The Lost Loop of the OGNE RR p.2

First a couple of thoughts, historians are people who escape the present by dwelling on the past, and, historians are people who call on the past in order to understand the present and plan for the future, a scary place because most people don't do that, including our leader.

I'm not a historian though I do subscribe to the above.

First, before we dive into the muddy water which describes my understanding of the Crowley rail alignment and historical ownership, there is news and miscellaneous pictures to get out of the way. I thought of adding them onto the end of the Crowley urban RR tour, but figured you'd be so confused, dizzy, or bored by then these would never be seen. Yes, I know you and me.

First the news. The Teche Bayou train bridge at Breaux Bridge is no more. This has made me very sad. It is a a travesty. It was a link in the Southern Pacific's Atchafalaya Branch, the historic 10th Wonder of the Railroading World. Scroll to the right for free kleenex.



A few of you have seen this, but the world has not.
Please don't consider yourselves diminished for seeing it again.

The following is going to do it for the early sugarcane ride requirement.
I'll add a few more when the air gets cold and the mills are bellowing.



Here's a tractor trying to hitch up in mud.



Brown topped road. Yes, it's against the law and a real problem.
But, what can they do? Most keep graders and push the heavy
stuff off to the side, but that makes it worse because you can't
see it as easily. Hitting this at 50mph could be lethal.



Most of the time it's like this.



It is so muddy that 2 tractors have to be used to move the
wagons.



While on the subject of sugarcane, on the third trip to
Crowley I could not stomach US 90 so I went through
Abbeville. First I went to St.Martinville (the above pictures)
and ran the old SP branch ROW from St.Martinville to
Delacroix (UL Experiemental Farm) to La. 182 (Old 90)
on the Lady of the Lake Rd which is a pleasant putt.





Descending from the historic location of Delacroix, there was
a trestle which must have been both high and ascending because
the train had to rise to the level of the Coteau Ridge on the
Cade, US 90 side (SP connection).





The ridge is far back in the picture. The trestle must have
been a quarter mile long. Spanish Lake lies to the south (left).
As best as I can get from local residents, this road, to a point, was
the right of way. The bridge was installed in 1984 which
is probably the date of the ROW being covered by gravel
or blacktop. My guess. The blue stuff in the trees is humidity.
I think the rails were pulled in the 40's.

Here was the railroader's problem, Bayou Tortue.



On the ride to find the Lost Loop, I went north to Arnaudville,
but decided to take a paved/gravel road south of town that would
save some miles, if not time. I get tired of the same routes
and I mix it up a little when I can.

Traffic was light this morning. The weather, fair, with a
slight breeze from the south. Temperatures were hoovering
in the low 80's. Chances of thunderstorms, slight.



The first landmark is where the Southern Pacific crossed the road.
The RR's hump marks the end of the pavement. I know there's a reason.
Possibly the rails act as a congressional district border or parish line?
Or, being a bit more romantic, possibly there was a settlement here.
Checking, yes there was, it was called McVeigh. It is listed as a SP stop.
In fact, there's an old song, "Waiting at the McVeigh Station". Stump
the band. The roads original name was "Blink Light". Gotta be a story
there. It is now McVeigh Road.



Past McVeigh, the road descends from the Teche Valley
natural levee , then rises to the natural levees of Pont Broulee
Vermillion Bayou, Bayou Fuselier and Bayou Carencro.
These bayous lay at the base of the Coteau Ridge or in the
basin between the Ridge and Teche levee. I could be wrong.
Fuselier actually travels from the Teche to the Vermillion.
How about that for throwing a wrench into the above. It
made for good reading, anyhow.



Up a ways it is high enough to raise cane again. The combined
bayou systems that lie ahead no doubt added to the elevation
with their yearly flooding, depositing another layer of silt each
year. The Coteau Ridge may also add to the rise in elevation.
Ok, I won't start that again.



This is the Bayou Pont Broulee (burn point?) bridge.



This one is looking over the last stretch of Bayou Fuselier
before it joins Carencro to form Vermillion.



On the next one we'll visit Kaplan. Yes, I took the "scenic
route" to Crowley/Rayne. More later.
It's later: CLICK HERE to go to page 3.