I’ve been going through a lot of old photos that my mother had, and came across this snapshot. This locomotive is Colorado & Southern 2-8-0 #60, and she’s on display in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The following is from the display plaque by the engine:

“Was built by the Rhode Island Locomotive Works in 1886. Number 60 began her career on the Union Pacific-owned narrow gauge Utah and Northern Railroad as No. 263. In 1890, the Union Pacific transferred U&N Engines No. 260-265 to its Colorado-based Denver, Leadville, and Gunnison Railroad, where the original engine number was retained until the Colorado and Southern assumed operation of all Colorado-based Union Pacific narrow gauge lines. This included the Clear Creek branch. At this time, the C&S renumbered all of its narrow gauge engines and No. 263 became No.60.”

That’s my mother posed in the cab, the photo probably taken in the early 1940s by my dad before he departed for England with the Army Air Force. My mom stayed in Denver until he returned to the States after his tour of duty.

An intermediate stop in New Orleans, the Carrollton Station was located at Carrollton Avenue, just a very short block from Tulane Avenue. One could board or disembark from certain trains here if convenient, rather than go all the way downtown to the Union Passenger Terminal. As a kid, we sometimes road the rails from New Orleans to either Ponchatoula or Hammond to visit with family, then back a day or so later. And Carrollton Station is where we usually met the train as we lived just a few miles from here.

Here is a typical view of the station back in the early 1960s. I believe that before my time, there was actually a small depot building here in addition to a covered platform. When I made my visits, there was simply a small, narrow glassed in shelter in which people crowded on rainy days. The large Fontainebleau Motor Hotel was a fairly new landmark at this time, having been constructed on the site of the old Pelican Stadium baseball park.

Seen here is one of the Illinois Central’s beautiful chocolate and orange streamliners stopped to pick up passengers on the outbound portion of it’s journey. The train is heading west by northwest at this spot, and judging from the sun angle, this was likely late afternoon. Those bridges in the foreground take the tracks over Carrollton Avenue.

Steam locomotive #72 has quite a storied history behind it. A product of the American Locomotive Company in 1914, the 4-6-0 steamer saw it’s first service on the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad as their #72. The line eventually became controlled by the Gulf, Mobile & Northern, which later itself merged with the Mobile & Ohio Railroad to create the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio. She continued to serve as #72 during those years. When the GM&O began dieselizing, the locomotive was sold in 1946 to the Gaylord Container Company in Bogalusa, Louisiana. In 1960, she found her final duty at the Washington & Western, operating in gravel pit service for the Green Brothers at their pit near Franklinton, Louisiana.

Today she rests at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds in Franklinton, where she is displayed under a shed roof wearing her GM&N paint.

The photo below was captured by Rick Boutall probably in early 1964. I understand that she was retired from active service later that year.

Here are a couple more photos given to me by Rick Boutall back in the mid sixties. This Heisler was likely photographed in 1964 or 1965 (based on the “65” imprinted on the right edge of the photo borders), and the backs are stamped with Rick’s typical property stamp. She’s obviously “hot” as small wisps of steam can be seen around the steam chest.

But I needed help on these, as I had no other information about this locomotive. Well, the mystery was solved when friend David Price provided the answer. This is Chicago Mill and Lumber Company #5, and the location is Tallulah, Louisiana. Thanks, and a hat tip to David.

At one time the Louisville and Nashville Railroad operated a beautiful, but affordable passenger train between New Orleans and Cincinnati named the Humming Bird. This famous scene depicts the train as she is crossing the Biloxi Bay in Mississippi. Similar to the Illinois Central photo from a few posts ago, this image also was widespread, and in my view, became the “image” of the railroad.

The Westfield Sugar Plantation Railroad’s #1 was an 0-6-2T coal burning steamer. She was used during the fall sugar cane season on the Westfield plantation in Paincourtville, Louisiana. These images were captured by Rick Boutall on November 1, 1963 as she was chuffing around the fields.

The Westfield plantation was owned by Dugas & LeBlanc, Ltd. Their little steamer was built by Porter in 1897 as c/n 1791, and she boasted 7″x14″ cylinders, and 24″ drivers. She ran on 30″ gauge track, used link & pin couplers and had no brakes.

Note the brakeman riding on the footboard. Scenes like this were common among many of the sugar plantations in Louisiana many years ago.

Collection of Jack Shall

This is my favorite photograph depicting the Illinois Central Railroad.  I first saw this image on the cover of an I.C. annual report that was given me when I was a kid.  It’s since been featured in quite of a bit of the company’s literature.

The scene is somewhere south of Chicago, and one of their handsome chocolate and orange stream-liners is featured at left, along with two coal trains at right, with steam power no less!

In the late 1940s the Mississippian Railway purchased a pair of 2-8-0 locomotives from the Frisco Railway, #76 and #77.  These steamers served the Mississippian for twenty years, finally being retired in 1967.  Two brothers, James and Frank Carlisle  functioned as both conductors and engineers.  James was the engineer for the #76, with Frank serving as conductor on the days when the #76 drew the duty.  And Frank took the controls of #77, with James handling the paperwork and switching duties when she was called for the day.

In the late 80s (I believe 1987, give or take a year) a special excursion was organized on the Mississippian.  The #77 was borrowed from it’s current owner and returned to it’s Mississippi home rails.  Mr. James assumed the duties for his late brother as the engineer of #77 for the two day run.  With the locomotive repainted into it’s original Mississippian livery, she departed Amory on a bright Saturday morning for the journey up to Smithville.

Here the photographer has captured the train on the return leg of the journey as she crosses the new steel trestle across a part of the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway.

Today the #77 is still in operation.  She runs on the Alberta Prairie Railroad up in Alberta, Canada as their #41.

At the end of the 1980s the IC Industries spun off their railroad, the Illinois Central Gulf.  The railroad decided to take back it’s original name and once again became the Illinois Central Railroad.  The orange and white locomotives were quickly repainted back into a simplified version of the original black with white striping, but sans the old green diamond herald.

This image captures a four unit train struggling up the grade from the east bank of the Mississippi River in Natchez, Mississippi.  A mix of a GP38-2 and GP10/11 Paducah rebuilds, all in run 8, were putting on an impressive show.  It’s only the mid 90s, but the units are already showing the results of hastily applied paint, with signs of orange and white becoming visible.

I’ve always liked this image of a Santa Fe steam powered passenger train roaring down the high iron.  Most of the consist appears to be mail and express (common, especially in the later days of passenger service).  This slide was given to me by Andy Sperandeo many years ago (probably the early ’70s).  I don’t know if Andy was the photographer, or when and where the shot was taken.  But it’s always been one of my favorite pictures, so I thought I’d share it here.

AT&SF 4-6-2 steam locomotive, #3448.

The photos I’ve been showing these past few months are scans of slides, and in a few cases, prints that managed to survive the great flood of 2016 in the town where I live. Here’s another of those survivors:

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 Highway 51 south of Ponchatoula, Louisiana. They also had a railroad operation that hauled the cypress timber to the mill. Locomotive #3 is a small 2-8-0 that was retired and put on display in front of the store on Highway 51. This photo was recorded (to the best of my memory) sometime back in the 1960s.

This locomotive was moved many years ago into the heart of Ponchatoula, located at the intersection of E. Pine Street and SE. Railroad Avenue. It’s right across the street from the former Illinois Central depot. It’s in generally good shape, though it suffers from somewhat “misguided” decoration on occasion. But . . . she still survives!

It was late in the day when my dad and I were leaving the L&N’s Gentilly Yard in New Orleans. Much to my delight, this fellow came charging down the main just as we were heading out. At the time of the original post, reader and good friend Mike Walsdorf advised that the motorcar is a Fairmont M-19. These speeders were commonplace when this scene was recorded back in the early ’60s.

Looking today at the image, I notice an interesting mix of boxcars from names lost long ago. The Southern and the L&N cars really stand out, the latter with its relatively new blue paint job. And check out the Linde Air Products (then a division of Union Carbide) boxcars. I wish we could see to whom the tank car and the open hopper belonged.