For this first posting in the month of June, I’m featuring a photograph from the 1986 calendar published by the Louisiana State Railroad Museum, it being for their month of June. I’ve paraphrased the caption for the image below.

“Born in 1835, the St. Charles Line has seen steam, horses, mules and electric propulsion. The 962, a Perley Thomas style streetcar, turning northbound onto Canal Street, NOPSI was still the operator and the fare was an incredible 15 cents. RTA celebrated the line’s sesquicentennial on September 28, 1985 with a massive streetcar parade. (Photo from the collection of Regional Transit Authority)”

The scene is New Orleans, Louisiana. The photograph has no date, but I’d estimate it to be in the early~mid 70s (the date mentioned above was for the later celebration). NOPSI is the acronym for New Orleans Public Service, Inc., the operator of the streetcar and bus system at that time. Also at this time, streetcar operation over the length of Canal Street (the “main drag” of the city) had been terminated, and buses took over the route (one of the new style “fishbowl” buses can be seen at the right). The St. Charles line was the only one left, and the scene is the end of that line, with the car entering Canal Street for a block, then turning again onto St. Charles Avenue for the journey in the opposite direction. As a side note, the city eventually restored streetcars to Canal Street, and has even extended service to a few other streets.

The image shows the car in it’s “updated” appearance at the time. Earl Hampton, a resident authority on the New Orleans streetcars, offered this brief history of the cars with information regarding their rebuilding:

“The rebuilding process started in the early 60s with the 35 cars that were planned to be saved, getting an aluminum roof and those rounded and gasketed windows. Then in the late 60s the cars were rebuilt again, receiving aluminum windows and vestibules. In 1971 the conductor was eliminated (the motorman now had to also collect the fares) and the cars received the look shown in the photograph. Then in the 90s another rebuild was scheduled. The RTA decided to replace the bodies, but preservationists objected. It was at a meeting with preservationists that l (Earl) suggested that they return to the original look, receiving the original rectangular windows on the sides, ends and doors.”

The cars look so much better with that restoration in my view. Fortunately, the cars still have the “old, original” look today.

In August of 1955 J. Parker Lamb paid a visit to the Mississippian Railway up in northeast Mississippi. Its work done, he recorded this view of the road’s #77 as it slides slowly back into the enginehouse where it will be checked out and lubed for tomorrow’s run. At left, the #76 rests quietly until she is again called back to work.

In a search on Google Maps, I see the enginehouse still there as of their latest street-view photograph taken in August of 2024.

Continuing our tour on the Mississippian, C.W. Witbeck photographed the simmering #76 while in Amory, Mississippi under overcast skies in December of 1965. The 2-8-0 was built by Baldwin in 1920 as the Jonesboro, Lake City & Eastern Railroad #40. The engine became SL-SF #76 when the Frisco acquired the JLC&E in 1926. The Mississippian Railway purchased #76 in 1947 (some sources say 1948). She remained in service well into the late 1960s.

She has 19×24″ cylinders powering 48″ drivers. I’ve noticed that the Carlisle brothers keep their locomotives rather clean and tidy. Brother James is likely the hogger (the engineer) on this day.

Today I’m returning to the Mississippian Railway, featuring the sister locomotive of the #76, the #77, a Baldwin built 2-8-0 that the road acquired, along with the #76, from the Frisco in 1947. And as mentioned in a previous post, a day’s run would start in Amory, Mississippi, and head up to Fulton, Mississippi, the northern terminus of the line. Since there are no means to turn a locomotive in Fulton, the locomotive would run tender first for the northbound run.

Photographer Phil Kotheimer recorded this view of the #77 with her train on an overcast day in March of 1967. And as usual, running in reverse, something that was simply routine on this line. To my eye, this image could pass muster to have been any time from the prior 40 years with perhaps the exception of the hopper car.

Note the doghouse on the tender of the locomotive. For those unfamiliar with the term, the doghouse is the structure on top of the tender behind the coal bin. In locomotives with small cabs, it gives the head-end brakeman a sheltered place to ride, especially useful in inclement weather. In the case of the Mississippian, it also gave another set of eyes with an unrestricted view during those reverse running movements.

Once again, for this first posting in the month of May, I’m featuring a photograph from the 1986 calendar published by the Louisiana State Railroad Museum, it being for their month of May. I’ve paraphrased the caption for the image below.

“Hard working six coupled #236 of the Illinois Central Railroad is busy shunting boxcars in this May 1950 action shot. The little product of Pittsburg (1913) locomotive construction is blowing smoke and cinders of a coal burner, at the New Orleans riverfront. (Photo from the collection of Harold K. Vollrath)”

The “Pittsburg (1913) locomotive construction” referred to above is actually the Pittsburgh Locomotive and Car Works, a railroad equipment manufacturing company founded by Andrew Carnegie and T.N. Miller in 1865. By 1901 Pittsburgh had merged with seven other manufacturing companies to form the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). In March 1919, ALCO closed the Pittsburgh facility.

A lowly little switcher like this rarely gets noticed. But they have character also, and I like seeing images of the less glamorous side of railroading. I was able to unearth only a bit of information about this little 0-6-0. Built in 1913, she had 51″ drivers, and her boiler fed 170 psi steam to a pair of 21″ x 26″ cylinders. This produced 32,487 lbs of tractive effort. At some point she appears to have spent a little time in the road’s Paducah Shops as evidenced by the twin squared sand domes and a bit of modernization of her appliances.

I’ve had a love for the Mississippian Railway since my early days, my first knowledge of the road coming in 1970 when I purchased a copy of Ron Ziel’s The Twilight of Steam Locomotives. The exposure in the book was brief, but it stuck with me. Back in the late 80s I was able to ride the line behind sister steamer #77 during a special two-day excursion. I wrote of this event back in 2018. You can read that post here.

Today I’m featuring locomotive #76, a Baldwin built 2-8-0 that the road acquired, along with the #77, from the Frisco in 1947. A day’s run would start in Amory, Mississippi, and head up to Fulton, Mississippi, the northern terminus of the line. Since there are no means to turn a locomotive in Fulton, the locomotive would run tender first for the northbound run.

It’s November of 1965 here in Fulton. The crew has put together the return consist, and topped off the tender tank with water. Photographer Bob Krone captured this view of the train as it was leaving town for the return to Amory while facing the afternoon sun.

Back in September of 2020 my daughter, Julie, and I were taking a trip to Covington, Louisiana. Between Denham Springs and Hammond, we were driving east on US Hwy. 190 which parallels the Canadian National’s Hammond Subdivision. While near Livingston, we spied this CN highrail truck with a flatcar in tow. I had seen these larger trucks on rails before, but wasn’t aware that they were equipped to tow railcars. Turns out they are. I’m told that they are capable of handling a few of them, depending on their loading. And note the loading on this flatcar.

My daughter grabbed her cell phone and captured this view when I slowed a bit as we came beside it. My daughter became a “railfan” that day, even if for only one event. 🙂

In January of 1976 railfan and historian Louis Saillard was exploring the Louisiana Midland Railway. He recorded this view of their RS-1 #1111 working the pulpwood yard in Rhinehart, Louisiana. The #1111 (nicknamed the Four Aces) was originally GM&O #1111. It was later sold to the Chattahoochie Industrial as their #1111, then to the Conrad Yelvington as their #262.

The Louisiana Midland was created in 1945, then came under Illinois Central control in 1967. The railroad was re-created in March of 1974 after its sale by the (now) Illinois Central Gulf to Trans-Action Associates. The railroad ceased operations in July of 1985.

Credits go to the Mississippi Rails and The Diesel Shop “Fallen Flags” websites for information about the LM Rwy.

For this first posting in the month of April, I’m featuring another photograph from the 1986 calendar published by the Louisiana State Railroad Museum, it being for their month of April. I’ve paraphrased the caption for the image below.

“At the east end of the cavernous Louisville & Nashville train shed at the New Orleans depot, L&N Pacific #261 heads up a heavyweight consist. Movie and railroad buffs can see this station immortalized in A Streetcar Named Desire on the big screen. (Photo from the collection of Harold K. Vollrath)”

I did a little digging for more information on this locomotive. The photograph was recorded by Max Miller on May 30th of 1948. She was a Class K-4B locomotive, and was one of eighteen built at the L&N’s South Louisville shops in 1920. She had 69″ drivers, and her boiler fed 200 psi steam to a pair of 22″ x 28″ cylinders. This produced 33,389 lbs of tractive effort.

Almost a year ago I posted some photographs taken at the ICG railroad facilities in McComb, Mississippi by my late friend Ron Findley. You can view that post here if you’d like to review those images and learn a bit more about the area. That trip was in February of 1988. Just days after those images were taken, the ICG Industries divested themselves of their railroad interests, and a new railroad was created under its former name, the Illinois Central Railroad.

In reviewing the photos that Ron had recorded in McComb at various times, I discovered that we had also visited McComb in late June of 1988 to see if things had changed very much since the new IC had been created. One of Ron’s images was similar to one captured back in February, and it caught my eye because of the nice assortment of power sitting in the locomotive servicing area. Shown are locomotives wearing three different paint schemes, two from the ICG era and a couple in the new “retro” black paint from the original Illinois Central. Back during the IC/GM&O merger the railroad had sold off its rights to the green diamond herald, so the new paint substitutes the name Illinois Central under the cab window where the green diamond used to be. <sigh>

This image is zoomed in a bit closer than the one from February, and the turntable pit just beyond and left of the sand tower is more visible. The turntable’s bridge is still laying upside down just beyond the pit. Soon after the pit would be filled, and four tracks installed leading up to near the three doors of the shop building. And to my satisfaction, the old steam-era wooden water tank (at upper left) was still in place.

Ron had noted on this photograph that the ICG GP38 numbered 9522 (at far left) was originally the GM&O #703.

In February of 2009 Ron Findley and I were touring around southern Mississippi looking for railroad “targets of opportunity” to photograph. We came across this Green Brothers steam locomotive at her display site located at the junction of Routes 27 and 28 in Georgetown.

She was built by Alco in 1923 for the Mississippi Central Railroad as their #141 at a cost of $49,745. This Mikado (2-8-2) type locomotive worked on the MSC’s Hattiesburg to Natchez, Mississippi route. As the railroad dieselized, #141 was one of two MSC Mikados (#127 and #141) that were sold to the Green Brothers Gravel Company in 1953. There she worked at the company’s Georgetown, Mississippi plant until retired, and was then donated to the City of Georgetown.

The #141 weighs 251,000 lbs, has 22″ x 28″ cylinders and 52″ drivers. She is a coal burner and operated at a boiler pressure of 195 psi, delivering 45,500 lbs of tractive effort. She appeared to have relatively fresh paint on the date photographed . . . hopefully she will be kept in this state.

Back in the early days of dieselization on the Louisville & Nashville railroad, the road purchased several EMD model E7 locomotives. The photographer captured this view of one of this latest model at the head end of a passenger train. The location is unknown to me, and I’m speculating that this was a publicity photo, based on the setting -and- of the “suit” leaning out of the cab window. I’ll further speculate that the train may have been the Hummingbird. Unit #459 was built in April of 1945, and this photograph was likely taken soon after its delivery.

I noticed in this colorized version of the image that the paint job isn’t one I was accustomed to seeing, so I searched and found this photo by Elliott Kahn taken in 1947. I also found photos of sister units, #758 & #760 (the entire series was renumbered from the 400s to the 700s. #459 became #759). Apparently this paint job was created to match the train cars it pulled. At some point many, if not all, of these units were shopped and had some modifications done, including changing the earlier side-of-nose number boards and class lights to the newer angled number boards with the class lights above (by then “standard” with newer EMD units). They also had several grab irons added for better access for workers to clean and service the windshields. I’ve seen an image of the #760 with a newer version of paint (what I remember in my youth), with the nose striping modified and wrapping further around the nose, and a narrower cream band running down the side. The cream color bands were outlined with orange pin stripes. You’ll note the discrepancy of this colorized image as showing the orange pin striping on the left, but most of the right with none. The black and white images I’ve seen don’t seem to show anything that resembles pin striping on this particular paint job. If anyone knows the facts, please report them in the comments!

At any rate, I do like this image. Unfortunately there was no information as to the photographer or date, with the only information being the watermark Colorized 2016 by Imbued With Hues.