These are just notes. If you can't understand what they are talking about, you need to CLICK HERE AND READ THIS FIRST.
I had asked about the Elton depot that is now in Ville Platte. Everett answered:
The railroad through Elton was originally built by the Gulf Coast Lines, which was either controlled by or affiliated with the St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Lines. During one of the Frisco bankruptcies, they lost control of the Gulf Coast Lines and they were taken over by the Missouri Pacific, now the UP. If it was the original depot, (which it probably is, Elton never being big enough to warrant a new or larger one) it can be called either the Gulf Coast Line depot or the Frisco depot.
Mike had this to say about the marker on the line just before the depot.
Your 2/0 sign should indicate crossings ahead. The top number is the number on the main line, and lower number denotes those that cross sidings or spurs. [They are] Usually placed to allow the proper whistle blowing approaching the crossing (if you were running the speed limit, and started blowing at the sign, you should hit the crossing during that loooong last note.)
Dave had this to add:
Ville Platte does have a lot of good stuff. I love that Perridon building, nice. The gas/ fuel place is a 'bulk plant' distributer. I've worked at my father in-law’s in Eunice, so I know. The building with the odd roofline and vertical 'bracing' is a fertilizer storage plant. The high roof is on the side where the fertilizer is piled high and the walls needed to be strengthened. There are partitions inside to separate the different types and there was once mixing and weighing equipment located there. I've bought tons of fertilizer from places just like that, mystery solved. The street signs are a hoot. Is that the sauce you use [Jack Miller]? It's mine. On the right hand side of the second to last picture, as you head out to Tate Cove, there are some tanks that I'd bet money are another bulk fuel distributor. As far as murals, I think there are some nice ones on Jennings' main street and there is a very nice assortment all over the walls of the Pigley Wigley in South Park Shopping Center at Pinhook and South Park.
My Amite contact donated a lot of info:
The fuel station/distributorship brings to mind the old Spur gas stations. I'm also interested in old filling/service stations and a couple years ago did some internet research on them. Apparently, most places were right by a railroad spur where a tank car or 2 could be spotted and drained into the station's tanks. Hence the "Spur" name. They also carried bulk oil, kerosene, etc.
He added this when I mentioned murals: By the way, Amite has 3 murals. One is of a huge steam locomotive pulling up to the depot, one showing an oyster boat (b/c of Amite's Oyster Festival) and one representing the old logging days (albeit with oxen pulling a log wagon rather than a logging railroad).
Amite's Oyster Festival has more to do with the fact that there was a huge oyster processing plant in Amite, than any closeness to oyster beds. I think the nearest oyster beds are down toward Buras.
Here's something you might get a laugh out of. Some years back, a local bank had a calendar printed up with pictures of Louisiana. One month's featured photo showed a commercial oyster boat with a caption about it traveling up the river to Amite to unload its catch. I got a huge laugh out of that one. The Tangipahoa River, though deep in places, is just barely navigable by canoe. The oysters were brought many miles by truck over Louisiana highways to Amite for processing, NOT by boat. I guess the caption writer wasn't familiar with the landscape or the facts. Still, it was a howler.
He continues:
The fact that there appears to have been several spurs at Ville Platte seems to indicate that at one time, there was a tremendous amount of railroad-moved commerce there.
Surprisingly, dead little Amite once had a good bit of railroad commerce, too, and not just because of the Illinois Central running right through it (though that sure helped).
The town once had a thriving grocery warehouse that had it's own side track and loading doors. The old Smith Grocery Warehouse bldg is now used by a sign company. I understand that before the rise of Winn Dixie, Schwegmanns, etc., grocery warehouses like this one would supply all the mom-&-pop grocery stores in an area. The giant grocery chains put most of the mom-&-pops out of business.
Also, there was once a huge cotton gin manufacturing company on the south edge of town, at one time a major employer in Amite. The Gullett Gin Company had its own depot and was a stop for the IC many years ago (most of it's gone now; company went out of business in early '60s, most of buildings burned down in 1995). An interesting thing about Gullett is that during WWII it tooled up for wartime production, and produced bomb and shell casings. An [acquaintance] was a machinist at Gullett and once told me about working there, before, during and after the war.
On the north end of town, the old foundry also had a spur. This foundry melted down and recast some of the steel from the downed towers of NYC 9/11. The recast steel went into the construction of a US Navy warship, I understand.
The Amite depot is now the police station and senior citizens center.
He Added;
Steve be sure and thank Everett for sending those scans. I know a few folks in Amite who remember Mr. Spence and caught rides on his train when they were kids. Fond memories...
By the way, regarding the Spence estate, I have heard from someone who knew the family. He tells me that despite a lot of rumors about the family dumping the steam engines after Mr. Spence died, the truth is that they tried very hard to find takers for those machines. Unfortunately, virtually no one was interested, since this was steam which the railroads were no longer using, having switched to diesel locomotives. They basically ran out of time since they were selling the gravel pit and the new owners didn't want the old engines. So the old girls finally fell to the scrapper's torch.
Mr.Spence.
The gravel pit was a combination business/hobby. Mr. Spence was a collector, but he also put some of them to work hauling gravel out of, and up to the Illinois Central mainline. I guess the guy decided to have his cake and eat it too.
With some reflection on Ville Platte, Al added this:
Don't think you can get brave and start shit with people just because I'm with you and will pull my piece to keep 'em off your ass, he he.
Me: Thanks Al
Oh, y'all do remember Al, don't you?
.jpg)
Stay tuned for "Mike B's Garden". Hopefully he'll send some garden and antique tractor pictures. Mike, you need to meet Al, maybe over tea, at 3:00.