Freedom Part 1: Butchered Up

Part 1: "Butchered Up" By the mid-nineteen-nineties, the United States population of train tramps and hobos dropped to only a few thousand from their Depression-era numbers of two million plus. This turn-around began in 1941, when the U.S. began actions during WWII, which led to the military draft, and "the creation of millions of jobs in defense and war industries.” The man we're telling you about today started hopping the rails as a full-time hobo lifestyle in 1991, half a century after the Second World War. He lived as ruler in a kingdom as expansive as the contiguous United States, yet as slim as the space between the rails of the nearly 140,000 miles of freight tracks crisscrossing the country. A nearly unstoppable man, in a world where violence was the law. He called himself Sidetrack. Episode Host: Josh McCullough For photos and sources for today’s episode, check out the Murder in the Rain Episode Blog. If you’d like more episodes of Murder in the Rain, Patreon members at the $5/mo+ level, gain access to exclusive episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more. Join us this year at the True Crime and Paranormal Podcast Festival July 12th-14th in Denver Colorado! Don’t forget to use our code RAIN15 to get 15% off of your tickets. It’s a great time to connect with podcasts as well as families impacted by the cases we discuss. We had a blast last year and we think you will too. Join us this year at True Crime Fest Northwest in Portland, Oregon August 30th-Sept 1st. You can get your tickets at TrueCrimeFestNorthwest.com! Follow us on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/murderintherain/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mintherain/ Twitter https://twitter.com/murderintherain TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@em_murderintherain Website https://www.murderintherain.com/ Email murderintherain@gmail.com Our Sponsors: * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands