The dispatcher usually will tell you anything you want to know about the arrival and departure of incoming and outgoing trains. Those guys have pretty thankless jobs. The railroad's always trying to screw 'em every chance they get, either by de-unionizing them or eliminating their jobs. They just feel like little cogs in a great big wheel. And maybe they even get a little vicarious thrill.
Tramps sometimes have good information.
They'll usually tell you what they know. And what they don't, they'll make up. The challenge is figuring out which is which. Tramps also have a lot of knowledge to share about food and lodging. A man named Skid asks us if we've eaten.