In December of 2004 the newly restored steam locomotive, Southern Pacific #745, was getting her initial break-in run. Back in September of last year I posted a photograph of the locomotive as it was crossing the Bonnet Carré Spillway in southern Louisiana on the eastbound return leg of its trip. It occurred to me that every image I’ve posted of that locomotive has featured its right side. Looking through my photos, I realized that I indeed had some views showing her left side, and here below is my favorite.

Again, she is crossing that same trestle that traverses the spillway. This view was captured on the westward outbound leg of the journey. She would go just a few miles further to Garyville, Louisiana where she could be turned, and then head east back to her home in New Orleans.

You can review the image and read a bit more detail about the locomotive and the spillway itself in that original posting. For information the acronym LASTA on the caboose stands for the Louisiana Steam Train Association.

According to the website Mississippi Rails, the Arkansas & Louisiana Missouri Railway has a history going back to 1909. The road was formed initially as the Arkansas, Louisiana & Gulf Railway. In 1915 it was reorganized as the Arkansas & Louisiana Midland Railway. In 1920 it became the Arkansas & Louisiana Missouri Railway, and in 1991 the company was sold and became the Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi. It thrives today under the Genesee & Wyoming umbrella.

From the beginning until the late ’40s the company acquired a roster of about 14 steam locomotives. Their initial locomotive was bought new, but all others were acquired in a very used state. The #1 joined the roster in 1946, and the little ten-wheeler became the last to see operation on the road, her last run being in May of 1958. She was a 1920 product of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, built for the Texas-Mexican Railway as their #1 where she served before being sold to the A&LM.

The photograph below was scanned from an old calendar that I have. With the very limited skills I have with photo editing software, I cleaned up the half-tone image the best I could, but left the “aging” as it was because I liked the look it gave. The image comes from the H.B. Wilson collection.

That little Mogul that we saw last week is, to my eye, a very interesting locomotive. In case you missed it, you can see that post here. Despite its small size, it is jam-packed with lots of detail. Fortunately Robert W. Richardson saw it fit to record the other side of the machine, and I’ve decided to feature that image today.

I don’t see anything unusual or “extra” on this locomotive, but because of it’s diminutive size, the appliances and piping are condensed into a smaller space, thus giving it that busy, detailed appearance. I admit to simply liking its look.

We’re in Bastrop, Louisiana on May 3rd of 1946. This would be a Friday, and I’m wondering what the conversation is between the crewman (likely the fireman) and the lady wearing her apron. Perhaps he’s asking his wife what will be for supper. Or is she asking him to pick up certain groceries on his way home from work?

The Arkansas & Louisiana Missouri Railroad operated a 53 mile shortline from Monroe, Louisiana, north through Bastrop, and up to Crossett, Arkansas. It existed between the years of 1920 to 1991. The road stabled a number of small steam locomotives in its earlier years. One of the late-comers to the roster was a tidy little Mogul locomotive, lettered as the road’s number 61.

Robert W. Richardson documented the locomotive in Bastrop, Louisiana on May 3rd of 1946. The information accompanying this image states that this is a work train. The engineer is seen looking back, likely following the signals from a brakeman riding the roof of a boxcar at the rear of the little train. And note the side door caboose!

The locomotive changed hands several times in its history. She’s a 2-6-0 built by Baldwin in April of 1913 for the Ocean Shore Railroad as their #22. At some point she left the Ocean Shore, going to a dealer, the United Commercial Company. In March of 1922 she went to the Pickering Lumber Company in Haslam, Texas as their #28. And from there she went to the A&LM in November of 1935, where she became the #61. The A&LM leased her to the Louisiana & Pine Bluff Railway between June-Sept of 1941. She was eventually placed in storage in October of 1946, and was officially retired in February, 1947. She was finally scrapped at Shreveport, Louisiana in March of 1957.

Photo from the Denver Public Library Special Collections

Back in February of 2009 Wayne Robichaux and I took a little field trip through southern Mississippi. We looped through several towns, and at railroad locations in between, ending the day in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. And there we stopped at the former Illinois Central depot in the center of town. A roadway overpass just south of the depot provided an excellent location to capture the structure along with its surroundings.

The depot now serves as the Mississippi Music Museum, with photos and memorabilia of the many artists that the state was home to. Amtrak’s City of New Orleans still runs through here, and passengers are served by a tiny glassed in enclosure seen a bit further down from the depot. Almost unnoticeable, that’s it near the caboose on display. The entire area is nicely kept, and also has a pavilion and a small children’s playground just beyond the caboose.

This image was recorded at dusk ( 5:44 PM according to camera EXIF data). The lights are turning on, and all seems still. I noticed when zooming in on the photograph that two people are waiting in that tiny Amtrak “depot” (good that it was there, as there had been a small rain shower recently). Apparently the northbound train #58 is running a bit late on this Saturday evening.

Edgar Dayries found himself trackside on a day in March of 1980. He captured this image of a northbound Illinois Central Gulf freight train as it reached Owl Bayou, a small waterway a couple miles north of the North Pass in Manchac, Louisiana (North Pass is one of two waterways that connect Lake Maurepas to Lake Pontchartrain).

Heading up the train is an interesting consist. All products of EMD, the first locomotive is an SD20. The second locomotive is a former Southern Railway SD24. The partial view of the GM&O locomotive looks like an SD40.

Another interesting image from the camera of Mike Palmieri, a northbound local freight headed up by Illinois Central Gulf locomotive #8387. This unit is one of the road’s GP10 models rebuilt at their Paducah Shops in Kentucky in 1974.

Mike caught this train on May 3, 1979 as it was crossing a small creek near Mandeville, Louisiana. Below is the caption to Mike’s photograph.

“The northward local on the ICG’s Shore Line District crosses Little Creek at Bridge NA58.01. The train is between Mandeville and Abita Springs, and about to pass under I-12. It has a typical consist, with 14 cars: three box cars, one covered hopper, two more box cars, six empty pulpwood cars and two gondolas, plus caboose 199034. The two empty C&NW box cars behind the locomotive had been picked up at Imco Services in Lacombe. Imco provided drilling fluids for the extensive oil and gas exploration that was taking place in this area, and C&NW box cars regularly brought in bagged bentonite from Wyoming. Imco also received barite in covered hoppers, but closed after the “oil bust” of 1982.”

I love this scene as it (and the image in last week’s posting) capture the flavor I want to have on my own Louisiana Central model railroad when I eventually get to the scenery and structure details.

Thanks Mike!

The Illinois Central Railroad had an extensive locomotive rebuilding program at one time. The work was performed in groups at their Paducah Shops in Kentucky. The second of these groups of rebuilt locomotives were labeled as GP10 types.

In 1972 the Illinois Central merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio to create the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. The #8397 featured today was originally an I.C. model GP9 built by EMD in January of 1957 as the #9203. She was rebuilt as a GP10 in 1976 during the I.C.G. era as #8397.

Mike Palmieri photographed the locomotive on February 22, 1980 as it was working in Mandeville, Louisiana near the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. I’ll quote Mike’s words as to the description of the scene: “Notice that the engineer is looking towards the rear of the train. He has set out a covered hopper under the Prestressed Concrete Products Co. cement tower in the background and is putting his train back together. This company was formed in 1957 to make components for the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and remained in operation into the 1980’s. It trucked cement from this tower to its plant near the north end of the bridge.”

At one time the Missouri Pacific Railroad operated several car ferries along the Mississippi River. One of those operations was between Natchez, Mississippi and Vidalia, Louisiana. In March of 1982 photographer Ken Albrecht recorded these views of a float approaching, then docking at the landing on the Natchez (east) side of the river.

Although the railroad had seen busier times than this now weekly connection, by 1982 the traffic was down to a trickle. It was fortunate that Ken documented the service as it was discontinued shortly after this in June of 1982.

Back in October of 2017 upon arriving in Hammond, Louisiana, I had reached the last leg of a rail-fanning trip I’d made that day. There I captured this view of a southbound Canadian National freight train as it was picking up speed while approaching the depot. It had been in the siding beyond waiting for northbound Amtrak train #58 to clear.

The Hammond depot is at milepost 859 on the McComb Subdivision of the CN, this line running between Chicago and New Orleans. The track curving to the left is the start of the Hammond Subdivision, and it runs west to Baton Rouge.

My good friend Edgar Dayries traveled out west in (he recalls) October of 1977. His mission was to photograph the Union Pacific’s steam locomotive #8444 on it’s travels through Colorado. He located a spot overlooking the rails and patiently waited for the train to appear. And this is what he was rewarded with.

The big 4-8-4 doesn’t seem to be having any trouble pulling the generous passenger train over these hills. Note that it doesn’t have a diesel locomotive buried in the consist.

The 8444 was originally the 844, but was renumbered when one of those diesels demanded it’s number. But the steamer outlasted the diesel, and when it was retired, it regained it’s original number of 844 which she still carries today.

Nice shot, Edgar!

In April of 2018 my friend Ron Findley and I attended the annual spring railfan gathering of the Southeastern Louisiana Chapter of the N.R.H.S. The event was held in Plaquemine, Louisiana, a small city located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, across from and a bit below Baton Rouge. The Union Pacific Railroad’s mainline between New Orleans and Addis (formerly Texas & Pacific) runs through here, and the track is routed through the center of the city’s old business district, flanked on each side by one-way avenues.

It was a bright and sunny spring day, and we enjoyed several passing trains while there. Eventually Ron and I ventured a bit north from where the group was camped, and we were rewarded by a southbound freight train as it was crossing Bayou Plaquemine on the historic bridge located there. Locomotive #4058, an EMD SD70M, leads the train and is assisted by another UP SD70M locomotive and a pair of Norfolk Southern visitors.