The Willis Shortline Railroad Co.

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In August of 1957, photographer J. Parker Lamb captured this view of the Willis Shortline Railroad’s #200 steam locomotive hauling a string of gondolas at a sand and gravel pit.

Willis Shortline RR Co. #200
“The Willis Shortline Railroad Co. served a sand and gravel pit owned by Jerry Willis at Enon, in Washington Parish, Louisiana and was located along the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio’s Bogue Chitto District. This 4-6-0 was built by Baldwin in August 1889 as Texas & Pacific class D-5 number 200. It was sold to the Cinclare Central Plantation at Brusly, in West Baton Rouge Parish, where it was used to haul sugar cane trains over the T&P’s Port Allen Branch. Cinclare replaced the 200 with a used 44-ton General Electric center-cab diesel-electric loco, and the Ten Wheeler was sold to the Willis Shortline in 1955. It was last used around 1963 and subsequently scrapped.” -Mike Palmieri

I was lucky to see this old locomotive as a 17 year old kid back in the summer of 1965. I was on a railfanning expedition with a few members of the Crescent City Model Railroad Club, serving that day as the driver for Lou Schultz, Andy Sperandeo and Rick Boutall. This gravel pit was the last stop in our journey which also included stops in Bogalusa at the Crown Zellerbach mill to see their old interurban car hauling paper rolls around the plant, and a visit to the Standard Gravel Co. pit near Franklinton. What a day that was!

Willis Shortline #200 with kid
Proof that I was there! 🙂

Top image by J. Parker Lamb; collection of Michael Palmieri. Bottom image by Andy Sperandeo.

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