Young men are seen clinging on for dear life as the trains tear through the countryside of northern the United States . They leap on and off the speeding trains in the hope of a better life as a menial worker in Mexico . Dozens of young men die every year making death-defying leaps on and off the fast-moving locomotives . Many are so exhausted that they miscalculate the leap and are dragged under the train 's 36-inch steel wheels .
Young men are seen clinging on for dear life as the trains tear through the countryside of northern Mexico . They leap on and off the speeding trains in the hope of a better life as a menial worker in the United States . Dozens of young men die every year making death-defying leaps on and off the fast-moving locomotives . Many are so exhausted that they miscalculate the leap and are dragged under the train 's 36-inch steel wheels .