The Southern Pacific: Cade to St.Martinville p.3

Due to timing, weather conditions, and an opportunity to escape responsibility, I've decided to carry on with the ride up the Teche Valley on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Next will be a series of GE maps that review the ride from Cade into St.Martinville. I'm using this format with the sense that you believe, as I do, that you can't have too many maps, and you can't look at the same map too often. Plus they are great filler when you have nothing to say. There will be some real live pictures at the bottom of the page. You know how to scroll if you are not a "Mappie".

Here, we see B.Beyt Road, which I feel sure is the actual rail route, leaving the main line south of Cade, the true origin of this branch to St.Martinville. BTW, a reader described a link with B.Beyt Road which I found hilarious. Be careful out there, it is a small world and what you did 20 years ago can come back to bite you.



Next, we see B.Beyt intersecting with Lady of the Lake as the rails head east. Where the crook straightens is the approximate location of the beginning of the trestle that gently lowered the train over the shallows of Spanish Lake and Bayou Tortue until a point close to where you see "L" above in, "U of L Farm".



After leaving Delacroix, I believe the train continued to follow where L of the L is today, continuing along the gentle northerly bend and then leaving the road cutting across the corner of the field. This is pure speculation. It could have been anywhere between Delecroix and the Smede Hwy, La. 92. The next two pictures show the range I feel is correct.



I bent this one down a bit because of what I saw as a curve between "1" and "2". But, I see a stream which would have been avoided with the route above. Remember, we are talking about a 1920's route. The landscape could have easily changed.



This next section is right on except for the explained variances. The naming of streets, "Railroad", sure does help a track tracker.



Right up Railroad Street she went. Off to the right (east) you can see "Main Highway" if you click the picture. That is La.31 south of St.Martinville.



The rails continue up Railroad St. and cross La.96, the Terrace Highway which connects St.Martinville with Broussard. "Terrace" is pronounced "tay-ras". I believe that the terrace it refers to is the Coteau Ridge.



After La.96, the tracks bent toward St.Martinville Junction. There the train would go down a dead end track towards Bayou Teche where the depot was. It would have to back up to the junction to go north.



Below, the rails leave the junction and go to the depot. I believe that there was a spur off the south that serviced a feed store and maybe other businesses.



The humps from the old route are still easily seen and experienced in St.Martinville. See and experience them before they are gone. But, be careful, that area harbors some shady appearing characters which could be experienced, also.

Here are a few of the railroad related pictures I have of St.Martinville.

This is one I took of the GPS screen. The black triangle was my location. You can see the junction and the tracks going north to Parks and east to the depot area. The line going to the south was what got me started on this project. I wouldn't have begun it without some kind of "tangible" asset. The dark red line to the south is Terrace Road, mentioned above.



This is the view of the bed headed north to the junction from the above location.



There were humps in the road I wanted to show you but there were audiences everywhere and I didn't feel like stopping.

Here's the old sign down by the depot, east of La.31, just north of where La. 96 crosses the bayou. South of La.96 and east of La.31 is the historical downtown. The depot's location could have been associated with water born commerce.



Large semis were parked all over this open area. This had to be the location of the depot. I didn't look close enough at the cement to try to figure out what was its purpose.



This is looking from close to the bayou west to La.31.



This is the old building in the distance.



And, here is the old feed store that I mentioned might have been on a spur. You can see a semi parked to the right near the location of the depot.



The signs on the front of the building are some of my favorites.





I've inquired about being a distributor for Rooster Booster, a product that you can't have too much of. See, following old railroads can be interesting and advantageous.

Now, don't get spoiled with all those maps. So many were included because there are no articles on the Cade to St.Martinville Branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad anywhere in the world but here. I often make extraordinary statements in hopes of luring augmentations, corrections, or just to create chaos in certain circles.

Next, we ride the rails north to Parks. I have connections there and I expect some exptremely interesting information to flow from them. For instance, did you know that Parks was serviced by two railroads, the other being the Missouri Pacific which stopped at a lumber mill near the intersection of La.347, Bridge Street Highway, and La.3039, Nursery Hwy? You won't find that information, elsewhere, either, do you?

Next is the St.Martinville to Breaux Bridge stretch.
CLICK HERE TO GO THERE