A Short Foxtrot

I got up this Sunday morning about 5:30. I had told Al I'd give him a call to go riding if I had a pulse. At 8:00, I was still trying to find it and the day was slipping away. Then, I asked my wife if there was something she wanted to do. That got a big laugh. It was getting to be 11:00. She did mentioned that there was no hot water at her mother's place, so I checked on it. Indeed, she was correct. I suggested that her mother put a few more logs under her big brewing pot, stir, and that should fix her up. She also said there was a ghost in her mother's wiring. I remained quiet on that one while congratulating myself on my self restraint and pretended that she actually meant the house wiring. It was something about the bulbs coming on by themselves. I suggested taking the bulbs out of the fixtures and seeing if they still came on. That's when she hit me and told me to take my useless self and leave. I would have left earlier if I'd had a plan. Now I was forced to leave with no plan. No problem, I can whip up a plan. My plans are sometimes very personalized. That's to say they wouldn't appeal to most and you may concur. I figured this ride would not last long due to the weather which was hot, humid and threatening, just perfect weather for the new plan, taking pictures of the railroad tracks linking Lafayette to Morgan City, La. I let Al off the hook on this one since he becomes agitated when the ride gets more weird than he is. He likes to dominate the weird scene and if that is not happening......it was best to do this one alone.

Foxes come in many varieties, this would be a new one. Sure, I've taken pictures of railroad tracks, but never with the purpose of letting them become the queen of the outing. This time I offered the rails a chance to star and I'm not real happy with their performance. Again, as always, it's not the fox but where she leads you that makes the outing. Roads take you places and show you things, bayous and rivers do the same. Railroad tracks are no different. This time I'd let them lead the way, totally. I've done that with old rail right of ways, but never with a set of perfectly good tracks. Well, maybe I have? Admitting to being in a state of redundancy can get to you, over and over. I'd recently completed a page on the Lafayette depot and figured I'd start there.

There would be a diversion on the way to the starting line. The Louisiana and Delta was in town (Breaux Bridge) for the weekend and parked on my way out. Important guest get their mugs shot.



These shots, as you probably know by now, are at Breaux
Bridge Junction, a long lost place in railroading history.



The ghosts of BB Jct still roam these tracks.



Having a pleasant ride down the BB Highway, I arrived at
the Lafayette station to begin the afternoon's attempt at
entertainment, biding my time away from home until the
dust settled.



To visit the depot when the Sunset Limited pulled in,
CLICK HERE.

I zoomed down to 6th Street. BTW, give to Salvation Army.
There are street people, and for many, it is not their fault.
The SA does a great job. The SA is on 6th St. and if you
ever want to feel lucky, drive by at supper time.



The crook in the rails is at this old warehouse. I would
investigate.



It, at one time, had a siding. Local's, you'll never guess
who the warehouse belonged to. Gerami's Floors, which
was, I'll bet, a division of Gerami's Fruniture on Jefferson
Street, a long lost business.



You can see the name on the wall by the white car.



The next building is occupied by a pottery business.
"Hippies, I bet". Just kidding. I never get to say that
anymore.



Continuing south, a "modern" bunch of warehouses are passed.
Notice that they have rail doors, likewise.



Just keeping you straight, we're at Taft St.



Here, the RR has a side track for it's tidy up machines.



A prominent Lafayette lawyer once lived here. Haha,
who'd thunk it?



On the way back to the tracks is a Lafayette landmark,
the Schilling Shack. The Schilling family has the Bud
dealership. This was their rent out party pad. The stories
it could tell. The political gatherings were probably the best.



That's their business, one small part of it. Notice, there
is a spur to more rail doors.



We're at Pinhook, one of Lafayette's historical main drags.



The tracks cross Pinhook and run down the side of what
was Chastant Feedstore. When we got married we lived
in an duplex owned by a Chastant. When we brought
our first child home, that bastard told us to move in one
week. I never did business with Chastant Feed knowing
that they were a relative. Not having any farm animals
made it easy.



This was becoming another trip down memory lane.



Where the old stinky rendering plant was, is now a tannery.
Some places never lose their magic.



Now, we are at Spring Street. What else could I say?



We are on the slope to the Vermillion Bayou off General
Mouton. Did you know that the Zombies played at a dive
along here somewhere. The local blues rock heroes, The
Lemon Blue, played when they took a break. The LB's
crushed the Zombies. But the Z's came back and got it on.
Or maybe..........the music just sounded better after the "break".
We're talking late 1960's, ladies and gentlemen. Maybe
early 70's, my mind has wings.

How many time have I thought this:

"It's too late to say you're sorry, how would I know
why should I care?" It's from this little ditty.

"She's Not There", by the Zombies.

Well, no one told me about her
The way she lied
Well, no one told me about her
How many people cried

But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care?
Please don't bother trying to find her
She's not there

Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she looked
The way she acts and the color of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright
But she's not there

Well, no one told me about her
What could I do?
Well, no one told me about her
Though they all knew

But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care?
Please don't bother trying to find her
She's not there

Well, let me tell you about the way she looked
The way she acts and the color of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright
But she's not there

SOLO

But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care?
Please don't bother trying to find her
She's not there

Well, let me tell you about the way she looked
The way she acts and the color of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright
But she's not there

If you're ever heard Santana do it, you know something
about their genius.

I said this was a ride down memory lane. The hits just
keep on coming. I found myself in a parking lot. This, too,
has happened before.



Heading on down to the bayou.



I came upon a 1955 Oldsmobile. My father had one. It was red
and white. This may be a 98 since it has the trunk chrome.
Yes, they were air conditioned and had window washers.
My father was very proud.



Here's University where it shouldn't be. Lafayette's
roadway designers continue to screw up an already screwed
up design. Roads should run straight. Curving roads are
confusing. Circular roads only lead to themselves.



I'm going to let the excitement grow as you anticipate crossing
the Vermillion Bayou on its infamous high bridge.



Wham Bam, I bet that woke you up. The bridge is awing
I do believe the powers that be had proclaimed it the end
of what could have been a course for any large sea going
vessel. I may be wrong.



The General Mouton (look this guy up, he was a dude)
Street bridge was a one lane affair until 1982 when
Lafayette got electricity.

I rode up the one with the dash. It is really Hugh Wallace
Road. My industrial arts teach was Hugh Wallace. No kidding.
Mike, you remember Chrome Dome?
You asked for more memories, sure about that?



The underpass was the only way to the airport from here.



Below was the best radiator repair shop in Lafayette. It
was owned by a huge man who rode a Honda 6 cyl 1000.
He dwarfed it.



We're at Kaliste Saloom and Hugh Wallace. I also knew
Judge Kaliste Saloom. He ran the traffic court in Lafayette.



The airport is on the left.
We're headed south to Broussard.



Don't believe it.



Hey, you are getting to see what Amtrakers had to pay
for, so stop squirming.



These pictures are so you can follow along. Follow this
road south and you'll be in Delcambre, or close?



A little yard appears. Louisiana and Delta Railroad runs
these rails along with UP and BSNF so you gotta be careful.



Not much notice for a catrillion pound train?



These are important pictures for some reason which escapes
me. If you see something important, let me know. It appears
I only stepped forward a few feet? I should have stopped and
been done with it.



Moving on:



This was the historical highlight of the ride. I have always
wanted to be in Elks. Elks, and here I'm going out on a limb,
was where the old Franklin and Abbeville RR connected
with the MLT (Morgan's Louisiana & Texas). This branch
went into Youngsville following the Youngsville highway
and connected with the F&A to go to Milton. I may be wrong.
If I am and you know you are right, let me know different.



ELKS? Were there elk here? Or, Elks, members of the Elks?



There's the old switch.



Here's looking at the Elks switch toward Broussard.
L&D services a company back there.
It's right at the Halliburton property.



I had to follow the rails around.
Here's looking back toward the switch.
My palms were sweaty with excitement
or was it the heat?



Here's looking to the little yard.
These shots are seen nowhere else
on the web and are copyrighted, Virgil.
Just kidding.



So, I went looking. The RR does not cross Pinhook Rd.
Can you imagine stopping traffic on Pinhook. Actually,
most of the time it's stopped already.



Whoa, there was more.



Nope, I was at the yard, previously seen.
Few local people are aware that this facility
even exists. We go about our lives encapsulated.



Unbelievable.
Of course, I didn't either, but I suspected it.



Sampson is the name of the company. I don't know what
they do? Good for them, hope they keep doing it.
How's that for blind faith?



I continued down the line. Ah, I missed that sign.



This is a worthless shot, you can have it.
I've decoded the tracking mechanism.



This picture is good for one thing, showing how much time
can be spent at meticulousnessity.



I can't comment on these anymore.



Just when I was getting ready to pass out with boredom,
Southern Steel & Supply saved the day.



It had a siding.



And we are almost in Broussard where I'll cut this one
off and save the triumphant entrance into New Iberia for
the next page.



I have no idea what KOL stands for. I spent an hour trying.
KVOL is a radio station. Maybe the DOT back in Lafayette
didn't have a V?



Had I backed up? Zoomy cameras can mess up a story.



OK, I think Morgan Street is named after the Morgan
in "Morgan's Louisiana and Texas RR". It did not
parallel the railroad, but crossed it. Of course, we are in
Broussard, now.



Broussard has some beautiful old architecture. I think
Broussard was somewhat of a planter's commune. It was
an art center as well. I think my aunt, the once Poet Laureate
of the state did time here.



I have never figured out where the depot was in Broussard.
I felt I had arrived, parked, and re watered. There was
a light down the rails.



I'm a train magnet.













With the train gone, the street sign caught my attention.
"Eola" is where the SP and T&P cross just south of Bunkie.
There might be more to the name than I suspected.



I'd head south toward New Iberia.







I'll cut the page here. Lots more to come.



If ever there was a misnomer. Someone might be seeing a lake.
I wasn't. Get out your maps.

We are south of Broussard heading to Cade. Of interest,
that's old US 90 to t he left. It is now called La.182, the
catch all number for discarded US highway routes.



Yield signs are placed on the railroad crossing signs for the
terminally stupid by the terminally wasteful and stupid.
What happened to "Stop Look and Listen"? People are too dumb to
do that. Yield? There's way too much decision making involved
with that plan. A simple "Stop sign with a train with a skull
and cross bones on it would be best. After that, give up and
let the trains clean the gene pool.



I know, the Cade depot area has gotten a lot of air lately.
Still, I think it is so cool that the railroad put their work
shack there and it resembles an old depot. Well, to a
degree. Depends on how much imagination you have
and how much you are willing to use it.



The depot siding is to the right.



There you go, it's right behind the "S".
Is "S" for siding? The rails to the right are a siding going
all the way to New Iberia.(Later disproved)



Look this fella up.



We are clicking along.



La.88 marks the location of Burke, Louisiana. You know
James Lee Burke, author of the Lt.Dave Robicheaux,
Iberia Parish Sheriff's Dept, books?

He claims in one of his writes that the Burkes were from
Texas and that they had escaped the Mexicans with another
family from Goliad and the slaughter there. They had made
their way to Spanish Lake and settled, thus the name Burke.
Whether true or not, it's a great story. Spanish Lake is
nearby.



Well I was wrong about the side track to NI. I can live with
failure.



That's Airport Road.



Are you getting the idea that this is pretty country?
It is.
Bayou Teche is to the left. Its route is a garden. We have
left La.182. We are now on Williams St. It will take us into
inner New Iberia.



There are signs of many abandoned sidings and intersections
along here.






Here, the New Iberia yard begins.



It's a long one.



This is where the Missouri Pacific crossed to go to the Jefferson
Island salt mine, the one that was penetrated by the drilling rig
and filled with lake water effectively ending this branch. The
cement is what is left of West Tower or North Tower, the control
building for the yard.



Getting into downtown.



That's the old depot on the left. It is occupied by the
Louisiana and Delta RR. Those orange engines are theirs.
They are sitting on a siding that leads to the old Avery Is.
branch and to the Iberia and Vermilion Junction which
routed trains along La.14 to Gueydan where they turned
north and made their way to Midland and then to Eunice.



The next pictures are for the railheads in the audience.









BTW, the L&D names their tugs. 1504 is "Patoutville".







What was a UP Roadrunner doing here? ` Was it sick?
I've been very concerned about sick diesels lately?





The rails close up after the depot and the junction to
Avery Island and points west and north.



I took a break and went by the cemetery. Lt. Robicheaux's
office looks out over it from the parish courthouse.







I really find this cool. The rails run right down the boulevard.
I'd love to catch the Sunset Limited on this stretch. I have
caught freights. That was interesting. Someone had to exit the
engine and turn the switch. I guess L&D had left it open to
Avery. The parish courthouse is to the right.



More of the cemetery.



This is looking north back at the depot.



I turned around and was heading back. Morgan City was
out of reach for this afternoon. The following are shots
going back up the line.



This is the street side of the depot. Notice the large radio tower.



Back up the yard I saw a Western Pacific boxcar. I had
just read something about the Western Pacific which
I can't quote right now.



Another interesting car was this one.