RIP Shoestring. You are truly missed.

No more bulls,no more hiding,all the rails are pure gold, all the trains go where you want when you want,the weather is always perfect. Well done Mark,we love you and miss you dearly.

Godspeed Mr. Nichols, We Thank you for all you have given, And all you gave.. R.I.P. Shoestring, You will be greatly missed.. ✌

"I got everything I need here". Says Shoestring as he surveys an abandoned scrapyard. Gotta love the guy.

This guy uses words that I heard growing up sixty years ago. It’s a kind of poetry.

Just when you thought 🤔 the Day couldn’t get any Better and then you found a New Hobo Shoestring Video. What a Country. 😬👍

love ya string and i miss ya. you rest in peace now,,

I wanted you to know , in 2019 I came down bad with the covid. I live alone but what helped me was listening to your stories Shoestring. Been a fan for awhile. God Bless.

Purple flowered tree is a Paulownia Tomentosa I believe. Great wood and fast growing.

Oooh boy a 40 minute Shoestring video is just what i needed to de-stress from the week. Hope you're doing well Mark!

Shoestring nearly has me convinced to sell my home and all worldly possessions and start hoboing and seeing this beautiful country from the railroad vantage point.

Sleeping under a bill board sign? Now THAT'S what I call room & board!

The man is not only a historian but a biologist and national preservist as well.

Gotta Love People who can find Solace in anything It keeps me alive !

Rest in Peace Hobo Shoestring .

If this is the quality of your 'B-Roll' then tbh Shoestring I think I speak for us all when I say: Feel free to share more of it anytime!

This is an example of a old American vacation. This seems more relaxing then a 9 - 5 job any day.

A lifetime spent camping, in between riding the rails, something magical about it! Hobo, you could/should write a book about your experiences.

Rest easy mark we sure miss you 🙏💙🙏 thank you for your service,🇱🇷❤️🇱🇷💔💔💔we all miss you ❤️

Great views - thank you! Those butterflies were actually taking moisture out of that damp soil. Along with the water, they’re getting minerals from the soil too. The butterflies are called Spicebush Swallowtails.

That's a Paulownia tree at 30:44 Shoestring. The blooms smell like grape kool-aid. I had a house & property next to the CSX North Mountain Sub near Greenwood Va. a few years back and those trees grew all over the mountainside along those tracks. Wishing you the best of luck with your surgery bud! [Dave]

Sheooooot. It’s a dream of every hobo to meet ya on the rails and enjoy what stories you have to tell around a campfire. What a shining light you are in this world shoestring. Time to sit back and relax another great production. - A.T Edit; wow I never would of thought Kentucky to have such pretty scenery

It's not a Shoestring video, unless there's camping involved. 👌

I enjoy seeing you and Ken spending time together. He seems like such a good young man and I can tell by his voice that he loves being with you also. I think he needs you also, just as you need him, and believe me when I say that you'll never regret the times you spent with him and you'll wish someday that you'd have spent more. Those are very important times for the both of you. You're a good man Mark Nichols.

Such a knowledgeable fella. Knows his game that’s for sure.

Iam Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos John In Florida

I love this dude.When I was a young guy I always walked the tracks.Never got the nerve to jump a train though

A 3.5 hour drive to go camp with you and give you a ride home. That's a rare friend you've got there. Thanks for sharing this video.

My family and I love you. Been watching for a few years now, so inspired and a tad bit envious.

we got wild Honey suckle here and it grows as a large as 12 ft shrub, small tree. Loved the ride, thank you.

Having some medical issues and being home for two weeks almost.. these videos help me relax and take my mind off things Keep on making ‘‘em and I hope your medical issues are resolved quickly Shoestring!

Beautiful country up there! The butterflies looked like pipevine swallowtails!

Damn, you sir are living life right.thank you for letting us tag along

Shiny blue butterflies were Pipevine Swallowtails Enjoyed watching this video, born in Huntington WV....been down by Ashland and the old Mansbach metals so many times

Remembering Lionel and American Flyer steam trains in the 50's. My friends and I would set up the trains in my front room and be entertained for hours. They had little white pills that you put in the chimneys of the steam engines that made white smoke come out. Don't know what they were but they didn't last long and smelled like aspirin. Who cared? No computers, no games, no headsets. Just us, the trains and our imaginations. A lot of water has run under those bridges since then but I still remember cheap orange drink, popcorn, Dennis, Bob, John, Eddy, and trains that went wherever we wanted them to go.

it's the compendium of information you have and your humble delivery. been such a friend to us, bringing us along on what you love. now I love it too through you.

Shoestring is the king of train hopping . Go Shoestring go.👍

Great Content! Beautiful Scenery... Great campsite too! Safe Travels Brother ✌️😎

this dude the best

The spectacular bridge at New River Gorge National Park. Stobe the hobo went through there and so did I. Wonderful area of WV.

YES YES A train set up. your now one up on this old man.

hey Shoestring, not that it was brought up or that anyone asked,, just wanted to congratulate you on your continued sobriety. Youre looking great. Love to check in and see you doing well.

Thank you for the excellent video and thank you Larry for coming to the rescue too!

I moved my family from Conroe Texas to Washington State. It's beautiful here have you spent much time here other than van crazy LOL

I really enjoyed your "hodge podge" video! Seriously, it was so good it felt like it was only ten minutes long. Left me hoping for more. Take care Shoestring.

Shoestring, am sittin at the table having a cup of camp coffee! And enjoying the new SS flick! Here s to you SS enjoy while you can pushing all joy and energy to you👍😇🐈

You pieced together some scraps and it ended up being a great video! I enjoyed seeing Ken operating that train at the end. It took me back about 65 years.

This was a damn good one

If the blooms on the "honeysuckle tree" were bright orange, it could have been a wild azalea, also called a flame azalea. The flower does not have the smell of honeysuckle, but does look a lot like it.

Cool how you know the tracks,what a well lived life your living.

Awesome video Shoestring! Packed full of beautiful places and great stories! Great one! Great to see you and Ken having fun with the model railroad! Thanks for sharing!

Man I am all giddy to se that scrap yard

Awesome show. Thanks be safe.

Just came across your channel and I'm enjoying your videos! The black swallowtail butterflies were taking up minerals in the mud

You sure am happy & in your element Shoestring ! Makes me happy too !

Hey there shoestring.... Been waiting for this video

The more I watch shoestrings videos, the more i see him hang out near where I was raised. I am pretty sure I've talked to shoestring once upon a time.

The butterflies 🦋 are puddling. Licking up salt and minerals.

shoestring rules!!!!!

Welcome friend I'm proud you uploaded another special video in ashland. Awesome job filming a video at the abandoned rail sighting friend. WOW right where the grass grow on the track.. Look at those old rail tires are all lined up!!! It's a big steam engine track. RJ Corman is a big company for CSX, Norfolk Southern. I need good cold water, so good.!!!

It's always a pleasure for us to go on virtual trips with you Shoestring. The interesting places you go to, the riding on the trains and taking us through the U.S.A. most of of will never get to see. You capture the freedom loving spirit in us by showing all the beauty and wonder of nature. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Brother, what a great adventure. I grew up in WV. I go through Ashland every month going home to check on my parents. I have been to Thurmond, and true to your video, there is nothing there. However, Amtrak continues it's service to Thurmond which is part of the Cardinal Route. FYI, Thurmond is the second-least used Amtrak station in the country. The least used station is in Sanderson TX. Thurmond was established in the 1870's and incorporated in 1900, by 1950, it was practically a ghost town. Today there are only 5 people living in Thurmond. There is always talk of trying to build a hotel just to increase the tourist numbers, however no one wants to commit to the cost of doing that. The New River Gorge Bridge is located just outside and to the North of Fayetteville, WV. The bridge was constructed as part of the Appalachian Highway System. Construction was started in 1974 and completed in 1977. U.S. Route 19 is the highway that crosses the bridge. Route 19 runs from Sutton WV to Beckley WV and is considered corridor L within the system. The bridge is the 3rd highest bridge in the US and the longest single span bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Every year, the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce closes the South bound bridge for one day in the fall for what is known as bridge day. Traffic is re-routed by closing off one lane of the North bound lane and allowing South bond traffic to use that lane. During the festival, it is not uncommon to see over 100,000 people show up and watch the jumpers. Last year there were over 400 jumpers and just over 100k spectators. A little known fact. In 1973, GMC shot a commercial where they actually launched a GMC Jimmy off the bridge. Here's the link to that video. 1993 GMC Jimmy - KZfaq Just to the North of the Bridge is a location known as The Summit on Bethel Reserve. This is the permanent location for the US National Boy Scouts of America. It has become the Nations leading training center for scouts everywhere. It is so modern, that the scouts can practically allow the scouts to gain all challenge badges in one location. The site was the host for the World Scout Jamboree in 2019. From July 22nd through Aug 02 of 2019, there were over 40,000 scouts from all over the world that came and participated. Here's the link to that video. 24th World Scout Jamboree Update - 24TH WSJ IS OPEN - KZfaq Have a blessed day brother.!!

hobo take good care of yourself.i just don't know how you hoist those heavy backpacks like you do.i want you to hang around as long as possible.it amazes me how you've learned so much over the years..if i had known i was going to live this long i would have taken better care of myself.lol.my passion was always john deere tractors.now i can't even climb up on one even with 3 people pushing me.

blue butterfly’s are usually the most rare to see

Really glad you got out. The weather is getting nice. A great video please keep em comin. Ole Ken is a great engineer.

great train set

Great vid shoestring thanks ✌️❤️ as always from the 🇬🇧

Thats a very beautiful area there Shoestring! Really love the history and stories You always give us. Keep up the great work and stay safe. 😎👍

Shoestring, nice to informally meet ya for now.

I love your videos, Shoestring

RJ Corman engine 8718 is a SD40T-2. T is for tunnel motor used to increase dynamic brake cooling in mountains..SP,, Cotton Belt, DRGW used these units

Mark, thank you so much for bringing such important knowledge about the railroads. Another insightful video that you have presented here on KZfaq.

Luv it Pops

keep on keepin' on Hobo Shoestring! you do great vids...always entertaining...

Good to see you supported America and finally bought an iPhone.

I grew up not far from the massive Russell yard during the Chessie era. Sad to hear the state it’s in now

32:14 Spicebush swallowtail butterflies: the sand is damp where you vidded them. I believe they were drinking. My understanding is that they are not blind but see different spectra than humans. They use their vision to help them locate the flowers they fertilize in exchange for the nectar they feed on.

Great video. Enjoyed all of it.

Wow Shoestring, thanks for sharing, impressive railroad knowledge!

Some great fishing bud

You the man shoestring. 👊🏻

They look like bat butterfly 🦋 lol nice thanks, I don’t know 🤷‍♂️ lol thanks BigAl California

Just railfanned there last November. As you look at the flood wall and Ohio River, left is west. Right is east. There is a huge CSX yard in Russell. Lots of mothballed coil cars and hoods that go on them.

Found your channel two days ago and have been hooked. It reignited my dream of riding a freight train down south. I have been trying to do as much research as I can on this and your channel is priceless. Thanks so much for making these videos and sharing them with us man. Really appreciate ya

1. Pipevine Swallowtail they're probably eating minerals. 2.Paulownia tomentosa (common names princesstree, foxglove-tree, empress tree or kiri) 3. wild honeysuckle. Have to call RJ Corman to clean up that train wreck 😂🤣

SSThank you!👍😇

shoestring, your such a charming fellow. you have a simple, yet concise way of seeing things

I'm a new subscriber from Trinity Texas. Sure do enjoy your videos. If you ever hop off in Trinity I'll cook you a home cooked meal and make you feel welcome. I'm an off grid prepper. Have safe travels and the good Lord bless and keep you.

I love how your teaching us all the time but we don’t notice because it’s so enjoyable. Thank you

I enjoyed the videos of the waterfall and river because they are so relaxing and peaceful.

Good to see you having some fun. That's the most important thing in life. Enjoy every day and make it count, that's what I learned from my cancer treatments. I've been lucky enough to have had another 20 years from my first treatment so I reckon you should just keep positive and enjoy life as much as possible. Glad you enjoyed Thurmond, it's a spot I'd like to have gotten to but at 75 I've not much chance of travelling to the States nowadays. I've seen a fair bit of the world in my time and have lots of good memories. Still enjoying watching mother nature turning out another springtime and enjoying the return of leaves and flowers. Also still enjoy watching trains go by. If I had my time over again I'd still enjoy working on the railways. Retired a long time ago but I still want more of the fun of the steel rails! Never could get enough of trains. Keep on travelling and stay safe son, and keep the video rolling.

Great video and great to see you in good spirits.

I like the New River Gorge bridge they Parachute off that once a year they block off one side and have Bridge Day about 25 minutes from my house

Thank you Shoestring, I enjoy the rural pictures and the history lessons. Take care and stay safe.

Great Video Shoe, thanks.🇺🇸❤

Loved the video! Sometime this summer I will bump into you.

Hello from Missouri...have you ever rode the MKT railroad in Missouri in the past..most of it now is a bicycle trail..thanks

Hello from Indiana! If purple flower are tulip shaped and have a sweet smell, it could be Paulownia. Next closest choice would be Rhodadendron but you know those.

So glad Larry could join you. Nice to have a friend along. 😉

The river shots are really beautiful Shoe , man there’s nothing like springtime. Yea I read once where the Appalachian mountains were much higher millions of years ago. Those butterflies like to seek out nutrients from the soil. Really enjoyed this episode, keep on traveling Shoe 👍👌