Pictured is a Louisiana Midland freight train as it travels between Rhinehart and Vidalia, Louisiana. Heading up the train is former GM&O RS-1 locomotive #1120 pulling a rather rag-tag fleet of cars. The first boxcar is lettered for the Chesapeake & Ohio, followed by a Penn Central gondola and two more LOAM boxcars. The C&O car is rather curious as the reporting mark and number look to be hand lettered with spray paint, and it has no other data on it.

I’ll speculate that the train is headed westbound (last week we saw the unit as it traveled short hood forward while heading east). Photographer Dan Watson captured this photo back in 1975. If he happens to see this posting, perhaps he can shed more light on it.

This image was scanned from a print in the late Ron Findley’s collection. Tony Howe provided the photographer’s identity and the location of the train.

On a Saturday in August of 1975, Louis Saillard recorded this view of a doubled-headed eastbound freight train west of Searcy, Louisiana. Headed up by Louisiana Midland locomotives #1120 and #1111, these ALCO RS-1s are of former GM&O heritage.

The #1111 was nicknamed the “Four Aces” and was the recipient of a rather wild paint job of white, red and purple. A bit over a year ago I posted a color photo taken while it was working the pulpwood yard in Rhinehart, Louisiana. Dan Watson had relayed this tidbit to me: “The story behind this paint scheme was that the LOAM General Manager dispatched the crew to the local hardware store to buy paint for the locomotive, but as cheaply as possible. They came back with several cans of paint leftovers and mismatches, but of various colors, none enough to paint the whole loco with one color. So they came up with this scheme, using what they had”.

This is another photograph from the Ron Findley collection. Tony Howe graciously provided me with the information of the who, when and where for this image.

Looking through Ron Findley’s collection, I came across a few photo prints of three of the ALCO model RS-1 locomotives that the Louisiana Midland Railway owned during its final life. Shown below is the #1107, a former Gulf, Mobile and Ohio locomotive of the same number. It appears that a crew member is adding water to the unit’s radiator via the top filler during its servicing routine. The photographer noted that the engine had overheated while pulling 54 cars.

She had been acquired in 1974, and I understand that she led a rather short life on the road due to an engine failure.

Photographed by Louis Saillard in July of 1975. Thanks to Tony Howe for providing this, and other information.

In October of 1967, Wilbur T. Golson captured this view of Reader Railroad steamers #11 and #1702 double-headed on a freight train as it was approaching a grade crossing at the DeWoody spur.

This is another of the prints in the former collection of Ron Findley. I had originally not intended to post this image as it was significantly under exposed, leaving the locomotives almost as silhouettes. But I’ve not seen many photographs of double-headed locomotives on the Reader and really wanted to share it. So with nothing to lose except for time, I tested my meager photo editing skills and managed to adjust the brightness and contrast at least to the point of something viewable. And I’m glad I did the experiment, because I really like this scene of those two steamers underway, with #11 blowing a whistle for the crossing.

Reader crewmen seemed to like riding atop of locomotive tenders. Note the crewmen, one standing on the tender tank of #11, and two riding on the tank of #1702.

Continuing our story on the Reader Railroad, the notes on this photograph say this is “Reader Railroad steam locomotive #108 at work hauling a mixed train at Waterloo, Arkansas”. At first I thought it was a train departing from Waterloo, but zooming in on the image shows that the train isn’t moving. Indeed, it appears to be preparing to do its switching at the asphalt plant. Notice the two fellows standing on the oil tank of the tender, apparently using the cab roof as a desk to study some paperwork. Looking behind the first tank car (marked as a water car), there is a brakeman posing for the camera while waiting for time to make his next move.

Whatever the situation, it’s a nice photograph of the entire train of five tank cars and three passenger cars . . . a nice, typically southern mixed train.

Again, this is a scan of one of several 8″x10″ photos from the collection of the late Ron Findley. The notes on the back of the photograph inform that the photographer is “Sgt. John Taibi, stationed at England AFB”.

The largest customer on the Reader Railroad was the Berry asphalt refinery located in Waterloo, Arkansas. In Ron Findley’s photo album I found an 8″x10″ photograph of the road’s #108 laboring in her switching duties at the plant. She’s another 2-6-2 “Prairie” steam locomotive, similar to the #11 that we saw last week. A product of Baldwin in 1920, she went through several prior owners before arriving at the Reader.

Some years ago I had posted another photograph of the #108 while she was at rest near the roundhouse in Reader. That post also has some information on the history of the locomotive. Interestingly, I had never noticed before in that image that the locomotive was wearing a wood-burning stack, and some boards had been attached to the side of the fuel oil tank in the tender. I’ll speculate that the engine had been temporarily “back dated” for a role in one (of several movies) that were filmed at the Reader, and that featured their trains in them.

Unfortunately, I have no information regarding the date -or- the photographer. Although I think it very likely to have been A.E. Brown.

At one time A.E. Brown visited the Reader Railroad and he recorded this view of the road’s steam locomotive #11 as she was getting ready to depart from Reader. She’s putting out plenty of smoke, although the white flags are still limp. But she will soon be galloping down the mainline at perhaps 5 mph or so.

The Reader was a 23 mile shortline that ran between Reader, Arkansas (where it interchanged with the Missouri Pacific) to Waterloo, Arkansas where it’s largest customer was located, the Berry asphalt refinery. The number 11 is an oil-burning 2-6-2 Prairie built by Baldwin in 1925. I believe the locomotive still exists, and is displayed in a park in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

This is a scan of one of several 8″x10″ photos from the collection of the late Ron Findley. I was gifted that collection, and plan to scan several more of these photos from the Reader, along with a few other roads in the South. Stay tuned for more!

On a Saturday in November of the year 2000, Edgar Dayries positioned himself by the Union Pacific (former MP/TP) tracks running through White Castle, Louisiana. And there he recorded this view of the UP’s Operation Lifesaver passenger train as it was heading East by Southeast (railroad South) on its way to New Orleans.

For reference, the Francise Street grade crossing is behind the photographer, and a bit of parallel Cambre Street is seen to the far left. Not much has changed in this view over the past 25 years. The house at far right is still there, though it’s now painted green with yellow window and fascia trim. The green house trailer has been replaced by a newer model. Amazingly, the power pole at the extreme right, along with the second pole to its left, and the crooked pole without cross-arms are still there. The signals and signal box remain. Some things change . . . some never do. 😁