Well Saturday was railfanning day . . . both for model railroads, and for the real deal. I headed out to the Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders’ open house up in Jackson, Louisiana this morning. When I arrived there were already a couple of live steam locomotives fired up on the outside loop, with another on a siding taking on water and fuel. Here’s a shot of a rather unusual double header consisting of two 0-4-0 switchers 🙂
After watching the live steam operation for awhile, I headed into both of the layout buildings to see what was going on in them. Most of the layouts were buzzing with activity. Finally I headed out to the covered pavilion used as an open-air shop. At one time there was a narrow gauge “amusement” railroad (the Old Hickory Railroad) operating on the property. It’s been quite a few years since it operated, with the rolling stock now parked in and near the pavilion. The biggest reason was the condition of the steam locomotive . . . it was simply worn out. Manufactured by Crown Metal Products, this steamer was propane powered. It was completely dismantled several years ago and is supposed to be undergoing restoration. However, the only things that have been on the property for quite some time are the locomotive’s frame and suspension, it’s cab, and tender.
Well surprise! The boiler is back from being repaired and re-certified. It was sitting outside still lashed to the truck trailer on which it was shipped.
There still are no signs of the drivers and trucks; I’m assuming they are still out somewhere being overhauled.
I left Jackson a bit after noon and headed east down Highway 10 until reaching US 51 by the Canadian National mainline. I grabbed a quick lunch in Amite, then raced south down to Hammond, hoping to catch Amtrak train number 58 headed up to Chicago. As I pulled up to the depot, I noticed the northbound signal was indicating a meet at the siding north of the depot. Great! Here’s 58 as she pulled out from the depot:
And here is the southbound CN freight that patiently waited for 58 to pass. It’s headed down to New Orleans.
While at the depot I noticed three young fellows taking videos of the passing trains. We engaged in conversation after the action, where I learned that they were high school students, and they had developed a liking for trains, and were taking every chance they could to get trackside. Later the father of one of the boys joined us. They were from the Watson area, not very far from my home. The boys had talked him into taking them to Hammond for a day of railfanning. With all the talk these days about how the hobby is just for “old folks”, it was refreshing to see three young guys bubbling with enthusiasm about train watching.
I finally capped off my day at home by watching the (recorded) football game between LSU and #10 Auburn. Wow, Auburn was walking all over LSU during the first quarter, with a 20-0 score. But the LSU Tigers dug in their heels defensively, and the offense finally came to life, ultimately defeating Auburn 27-23! What a game!
-Jack