Steam on the Masthead

I thought I’d provide a little explanation about the artwork in the masthead of this Louisiana Central blog. This beautiful painting is by railroader and artist Tony Howe. It is my favorite piece by this gentleman, and a cropped version of it is used here by permission of the artist.

Tony calls this “Wausau Southern Lumber Co. Log Train”, and describes it thusly “A Wausau Southern Lumber Co. log train heads for the company’s sawmill at Laurel, Mississippi, in the 1920’s”. In answer to a recent question by Everett Lueck, Tony explained the “true” identity of the train: “It was based on the W H B Jones photo of RR&G (Red River & Gulf) #106, but I changed it a bit to match the Wausau Southern Lumber Co. Baldwin 2-6-0. Wausau Southern’s log cars were the same basic design as Crowell’s (the Crowell & Spencer Lumber Company based at Long Leaf, Louisiana). The parts in parenthesis are added by me to further the explanation.

And featured below is the full painting . . .

Wausau Southern Sunset

Thanks Tony!

The Tremont & Gulf Rwy #30

The Tremont & Gulf Railway was a shortline railroad located in the north-east corner of Louisiana. In 1917 the company ordered a new 2-8-2 steam locomotive from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, to be built to their design. Assigned the number 30, she was a coal burning locomotive, producing steam at 185 psi, which sent power to her 54″ drivers via a pair of 21″ x 26″ cylinders. She had a tractive effort of 36,097 lbs. Many years later the line dieselized, and in 1954 she was sold to the Magma Arizona Railroad as their #7. She was retired in 1968 and again changed hands a few times to private owners, finally coming to rest with the Texas State Railroad as their #400. She has operated there off and on since.

Early in 1994, the 400’s paint was refreshed, with her temporarily receiving the original lettering and number for the Tremont & Gulf. On the weekend of March 5/6 a special event was held. Organized by Louis Saillard and company, an “authentic” excursion train traveled the line. Several props had been prepared to set back the time perhaps 50 years. Station signs for the old T&G were installed in several locations, and there even appeared at a road crossing one of the old square grade crossing signs bearing the words “LOUISIANA LAW STOP” (older folks from Louisiana will certainly remember those). There were some great “run-bys” of the locomotive pulling a mixed freight train with period correct freight cars, and heavyweight passenger cars. It was a spectacular event which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The photo below is one of just a few that I have left, having survived the Great Flood of 2016. It was a last second “grab” shot taken just minutes before the train’s departure.

TSRR - T&G Weekend

The Bridge at Vicksburg

Back in the spring of 1996 a friend and I motored up into Mississippi to check out the various railroad facilities there. We got as far as Vicksburg, and while there we found a spot overlooking the big bridge spanning the Mississippi River. As luck would have it, a Kansas City Southern freight train appeared, and I recorded this view of the train as it was reaching land on the east bank of the river.

This bridge has both the rail line and the old US Highway 80 on it. That’s the roadway angling up at right from the bridge. A few years after this image was made, automobile traffic was halted, being transferred to the new I-20 bridge just downstream. There is some interesting history on this bridge, follow this link to read its story.

This slide is a rare flood survivor . . . glad to still have it.

KCS Train at Vicksburg, MS

Short Wood (Pulpwood) Hauler

In the South, pulpwood is commonly known as short wood to the people in the business, especially with railroaders. The pulpwood industry was significant and vibrant throughout the South until recent years. I used to see car after car of these loads on lines such as the Illinois Central, the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, and the Louisville and Nashville.

And very common, especially in small towns, were the trucks used to haul the short wood to the rail-side for loading. Virtually all were rather old and beat up, and no two were exactly alike. They were most often “home-made” adaptations, frequently on a truck that had it’s originally bed or box removed, and having been modified for the purpose of hauling wood.

In the spring of 1995, Ron Findley and I were making our way up north following the railroad tracks along Hwy. 51 from Hammond, Louisiana and up toward Mississippi. We spotted this hauler in Summit, Mississippi, just north of McComb. This tired and decrepit old machine is about the most pitiful of all I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen some pitiful examples!). These vehicles were almost always grossly overloaded with regard to weight. And this old fella appears to have a broken back.

Pulpwood Truck - Summit, MS
This truck is a relative “heavy-weight”, with its twin axles at the rear. It appears to be a 6×6. Note the crane behind the cab to enable it to load/unload much larger diameter logs, and to higher heights. Without that, you’re limited to a log one can handle by manpower alone.
Pulpwood Truck Rear View
I believe this track is where the short wood was loaded onto the railcars. Seen on the ground just across the track is an example of the pulpwood logs, typically five feet in length. The white building in the background is the Summit Town Hall.

More About the WSLCo. Shays

Last week I posted a photograph taken during my trip to the Georgetown Loop Railroad, one of just a few slides that had been spared in the Great Flood of 2016. I was recalling that there were three of these 3-foot narrow gauge Shays operating on the line at that time. So I dug around a bit and found photographs of all three of these machines, each recorded by Brian Cazel. Unfortunately none of these locomotives are still operating on the line, their last service there occurring in 2004.

However, all of these Shays still exist. I’ve given a little information on each in the photo captions.

West Side Lumber Co. Shay #8
#8 is a 3-truck Shay built in 1922 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio for the West Side Lumber Company. It weighs 154,400 lbs and has 12” x 15” cylinders and 34” drivers. An oil burner, it operated at a boiler pressure of 200 psi delivering 36,150 lbs tractive effort.

In 1966 she was sold and transported to the Georgetown Loop Railroad, where she operated until 2004, then was displayed until 2008. She then went to the Royal Gorge Route Railroad in Cañon City, Colorado for a period, and finally to the Moffat Road Railroad Museum in Granby, Colorado in October 2021.
West Side Lumber Co. Shay #12
#12 is a 3-truck Shay built in 1927 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio for the Swayne Lumber Company railway as their #6. It weighs 113,500 lbs and has 11” x 12” cylinders and 32” drivers. An oil burner, it operated at a boiler pressure of 200 psi delivering 25,830 lbs tractive effort.

She was sold to the West Side Lumber Co. in 1940 and renumbered to 12. At some point she went to the West Side & Cherry Valley Railroad as their #12. From there she was sold and moved to the Georgetown Loop Railroad, where she operated until 2004.

Her last stop was at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado, where she was placed in storage. I understand that she did see brief operations there from 2011-2014, but has since returned to storage.
West Side Lumber Co. Shay #14
#14 is a 3-truck Shay built in 1916 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio for the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company as their #10. It has 11” x 12” cylinders and 32” drivers. An oil burner, it operated at a boiler pressure of 200 psi. I haven’t seen other specs for her, but would assume they would be similar to #12 above.

She was sold to the West Side Lumber Co. in 1939 and renumbered to 14. She was again sold to Hal Wilmunder and became Camino, Cable & Northern #4 at Camino, California in 1965. She then went to the Colorado Narrow Gauge Railroad as #14 in Central City, Colorado in 1974, and finally moved to Silver Plume, Colorado to become Georgetown Loop #14 in 1981. She ceased operations there in 2004.

She’s now stored at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado. A couple years ago volunteers did a cosmetic restoration, painting the locomotive’s exterior and restoring her to the West Side Lumber Co. paint. The latest photograph I’ve seen of her was dated in 2023 and she appears to be in reasonable condition.

WSLCo. Shay #14 at the Georgetown Loop

Back in the summer of the year 2000 I took a trip out to Colorado to ride a few of the narrow gauge railroads there. My first stop was at the Georgetown Loop operation, located adjacent to Interstate 70 near Georgetown, Colorado. At that time the railroad was operating with three of the former West Side Lumber Company Shay locomotives.

Shay #14 had the duty on the day I boarded the train, and she did a splendid job of hauling the equipment up the 4% grades on the line. Pictured below is the view of the train crossing over the famous trestle that is part of the Georgetown Loop itself. I wish I still had the images taken from further back that show the full height of this spindly trestle . . . it’s tall at 95 feet!

WSLCo. Shay #14 on Trestle

A Work Car Residence

The story I was told was that an Illinois Central employee had become injured and was unable to continue working. Through a series of circumstances, he was allowed to use this old work car for his residence. Located in Hammond, Louisiana, the car was parked on the east side of the Chicago to New Orleans mainline on a short piece of unconnected track several hundred yards north of the depot. I remember approaching this car many years ago thinking it was abandoned. I was surprised that someone was still inside!

And many years later I assumed that the man had passed, as during some intensive track right-of-way work, the car was pushed further away from the track and was overturned on its side. Over the years the trees and underbrush have completely enveloped the car, and it is quite difficult to locate now. A few years ago Ron Findley and I did manage to find the car, and we took several photos of what little remains of it. Hardly anything is recognizable beyond the trucks.

The photograph below was taken by Ron in February of 1988 when the car was apparently still the residence of the old railroad worker. If any of you readers have more information about the car you’d like to share, please do so in the comments.

Ex-IC MOW Car, Hammond, La.

A Caboose Deadline

Okay, I said last week that the caboose “series” had ended. But this week I came across this photograph taken by friend Ron Findley of a caboose deadline that I thought was interesting.

The location is McComb, Mississippi and the date is February 18, 1988. Ron and I made a trip to Hammond, Louisiana that day, then followed Hwy. 51 north until we reached McComb. This deadline of Illinois Central Gulf cabooses was sitting in one of the yard tracks just south of the depot and locomotive servicing area. I think you’ll find at least one of every model of steel cabooses that the I.C./ I.C.G. ever ran in this lineup! It was the early days of the demise of these cars and railroads were taking them out of service in droves. Some found a second life as a storage building or a cabin, some in museums . . . most ended up in scrap yards.

It was the end of an era. Folks under the age of 30 years likely have never seen one of these bringing up the rear of a train.

Caboose Deadline, McComb, Miss.

As a side note, just eleven days after this photograph was taken, the parent company of the Illinois Central Gulf spun off their railroad assets, and the railroad reverted back to its original name of Illinois Central.

Yeah, Yet Another Caboose

Several weeks ago I posted photographs of an old Missouri Pacific caboose, the #509, that was designated as a Terminal Cab. In that post I pointed out several differences between that caboose and others that I had commonly seen or ridden in. Today I’m going to feature the T&P Caboose #13146, and I think it’ll be the last caboose in this “series”. 🙂

This cab reverses those differences that I had written about: the end of the roof is open rather than closed in, and the cupola has a sliding side window arrangement, along with wider fixed windows fore and aft. It likely has the single rotating seat at each side. Also note the presence of ribs on the roof.

In studying the two images, I’ve noticed a few other differences: the “nail” radio antenna on the cupola roof as opposed to the “fire cracker” on the MoP roof, differently shaped hand railings/grabs on the end platforms and cupola, and what appears to be a metal reinforcement plate on the first three wall side panels just below the roof on the far end of the TP cab. I remember that plate was common on the TP cabooses. I never found out specifically what it was for.

One thing in common though, as with the MoP cab, the running board on the roof is still in place.

T&P Caboose #13146

This image was scanned from an old Polaroid photograph that I recorded on December 29th of 1971. The location is the T&P yard at Avondale, Louisiana.

The L&N House of Shock

In my early days of “railfanning”, my dad used to drive me to locations where we could see the trains (how wonderful). My dad had no particular love of trains . . . his passion was for boats. So we’d split the day, spending some time hanging around a rail yard, then some time strolling on the docks of the yacht harbor at Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. The arrangement worked well.

One weekend day back in the early sixties (likely ’61 or ’62), we found ourselves poking around the rail yards by the warehouses along the Mississippi River. The Louisville & Nashville was one of the railroads with a presence in that area, and we spied this old wooden caboose sitting by itself. Naturally I wanted a picture of it so my dad whipped out his trusty Argus 35mm camera and snapped this view.

The image is a bit blurred, likely due to slight camera shake, but it’s still adequate enough that I enjoy having it. The number 21 is still in reasonable condition despite the weathered paint. And it seems to be “all original”, look closely at its trucks. The title of this post reflects the message chalked onto its side, the “Original House of Shock”. There are a few other scribes by the door, but I’m unable to make them out.

L&N Caboose #21

Unfortunately the valued slide was lost in the Great Flood of 2016 . . . I was fortunate that I had scanned it.

MidSouth Rail Crane #1600

The MidSouth had this 120 ton capacity railroad crane stored at its yard in Vicksburg, Mississippi. I photographed this crane sometime in late 1989, or perhaps in the early 1990s. The original slide, from which this digital copy was scanned, was destroyed in the flood of 2016, hence my uncertainty of its date.

This crane was constructed in 1913 by the Industrial Works of Bay City, Michigan as serial number 2868. According to information posted by Mike Palmieri, it was originally owned by the Chicago & Alton as their #053, then became Alton X-39, then Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #66408 (where it was converted to diesel power), then Illinois Central Gulf #100406, then MidSouth Rail #1600 before being retired and sold. I’m not sure of its disposition after the sale, so please feel free to chime in if you have further information (or corrections).

MSRC Crane #1600

MP Caboose #509

This caboose was running out of the Avondale yard in Avondale, Louisiana back when I caught these views of it. Labeled as a Terminal Cab, I didn’t know exactly what its service was, assuming it was perhaps used for transfers around New Orleans. But I did see it several times just parked around in or near the diesel shop.

I’ve searched for other photographs of this car or others like it, but to no avail. It has several features that stand out as different from other similar cabooses. Note the end of the roof, closed in rather than open. Also note the absence of ribs on the roof. The windows in the cupola are different, a separated pair on the sides rather than a single large, sliding arrangement. The end windows are also narrower. Note that the running board on the roof is still in place, along with the handrail extension of the ladder. And the car number is quite low. I have wondered if this car was originally of wooden construction and later rebuilt with metal siding.

MP Caboose #509 at shop in Avondale, LA
Caboose #509 parked at the diesel shop at Avondale yard
MP Caboose #509 in yard at Avondale, LA
Right at dusk, caboose #509 is seen on the end of a train at Avondale yard

I don’t know the dates that I recorded these images . . . they were scanned from slides that unfortunately drowned in a flood in 2016. But they were likely taken either in late 1970 or early 1971.

I didn’t often ride in cabooses back then (mostly rode the locomotives). But I do remember two distinct differences in the cupolas. A few had two seats on each side, with the pairs facing each other. The other cabs (as they were called on the MOP/TP) had a single seat on each side which rotated to face the direction of travel. The windows on this caboose suggest it has the twin seats.

If anyone can fill in any of the blanks, please don’t hesitate to comment.