On the next day of our Louisiana/Mississippi/Arkansas journey, Ron and I left Vicksburg, heading back into Louisiana. Our plan was to follow the line of the Arkansas & Louisiana Missouri Railway. Early on that Saturday morning in May of 1989 we arrived in Monroe, the southern terminus of the railroad. While there Ron recorded this view of an A&LM caboose.

We then turned north heading for Bastrop, Louisiana, very roughly the midpoint of the A&LM. Arriving there, Ron composed this image of a diesel switcher, an EMD SW7, #11.

. . . of a MidSouth railroad train. A few weeks ago I posted photographs of the Fairground Street bridge spanning the MidSouth’s yard in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This was on a Friday in May of 1989 during a trip Ron Findley and I were on, making our way up to Arkansas. Ron also snapped a few images of some MidSouth locomotives and rolling stock there in Vicksburg.

The MidSouth Rail Corporation, reporting mark MSRC, was established to purchase and operate rail lines previously owned by the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, focusing on enhancing freight services in the region.

I’ve been spending some time going through the slides that I’ve inherited from the late Ron Findley. In doing so, I finally realized that the images I posted last week of the bridges in Vicksburg, Mississippi were taken during a trip he and I had made back in May of 1989. We stopped at several places, both in Louisiana and Arkansas, as we worked our way up to Reader to visit the “new” Reader Railroad.

This photograph is of Reader’s 2-6-0 steamer #2. She would be on duty that Sunday for our trip. The little Mogul was once owned by the W.T. Carter operation. She was built by Baldwin in 1907, but has been backdated considerably in appearance since.

The engineer and fireman can be (barely) seen as the locomotive is being prepared for the run that day. The journey through the woods is quite leisurely and it terminates at an Armstrong turntable. The crew issued a request for volunteers to help spin the locomotive for the return trip. Naturally Ron and I assisted.

It was on a Friday in May of 1989 that Ron Findley was passing through Vicksburg, Mississippi. While there, he passed by the MidSouth Railroad yard near the Mississippi River. That rail yard has an ancient pair of bridges crossing above the yard with but a single lane for automobile traffic. While Ron was focused on the rail cars there, I find the real interest to be in the bridges themselves.

These two bridges are both iron Pratt through truss bridges of similar design and were used in railroad service. The bridges were purchased used from two different locations, reassembled in Vicksburg in 1895, and used for automobile traffic. I’ve traveled across that bridge a couple times, both during trips that Ron and I took together. I’m glad I had those opportunities as the bridges were eventually closed to traffic. The last I heard back some years ago, they were still there spanning the rail yard.

The Mississippian Railway was somewhat known for its pair of former Frisco 2-8-0 steam locomotives. The Consolidations were numbered 76 and 77, the number proudly displayed on the “coonskin” plate attached to the smokebox door.

In March of 1967 Photographer Karl Zimmermann recorded this view of the #77 and train during its arrival in Amory, Mississippi. The train is approaching the interchange track of the road’s connection to the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (the Frisco).

I have a sweet spot in my heart for the Mississippian. Back in the late 80s a fellow arranged for the #77 to be transported back to home rails in order to run a special 2-day excursion on the line. I think mine was the first check in the mail. 🙂

James Carlisle was the engineer that weekend (he and his brother Frank were the regular engineers for the #76 and #77 back when they were in revenue service). I spent some time riding in the cab with Mr. Jim, and even got to make some switching moves as a brakeman when he decided to make a pick-up on a Sunday afternoon so he wouldn’t have to make a run on Monday.

This image is from the Karl Zimmermann Collection, Center for Railroad Photography & Art (CRP&A), used by their permission.

Back in September of 1988 Ron Findley and I drove up to Chattanooga, Tennessee to ride the steam train at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM). The museum has two depots in Chattanooga. The East Chattanooga location has a turntable and shops, the Grand Junction location (the main depot) has static displays of equipment, both locomotives and cars.

At the time of our visit the museum had two ALCO model RSD-1 road switchers. The RSD-1 is a 1000 HP, six axle version of the four axle RS-1. This spread the weight of the locomotive over a larger area, helpful when running on light weight rails. Ron photographed the TVRM #8677 while it was at rest at East Chattanooga.

While the bulk of this ALCO model were built for the United States Army Transportation Corps for export to Russia during WWII, both of these units never left the United States until after the war. They eventually returned to the U.S. and were last used at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Note the angled cab walls on the unit, apparently for tight clearances on overseas railroads. While I didn’t care for the look of the cab, I did like those heavy six axle trucks . . . they add a look of muscle!

I’ve shown a number of photographs of the Southern Pacific steam locomotive #745 over the past several years. I admit to having a soft spot in my heart for the locomotive as I’ve known her since I was a kid in the 1950s and 60s. I crawled and climbed over every square inch of the beast during her earlier years on display in the Audubon Park in New Orleans.

In 2005 the restored #745 pulled a train of passenger cars around the State of Louisiana, the cars featuring exhibits of the state’s history. During the return journey back to New Orleans, the train traveled through a portion of Mississippi, running south on Canadian National’s McComb Subdivision mainline (this is the line between Chicago and New Orleans).

I recorded this photograph of her while in McComb, Mississippi. The date is April 30, 2005, and the locomotive is laying over for the night in McComb. Tomorrow she’ll continue south to Hammond, Louisiana where she’ll pause for a few hours to allow the citizens a chance to view the train. Late that afternoon she will head west to Baton Rouge for her next overnight.

I acquired my first digital camera during the period when the locomotive was being restored to operation back in the early 2000s, and I have quite a few images of her underway on test runs she made, as well as on her tour around the state in 2005. I may post a few of those images from time to time.

For a few years back in the mid-to-latter 1980s, there was a fledgling tourist railroad operation that ran a short excursion train behind a small 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive named Lady. The venue was in an industrial park at a place called Port Bienville in Mississippi. The excursion ran between a designated track in the park out to the interchange track a mile or so away by the CSX (former L&N) mainline. There was a short run-around there that allowed the locomotive to get to the other end of the train for its return.

The owner/engineer for the steamer was Mr. J.R. Phillips. He was a kind, older gentleman and he enjoyed showing off his locomotive to anyone who had an interest. On one of several visits to the operation, I brought my young son and daughter. This paid an unexpected benefit, as not only did we get to tour the cab of the locomotive, but also scored a short ride as she ambled through the park. J.R. even allowed my daughter Julie to blow the whistle a couple times, something she did with enthusiasm.

The #203 was a product of the Baldwin Locomotive Co. of Philadelphia, and was built in 1925. She went to the Washington & Lincolnton Railroad, a Georgia shortline. She later went to the Rockton & Rion in South Carolina. While there, she went into storage for quite a few years. In the 1980s she was acquired by others and ran excursions in Florida, and in Mississippi, one of those here in Port Bienville. A few years later, the group had to move, and she and all the rolling stock were relocated to Meridian, Miss. Nothing happened while there, so another move brought her to the Columbia and Silver Creek Railroad, also in Mississippi, where it was hoped that excursions would again run. Unfortunately that didn’t pan out either.

In 1995 the Gulf & Ohio Railways purchased the locomotive and began the task of rebuilding her for the Three Rivers Rambler, another excursion train. She seems to be doing well these days hauling folks between Knoxville, Tenn. and the Tennessee River. You can see her on their website: The Three Rivers Rambler.

Unfortunately I don’t recall the name of the photographer of this image.

On an overcast day in January of 1978, CE Hunt was roaming around the Illinois Central Gulf facilities in Shreveport, Louisiana. He spotted this ICG GP18 at rest in the servicing area and recorded it on film. I think he captured the essence of the scene, complete with a muddy puddle of water reflecting a bit of the white and orange on an otherwise dismal day.

The #9423 had an interesting career, she was delivered to the Illinois Central in 1963 wearing the black “Green Diamond” paint. After the GM&O merger, she received the new orange and white paint. She was eventually rebuilt by the railroad’s shop in Paducah, Kentucky, emerging as a GP10 numbered 8720.

She lives on today as an HO scale model produced by Life-Like, and wearing the original Green Diamond paint.