Groping America V. 1 Riding With The Train Gang Ra Locke
The unnamed narrator—let’s call him “Locke”—is a discharged veteran or ex-felon in a rust-belt city (Youngstown, OH, or Gary, IN). Broke and dissociated, he wanders into a rail yard. There, he encounters The Train Gang: a mobile, anarchic collective of roughly a dozen individuals who live exclusively on slow-moving freight trains. Their leader is a woman known only as “America”—a scarred, brilliant, predatory figure.
They represent a time when "extreme" content was consumed through physical media, creating a distinct underground community. Availability and Rarity Groping America V. 1 Riding With The Train Gang Ra Locke
4/5 Boxcar Grains Trigger Warnings: Assault, addiction, violence, language. Their leader is a woman known only as
The train serves as a "liminal space"—a place where social rules are suspended, and strangers from different walks of life are forced into close physical proximity. The train serves as a "liminal space"—a place
The core of Locke’s narrative strategy in Volume 1 lies in the titular concept of the "Train Gang." This is not necessarily a formalized criminal organization, but rather a fluid, ad-hoc collective of predatory individuals who exploit the specific architecture of the subway car. Locke meticulously details how the close quarters of public transit—the inevitable pressing of bodies during rush hour, the racket of the tracks, and the inability to escape—create a "hunting ground" for the harasser. In Riding With The Train Gang , the subway car is presented as a liminal space where the standard rules of social engagement are suspended. The author argues that the "gang" mentality arises from the diffusion of responsibility; in a crowded car, the aggressor is shielded by the indifference of fellow passengers and the logistical impossibility of immediate intervention.
It is impossible to discuss Ra Locke’s work without mentioning the controversy. His methods were often criticized for being exploitative or dangerous. By documenting illegal activities like trespassing and freight hopping, he walked a constant line with the law.