The Lost Loop p.5: N. of the SP to the Alley

I came into town for my second taste of the railroad portion of Crowley's historical district. Crowley may or may not emphasize the railroad's contribution to this beautiful city. Much is made of its Greek and Victorian mansions. The rice industry is of course recognized in the tourist pamphlets with a few shots of the mills and dryers. But, I'll be danged if I've seen any pictures of the old rails soon to be covered by ground or blacktop. The next 4 pages will preserve for posterity what I could find. If these are not enough, I shall return. I may, anyway. I was like a kid at Disneyland.

Everett had mentioned the junkyard. Finding it gave me confidence I was on the path. For economy sake, I've combined both exploratory ride pictures to try to contain confusion. I know it is going to be tough. It was for me and I've been there 3 times.





I know there are not many people posting pictures of junkyards.
Consider this a slap in the face. You need to get real about the world.
There are junkyards. [Was that too militant?]

Get ready, not all that follows may be a walk in your park?
It is a walk in mine.

I rode beneath the La.13 bridge and shot back toward the
junkyard. Ah, the OG/T&P? rails were there coming west.

But, the rails that we're about look at are not the OG&NE RR's.
They either belonged to the mills, or belonged to the Frisco
or Southern Pacific. From what knowledge I've been privileged
to, that is my assumption. [Thanks Everett]





Near that location was this house. The new cement piers
tell me it was moved there.



Proceeding west on E. Front Street, I looked back and could
not pass up this shot. I believe that is the "Standard Mill", the
namesake of the road I'd just come in on.



On the south side of Front, the metal buildings began.



Next was what I'm calling a water tower location. It's time
for a map. This is the simple part of the trip. Enjoy, it
gets dizzying. The yellow line is my path. See where "House"
is written? The tracks directly to the right of it is the present
day main line of the Union Pacific which I'll refer to as the
Southern Pacific because this is a history site and I want to.



Sure looks like a water tower spot. Why didn't I look for
a pipe in the ground? Because I don't think fast or possibly
I was just a little excited? Who me?



I've had to use all the evidence I can find in these pictures
to locate these places. I've got to take my time and label
the waypoints. Committing them to memory is committing
them to mayhem.



On the north side of Front St., more rail doors can be seen.
They were on both sides of the street. I suspect they may
have been in the street.

Across the street was this one.



Look, I actually took a placement picture. Hard to see, but
confirmed, we are at N. Ave. K which is 2 blocks from La.13,
the eastern official border of the "Historic Railroad District",
according to me.



In three blocks, approaching Parkerson Ave, the main drag,
we'll see this, a very interesting building and location.






It is in an interesting location since it's on the corner of
Parkerson and Front, across N. Ave G from the Frisco Depot.
My point is that it would have been on the rails.

This is the E.1st St. side of the Frisco Depot.



This is the east side. The mills are to the south.



Point of reference. Here we cross Parkerson. Look ahead
at West Front . I think it can be placed "in evidence".



The feed store below is at N. Ave. F. It is a fine building.



I do believe those are rail doors.







The building is "L" shaped. This is across the back. Was
there a siding or were these or the other, truck doors?
"It's hard to tell, it's hard to tell, when all the doors the same".
Notice, that La. Rice Mill is across the multiple tracks from
here. When we head down from the other side you won't
be lost. This all drove me crazy trying to fit these pictures
together. My life is already too confusing to let a pile of
mill and rail shots push me over the edge. Of course, if
you've kept up, you know I had a mini breakdown and
dumped this project earlier realizing that I was obsessing.
My therapist said it was OK and so here we are at the
corner of Front and Ave. E. The place to be.



Here's another side note: Old Crowley was set up like this.
Streets north of the tracks, running north and south, got
alphabet names. Those running east and west, got number
names, except where a person or place was important. I'm
seeing a pattern. Towns where roads fronted on the railroads
were either named "Railroad Ave. or St.", or "Front Street".
Look for that in your neighborhood.

Next was the historic bulk oil and petroleum products "plant".
I first saw these cast iron tank supports, then cement ones.



Further east, upon closer inspection, I saw the old brick
supports.



This building probably was not the first edition but rather
an addition.






For those who are fuel pump fanatics, I included t his shot.
Sorry, the pumps are not very visible. Check out the back
up mirror.



We are near Ave. D. on Front. The next page takes us into an
alley which I'm having a hard time naming. Garmin shows
the next road west going south as "W.Front" as if it W. Front
turned south. Very strange. The alley is next. If there
was a place that looked like a hobo jungle, the alley is it.
CLICK HERE to enter the Alley.