The Southern Pacific p.8 Arnaudville to Leonville

I have a definite Deja Vu thing going on about this stretch. I've written it before, but maybe as an e-mail to the paying customers, who knows? I spent 2 hours looking for it and couldn't find it. I could have written this twice in that time.

I've been tempted to add in some extra stuff here but I will wait until Port Barre is a done deal. Then I can make you read the whole thing again.

I almost forgot to tell the fly by night visitor that he or she is now just south of Arnaudville, Louisiana. "I am? Wow, dude"!

On the last page I showed you the picture of the Bayou Fusilier crossing. So, I don't have to now. Here's a map to get us started. Click it to enlarge.



The Southern Pacific came in from McVeigh, up La.31, remember?. The rails crossed La.93, the Grand Coteau Highway. Then it crossed Bayou Fuselier on what must have been a high trestle. A filled ramp was built to protrude out into the bayou to reduce the length of the bridge, or so it seems the reason would be. There is one on the opposite bank, also. This was a common practice. At least I've seen it often, Gerald.

Next, it crossed Fuselier St. and started its trip along W.Railroad Ave. This location is just to the west of downtown. My map doesn't show it, but I suspect that E.Railroad was a road that was parallel to W.Railroad and the median between the two streets was where the depot was. The map program finally gave up E.RR Ave. Look at the top of the next map. I approximated the rails. In another map. E.RR Ave goes all the way to Fuselier St. In all the drawings I've marked the Southern Pacific in red.



The orange line, top map, to the east is the route of the Missouri Pacific originating in New Iberia. I'm in the middle of a New Iberia investigation right now and I'll add that to the end of this one and to the Sugarcane Railroad ride. The name "Sugarcane" was used since I didn't know what I was looking at. It was the Missouri Pacific. The MP came in from Cecelia. The hump there is right near the intersection of 328 and 31. That rail bed is very visible all the way from New Iberia to US 190. Even I could find it.

My wife is interrupting me every few minutes. I'm starting over.

Here's a pastoral scene south of Bayou Fuselier. Ahooooooom. I better cool it or I could be sleeping in a pastoral scene.



These are a couple of old warehouses associated, I think, with the Singleton Lumber Yard or Plantation. My guess is that a spur ran to them. They are on La.93, just west of the SP rails before they cross the bayou.



Here's another building in that group. The high doors on the left are suspicious. I just GE'd the Singleton's lumber yard and I do think they had a siding, but not where I thought first.





Here's how they sit. They are pretty well lined up and the doors of the steel building are on the back. I'd put a truck door in the back also. Just a thought. I'm probably wrong like I said above. But, maybe the spur split before crossing the highway?

This is a Google Earth view of the whole lumberyard complex. The red line is my guessed at spur arrangement.





Next are all of the crossing pictures. Sorry to linger here, but this is one of those very important places in history and we can just dwell a little, soak it in and show a little reverence. I think it's time for a chair ride, don't you? One time I brought my folding chair to unfold in special places. That was a hoot.

This is looking from La.93 toward town. Notice the cracks in the road. Those could either be an influence of the old rails or just more La.cracks in the road?



Not getting a good picture of the fill where the rails rode, I walked across La.93. I remember it like it was yesterday, but I don't think it was? You can see it much better in this one.



I know, I forgot to sign it. There goes its sale's value.


That's a picture of Fuselier Street. I found this cement curb with "1934" on it. Any significance to the RR? Who knows. I think it probably refers to a bridge that was there, or you know, it could have been something else. The rails should have been in place well before "34". Maybe the train bridge had been...........?




OK, we are back at ........



There are hidden treasures throughout Arnaudville. I need to spend a day there. Here is an old building on W.RR Ave.



It's on the corner of Jaycees and W.RR. I think it's a "hall" of some kind. Possibly a hotel? It had side by side front doors. It was something. It won't be there long.

West RR Ave. meets La.347 as that highway heads for Leonville. As best I can tell, it skirted the sewer pond just to the west of it and did not go through it as pictured in the top map. If there are two guesses, I split the difference. Otherwise, I could sit here forever. West of the sewer pond? East of the sewer pond? West of......? East of......? So I ran the damn thing through it. I enjoyed that and found it rewarding since I'd put some folks I don't like on the train first, kicked the throttle full steam and jumped off. Yea, ha!!



Following the rails up 347, these shots were taken down the few cuts into the lowlands which the rails ran. There is a little coulee or stream in there. That might have provided a higher ground on the natural levee or a lot of fill was used. Or, the stream I'm seeing was used to drain water away from the bed? That's been done.



Looking from La.347 back to the grade.



You can see two of the black, not rusted at all, rails back in there.



Here, near Garland Road the rails turned away from La.347 toward Leonville.



Now the fun is starting to begin. Leonville had a SP Depot. I pulled a cop stop on an old man riding his bicycle in town. I asked if he knew anything about the railroad that came through. He said he did and offered to lead me to the station. That scene would have been funny and it would have lasted a while. Just in time, some one pulled up to talk to him. He told me that people used the train to go to Port Barre and that there was a station there. Wow. I could have spent an afternoon with this guy, us just riding around and talking about the dense history of the place. I always look for him when I go through there.

I'm not going to post any pictures of Leonville here. They are throughout the website, already. I will show you the shots of where the SP crossed Bayou Teche. This will be the first time it will be on the east side of the bayou.
I didn't have Everett's maps at the time and my GPS didn't show the route. Here's pretty close. Click the map to enlarge.



The Bayou Teche trestle was off of La.31, very near the city limits sign.



Notice the very old water pump by the bayou. I wonder? Steam engines needed water? Naw. Port Barre was very close and the depot was on Bayou Courtableu.

Looking to the other side:



Here's looking north across La.31:



The SP had another low land problem. I'm posting this map to show the intermittent steams which the rails crossed. The heavy blue course at the top is Bayou Courtableu at Port Barre. The one branching off of it is Bayou Teche. Both have natural levees. If water was coming from the east, it would be trapped in that "corner" formed by the two bayous.



There was a flood which began at Torras in 1912. That water made its way to the low area between Port Barre and Leonville.



This is pretty good stuff. It is from the Railway Gazette, 1912.






Check the Torras ride for the New York Times account of this flood. Torras was no more after that high water.



Next stop: Frisbee.



The area was indeed flat. It is as flat as a pancake. I've looked out there for Frisbee, even told my dog to fetch.

I think there is actually something on that location but it is way up on private property. It had to have been a plantation stop. More later. Port Barre is going to be intense. Four railroads serviced the little town and they gave me the book on it. Cry in your beer Indiana, I got there first.

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