While most hoboing is done on the major class I railroads such as CSX, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific, BNSF, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific, there also exists numerous smaller railroads all over the country that reach places the major railroads no longer go. 

Athens county, OH used to be a hotbed of railroad activity. My hometown Nelsonville was once the largest exporter of freight in the entire state of Ohio when it served as a major coaling and refueling station. Athens was a stop on the B&O mainline between Philadelphia and St Louis. The railroads serviced the entire area at one point in time. Now, the only remnants that remains are a scenic railway, a bike path, and some shortline railroads.  

Ohio Central and Indiana and Ohio run parts of the old lines north of Nelsonville after the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway, but the stretch of track I'm gonna highlight here is the former NS West Virginia Secondary, currently operated by WATCO'S Kanawha River Railroad. 

This shortline operates between Columbus, OH and just south of Charleston, WV with a crew change in Middleport, OH along the Hocking River. I caught a northbound out of Middleport just to experience riding freight past Athens, OH now that it's the only tracks that remain in the city. While at random, the train at times will do a crew change in Athens if the train is behind schedule. 

While routes on major railroads tend to see multiple trains a day, it varies shortline to shortline how much traffic each sees. Some shortlines may only operate one train a week, or even one train a month. Some shortlines may not operate for an entire season or more. Kanawha River Railroad actually handles quite a bit of freight, running ~1 general manifest train a day, northbound between crew changes one day, southbound the next, with ~2 extra coal trains a month. 

(Cont reading see comments)