A moniker (also known as a streak, tag, or hobo art) are a type of graffiti done on the side of a freight car on freight trains. They date back to the late 1800s.[1] Monikers are usually produced with a solid paint stick, industrial crayon, or a lumber crayon. Monikers serve the purpose for a moniker artist to share stories or a moment in time with others.
Monikers are usually basic line drawings and may include a name and date.
Many moniker artists have a unique design they produce, and sometimes write the area they are from, or date that the moniker was produced. Occasionally, a short phrase will accompany monikers (this being started by BuZ blurr, famous for his Colossus of Roads moniker).
Most of the earliest artists were hobos and railroad workers, but since the emergence of modern graffiti in the 1960s, railroad enthusiasts and graffiti writers also use monikers.
•Gastman, Roger and Neelon, Caleb. The History of American Graffiti, 2010.