Final answer:
During the Great Depression, hobos often snuck onto trains by sneaking into open boxcars as a form of freighthopping to travel and find work.
Step-by-step explanation:
Hobos during the Great Depression era typically got onto trains by sneaking into open boxcars. They did this because they were often without money to purchase tickets and trains were a primary mode of transportation to traverse long distances in search of work and survival. This act of sneaking onto trains without paying is known as 'freighthopping' or 'train hopping', and hobos would clandestinely climb onto boxcars when the train was stopped or moving slowly to avoid detection by railroad staff or law enforcement.