The Louisiana Cypress Lumber Company was a fairly extensive operation in the first half of the 20th century. They had a store and mill complex located on U.S. Highway 51 just south of Ponchatoula, Louisiana. The company harvested a huge amount of cypress over the years, transporting the logs over an unusual railroad that was largely built over swamps.
Steam locomotive #1 was the company’s “mainline” power used for hauling the log trains from the swamps to the mill. In March of 1948 C.W. Witbeck recorded this view of the locomotive at rest at the mill. She is a standard gauge 2-6-2 “Prairie” built in April of 1921 by H.K. Porter. She’s powered by 12″x16″ cylinders using 170 psi steam and has 9,250 lbs. of tractive effort. She’s a coal burner and has 37″ drivers. I was fortunate to see this little steamer back in the early 70s. I had photographed the mill’s #3 which was on display out by the highway. Then driving down the gravel road alongside the mill, I spotted a whistle poking up from behind (I believe) lumber stacks. I stopped and walked around and there she was! I did take several photos, but they were unfortunately lost in a flood many years later.

According to the last information I was able to find, she was last owned by Samuel Warren Frye of Griffin, Georgia, and was on display at the Roosevelt Railroad Museum. Ralph Hawkins has several more photographs of the little Prairie on his website HawkinsRails. Be sure to scroll all the way down to see the #1 at work. Herron Rail Services produced a VHS tape years ago titled “Glory Machines 5”. It has some nice footage of the #1 at work in the swamps.
Photograph by C.W. Witbeck; Phil Kotheimer Collection
Great story about a little known and not often remembered logging operation. Thanks for reminding us!
This in from Everett Lueck of the Red River and Gulf RR:
“Warren Frye passed on quite a few years ago and the locomotive had been dismantled by him for restoration. Some of the parts were at his farm, some at his house, and the rest stored in an abandoned hardware store in Griffin. The owners of the Roosevelt railroad purchased it from his estate and moved all of the parts that they could find into the hardware store many years ago. It is for sale, for what they have in it dollar wise.”
Dig that light visor.
Thanks Jack,