE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE POLICE ARE WATCHING THE WATER PUMPING STATION AT THE END OF BEMIS ROAD. DON'T BE SHY ABOUT TELLING THEM WHY YOU ARE IN THE AREA... IT'S CONSERVATION LAND AND NOT PRIVATE, SO GO FOR IT!