The Light's Out Chase

A distress call had been made that one of the UP's headlights was out.  The train could not be reached as it barreled eastward. I took it upon myself to warn the crew and while I was down there I'd try to intercept the Limited as she also barreled, but instead of eastward, she would be barreling westward. That was plan B.  I was hoping to catch them in a barrel pass at Bayou Sale. I was 52 miles away and had less than 45 minutes, my estimate, to catch them. Much of the ride would be on 55 mph roads and I'd have to negotiate eastern New Iberia. I could make up some of that time on the interstate, but not much.

I included the topographic map so that you would understand my plight. 
The Isthmus of Atchafalaya  is a very narrow passageway.
Balance is everything as you attempt to make your way across it.
In actuality that was a false statement.
The wind caused the balancing issue this time.
Other times it's the isthmus effect.

The Amtrak was on the move.
 I'd miss the pass by a minute or 1/2 mile.
The endangered freight was also on the move.
I had heard the always frantic Bob, the passenger trains conductor,
yelling over the radio that the freight's light was out.
There had been no response.

 

 I worry about Bob. He takes his job too seriously.
 He's going to have a coronary one day.
I caught Bob on one occasion as he starred down a freight conductor that had ticked him off
by taking his track thought the Lafayette Yard.
The OK Corral was getting ready to be updated.

  A very special AMTK engine was in his care and he wasn't going to let some freight outlaw mess around.

The problem was worked out, but it had taxed Bob.
He stood brooding as the train moved on. 

I know his pain. Getting over a confrontation when you've chosen  diplomacy instead of violent retribution can leave that empty feeling in your belly. No rationalization made by some third party can satisfy the hunger you know must one day be fulfilled. If I was that freight dude,
I'd be looking over my shoulder and careful about where I slept. 

Bob's brother is Jack Bauer. (24 8pm Monday) Stab them in the leg again, Jack.

Time to clear your mind.

Plan A.

The freight was gone. 

I caught it crossing La.317 at Bayou Sale.

 As the last car crossed the highway.  I dropped the hammer.

Racing down US 90 I made it to the Wax Lake Outlet Bridge.

I got off the bike and fell into a dead run up the levee to the tracks.

I was not going to miss another picture.

I have not run in 50 years.

I have just had sinus surgery. 

I may be taking my job too seriously.

I may have a coronary. 

Nope, I felt great and got into position doing the stop wave.

The engineer slowed to see what I wanted and I told him his radio was broken and his light was out.

He thanked me and offered a tour of the engine.

It's fairly interesting being in a room with 4000 horses and smelling no, well, you know, horse smells.

He knew Bob, too, and shared my feelings.

He said the NS orange bandana'd engineer is in therapy as he's still worried about Bob's look.

 

 I waved as they got underway.

One more look before we leave.

Debra B'avenue waited.

 I crossed the tracks and would leisurely return westward up the isthmus.

I'd take note of the Mile Post.

 Coming through New Iberia I saw a L&D RR train was waiting to head to Lafayette.

It would have to wait a while as the BNSF train was dead in the water south of Cade.

It had Captain Cade's crossing  blocked for a while making the locals hot. I know.

 It was sitting down there.
It  had to move up even with the limo that held BNSF's newest employee,
the famous Kareen Girard.

 Kareen wasn't doing any hike to the train.

The train was going to have to come to Kareen.

He's still 7 feet tall.

Look at those mitts.
Are those NFL gloves?
Do the Saints know he's a free agent?

 

 And off they went, Kareen at the wheel.

 I toyed with the idea of seeing the L&D / Kareen train meet.

It would have been special but I don't like basketball that much 

since the days of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.
Come to think of it the finger pointing might have been "a moment".

Camp Pratt has sealed away her secrets once again.

 The Kareen train was taking its time.

The L&D waited.

 The question, "If 6 were 9", has been answered. At least this ride report has had its educational moment.

  Now the highlight shots.

A dangerous situation was averted.

Sometimes the ride is the real highlight.

It was this time since I hated the Lakers and still do.

I know, too serious, especially since I don't like basketball at all ....why should I care?

I guess it was Kareen showing up that brought  it all back.
And that greasy haired coach. What a East LA slime ball.(LA = Los Angeles)
and what's so magic about Johnson?
Bob, you want to go get drunk?

The Lost MoP Collection

This one was going to get shelved because I'd let the information and pictures I'd received linger too long. As the years have moved on I have had a problem maintaining any heightened interest  as I'm eager to move on to some pie in the sky new adventure which then needs inventing. Lingering stuff is left in the dust. Stealing a line from a Stones song, "Who wants yesterday's papers, Who wants yesterday's girls"?

But, that's not the only reason I was going to shelve this one.  It is on a subject which only I and the donating party could have any interest. Well there may be a few others but then I don't know nor care if they are

 interested or not. 

So, why?

OK, I'm bored.

Lately I've been awakening at 2:00 something in the morning unable to return to any form of sleep. I'd  gladly accept participating in some mind bending torturous dreamland if it would supply enough closed eye. 

Instead this is the last resort for which I'm lucky to have. 

Thanks to David Ellzey I have this life raft.

This is how I started it several days ago when the boiler still had a little steam.

I'd mentioned to LZ  that I was having a problem with "titles". I was torn between "meaningful and meaningless".  I opted to use the email title of his last offering of pictures and information. 

"The Lost MoP Collection"

That and more will be included in this multi-chapter  endeavor to present New Iberia, 

a town which ranks with Lafayette as a multi-rail center.

Actually, I think New Iberia, in the hay day of railroading, 

was locally more important.

This was his David's note concerning the new pictures he'd found: 

"These prints were discovered during the move. The quality is not that good but the subject matter is a treasure. You may recognize the location of some. The MoP {Missouri Pacific} "roundhouse", ...{And} the one that is hardly recognizable is from the top of a boxcar parked on Fulton St. looking toward Jefferson St. The MoP engine with boxcar and tanker is on Pershing St. just east of LaSalle St. {near West Tower}. The old wood passenger car was in MW {Maintenance of Way} service parked near the  Iberia Coop Sugar Mill. These pictured were damaged in a flood around 1984. I almost threw them away with a bunch more, but peeled them apart and kept them. You will have to use plenty of imagination when looking at them".

I've cropped his pictures a bit and here they are.

This shot was taken by David Ellzey as were the remaining old ones in this chapter.

This one was taken while standing on the roof of a boxcar (number 2 in the picture).

I inserted the numbers to quiz him.

 LZ replied. I had asked about the building with the side loading doors.

(South?) This is looking southeast down Fulton. The track curving to the left goes past the MP freight depot near the bayou at Jefferson St. You have good eyes, the building with the freight door is an old SP building that became Ralphs Floor Covering. The Sanborn Maps will help explain the track work {shown below}. The sign near the building looks like an impaired side clearance sign. That track may have still been in service. That is the (Southern Pacific) track crossing at 90 degrees across Fulton. The large building at the crossing on the map is that building. 

LZ's words:

"By the numbers, #1 is the MP  track crossing Jefferson and continuing along the bayou. (Past the MP freight depot) #2 is the siding that the picture was taken. #3 is the SP crossing. #4 looks like 2 sidings on the map, but was probably gone when picture was taken".

Indeed the sidings are shown on the map below.

For those who don't dream  "New Iberia", this is my explanation based on LZ's.

See "Railroad" on the left. Those rails came from the SP mainline at the SP depot, SP main line. 

They are number "3" in the picture. They cured north.  

I have set these pictures up using the bayou as a horizontal axis.

Right will be roughly north. The maps are large. 

CLICK TO OPEN ... THEN HIT YOUR BACK ARROW.

("Picture taken here" refers to his boxcar perch)

This is a blow up of the spurs off of the SP's rails which crossed the Missouri Pacific's which ran down 

Do not confuse "2" in the less defined map with "2" on the one below.

The top one is on Main and the bottom one is on Fulton.

Fulton eventually reaching the MP shop and the MP mainline which ran between New Iberia and Port Barre.

There are 3 rails going down Fulton. The top one would be MP. The middle one is the SP's, the bottom one is another MP. The top rails go south to the MP freight depot and beyond.

My guess is that the rails that crossed Fulton at a 90 degree angle serviced the NI waterworks.

Farther down the page I'll show you a picture of evidence on Fulton of the SP rails crossing Fulton

at a 45 degree angle, then heading north. They are the ones shown below with "Fulton" written on them.

South of the SP crossing (left), the MP rails passed in front of the water works  (pipes drawn as dashes crossing Fulton). They then a business on the west (up) side of Fulton,  and the MP freight depot.

Notice the loading doors of the freight depot were on the bayou side. A switch back and back up move was required to reach them. Then they served waterfront businesses by way of 2 spurs.

Below:

My picture shows the doors on the depot.

Without David's map I would have never seen them.

Before we leave this area I want to show you the little evidence that remains.

The SP rails crossed Fulton to the north of the waterworks. They were the 45 degree crossing north of the waterworks which continued north and the 90 degree crossing which I believe went to the waterworks.  Then they went to  the MP freight depot which required backing.

Looking southward at the waterworks I realize that my thesis about it being serviced may need amending.

The next building south of the waterworks is the MP depot.

The finest remaining RR evidence in this area is of course the MP depot.

 Inside the north end.

 Street side.
I'd assume these loading doors are for trucks. No rails were shown on the map.
The building was being scraped and painted.

The new occupants are using the building in a respectful manor, so it seems.

Explanations of these to come.

We'll continue down Fulton for more Southern Pacific incursions into what I thought was MP territory.

I never realized that the two spurs, the Railroad Ave. tracks and the Chestnut St. tracks, were SP.

Actually I'd never paid them any mind. Maybe I was mentally broke? 

Insert Chestnut

Steve, I can't be positive what kind of material was handled by that installation but it seems to be a dry bulk material loaded into trucks for delivery. Could be barite for mud weight or maybe cement or?? The tall thing with the motor on top is a bucket elevator. It must be located on a spur?

It has the faded colors maybe of Dresser Magcobar. ??!!