We've been given a present this Sunday morning.
Virgil, it seems that your visit to Homer has sprouted and flowered. First Marion sent update pictures and now this from Patrick.
Thanks Patrick, your article answers a lot of questions and supports some of my teetering accuracies. (remember what is below is from a 1966 perspective.)
Enjoy:
PS: This was copied from a pdf doc. The transfer to text was not completely successful. I've had to correct some symbols / letters and may not have caught them all, ie, quotation marks came out as "@", etc, so ignore what seems out of place if you come across it.
THE LOUISIANA AND NORTH WEST RAILROAD COMPANY
by
Patrick W. Jacob
November 3, 1966
Of the one hundred and fifty or more separate railroad companies that have been chartered in the state of Louisiana only a few are known by the general public. Some of them have long been abandoned, others have joined together to form larger railroads, and some actually never laid any rails. Approximately eighty years ago the Louisiana and North West Railroad Company (L. & N. W.) began its history in Claiborne and Bienville Parishes. The L. & N. W. was first incorporated on November 28, 1885 as the Louisiana North and South Railroad Company (L. N. & S.). This company was found to have a defective charter and was therefore reincorporated for ninety-nine years as the L. & N. W.1 Since that date of December 3, 1889, the railroad has greatly expanded and then suffered partial abandonment but yet still operates today as a separate company.2
From 1887 to 1890 the L. N. & S. constructed 36.4 miles of first main track between Bienville and Homer. This property was transferred to the L. & N. W. by a deed dated on January 21, 1890. From 1897 to 1898 the L. & N. W. built 35.7 miles of track between Homer and Magnolia, and signed a lease with the St. Louis - Southwestern Railroad for 6.7 miles of track between Magnolia and McNeil. The line was pushed southward from 1900 to 1901 with the addition of 7.5 miles of track between Bienville and Lucky, and from 1901 to 1905 with the addition of 35.7 miles between Lucky and Natchitoches.3 Thus, by 1905 the L. & N. W. consisted of a line between McNeil and Natchitoches with 121.4 miles of first main track.
Connections were made with the railroad "world" at McNeil with the St. Louis - Southwestern Railroad (Cotton Belt), at Gibsland with the Vicksburg Shreveport & Pacific Railroad (Illinois Central), at Bienville with the North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad, at Chestnut with the Louisiana & Arkansas Railroad (Kansas City Southern), at Hagen with the Louisiana Railway and Navigation Company (Kansas City Southern), and at Natchitoches with the Texas and Pacific Railroad (Missouri Pacific).4 Through these connections the L. & N. W. was able to reach almost any town in North America.
Unfortunately the L. & N. W. has suffered two mayor abandonments. The line between Chesnut and Natchitoches was removed in 1921.5 In 1949 the line between Gibsland and Bienville was acquired by the North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad and the track between Bienville and Chesnut was taken up.6 These abandonments left a railroad of 62.6 miles between McNeil and Gibsland.
Of all the physical traces left by the abandoned portion of the railroad, probably the most outstanding was the Red River bridge at Grand Ecore. Stone battlements of nearby Fort Selden were used in building the bridge piers. This bridge was converted and used as a highway bridge until it was recently replaced by a new structure.7 Another definite reminder of the railroad's abandoned trackage can be found in Natchitoches. The Natchitoches City Hall was the L. & N. W. railroad depot. Many portions of the embankment and roadbed are still clearly visible to interested railroaders.
A little satire on the early days of the railroad can be found in a 1904 copy of the Natchitoches Times:
The latest from the La. Anywhere and Nowhere rr. [sic] otherwise known as the Beardsley is that on a recent trip the train stopped for some unexplained reason. After an hour or so the conductor came sneaking through the coaches, glancing furtively at the mad passengers as he slipped along. Stopping in front of one who seemed the coolest he lean [sic] down: "Say", he whispered, "have you got a piece of string? We want to fix the engine." 8.
The L. & N. W. presently operates a total of 76.5 miles of all tracks. Included in this total are 62.6 miles of first main track between McNeil and Gibsland, and 13.9 miles of secondary tracks (yard, spur and siding) located along the main line. 9
This trackage is constructed of rail weighing 60, 75, and 90 pounds per yard. However, the standard rail on the L. & N. W. weighs 75 pounds per yard and is 33 feet in length. Most of the cross ties have dimensions of 6 inches by 8 inches by 8 feet. They are spaced approximately 3,200 per mile. The maximum main line curvature measures 2.8 degrees (i. e., 2,005 feet).10 These factors allow for a comparatively slow maximum safe speed of 30 miles per hour. A slower 10 miles per hour is observed through turnouts (switches) and other dangerous areas.11 Specifications of this sort are common on many small railroads but would be entirely unsatisfactory on any heavy-duty railroad.
The railroad operates five small yards which are located at McNeil, Magnolia, Haynesville, Homer, and Gibsland. A wye (a-track arrangement for reversing the direction of a train) is located at both McNeil and Gibsland. All of the train movements are recorded
at three register stations: McNeil, Homer, and Gibsland.12 The car shops occupy several buildings in Homer while the locomotive shop and fuel station is located in Gibsland. All of the buildings are painted a unique yellow and orange.13
Telegraph operations were replaced in 1949 by a two-way radio system. Locomotives and cabooses are radio-equipped. Radio units are located at McNeil, Magnolia, Emerson, Haynesville, Homer, Athens, and Gibsland.14 This type of system does not require the maintenance of telegraph lines.
On December 31, 1965 the railroad had four diesel electric locomotives. Two were purchased new in 1949 from the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors.15 They are model NW2 switchers of 1,000 horsepower each.16 Two extra locomotives were purchased second-hand from the St. Louis - Southwestern Railroad in 1963. The purchase of those two locomotives was prompted by the extra freight handled during that year. They are presently stored in Homer but have been leased on two occasions as a source of added revenue.17 They are Baldwin-Westinghouse model VO switchers of 1,000 horsepower each and were built between 1942 and 1945.18 At one time during the years preceding the diesel-electric locomotives the railroad had twelve steam locomotives.19
In the years before 1958 the railroad had a comparatively small fleet of freight cars. At the end of 1965 there were 133 freight cars and two service cars on the railroad's roster.20 Under the multilevel per diem rate plan (a system of rental fees used in the interchange of freight cars) these freight cars were placed in the $2.16 and $2.79 pay levels. Many other railroads own freight cars that are placed in higher pay levels. Thus, the L. & N. W. is at a disadvantage when interchanging cars.21
In 1907 the Louisiana Public Service Commission required that the L. & N. W. offer passenger service over its entire line.22 Several passenger trains have been scheduled on the railroad since that time.23 However, all passenger service was discontinued in 1948. By 1949 the railroad owned no passenger equipment.24 However, during the 1920's the L. & N. W. had a fleet of approximately ten passenger cars.25 Among the last passenger equipment to be used was a colorful combination car. The car once operated on the Pagoso Springs branch of the narrow gauge Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.26 A gasoline motor car ("doodlebug") was also used during the last years of passenger service. It came from the "Egyptian Zipper" fleet of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad.27 Thus it can be seen that even though the L. & N. W.'s passenger "story" was unfortunate it was still rather colorful.
Presently two freight trains are operated daily except on Sundays and on Christmas Day. The southward train, number 15, leaves McNeil at 7:15 A.M. and arrives in Gibsland at 11:00 a.m. The northward train, number 16, leaves Gibsland at 1:00 p.m. and arrives in McNeil at 3:48 p.m.28
The railroad has been controlled by company organization except while under lease by J. D. Beardsley from 1895 to 1898 and while under receivership from 1913 to 1922.29 In 1958 the H. E. Salzberg Company acquired ownership of the railroad from the Middle States Petroleum Company. A seven man board of directors presently controls the L. & N. W. through corporate offices in Flushing, New York. In December of each year an annual meeting is held for the seventy-two stockholders. Five company officers direct fifty-three employees through general offices located in Homer.30
The L. & N. W. is listed by the Interstate Commerce Commission as a freight only class II railroad (i. e., has annual revenues of between $1,000,000 and $100,000).31 During the six years from 1960 to 1965 the average number of revenue tons handled per year was 312,692. During the same period the average train load was 248 tons.32
An average of 170 cars of pulpwood per month are delivered to the North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad. In turn the L. & N. W. receives an average of 150 cars of finished paper per month. During 1963 the railroad handled approximately 2,500 cars of sand, gravel, and cement for the construction of a new highway near Gibsland. Several plants in Magnolia produce rubber, joint cement, flooring, and lumber. Petroleum is handled at Kerlin and State Line. A plant in Homer coats finished paper with plastic. These and other sources account for the railroad's recent freight revenue.33
Thus this eighty-one year old railroad has grown from a small line of approximately 35 miles to a line of about 120 miles and then shrunk to a moderate railroad of just over 60 miles in length. This company has operated several freight and passenger trains but operates only two freight trains per day in 1966. Many other similar Louisiana railroads have long been erased from the list of active companies but yet the Louisiana and North West Railroad still maintains an existence today.
1.Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission, Vol. 135, November, 1927 - March, 1928. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1928. pp. 849-880.
2.Ira G. Clark. Then Came The Railroads. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1958. pp. 252-253.
3.Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission. loc. cit.
4.Rand McNally and Company. Commercial Atlas, 97th ed. Rand McNally and Co.: New York, 1966. pp. 198-199.
5.Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Annual Report of the I. C. C., 35th. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1921. p. 19.
6.Ibid., 63rd. 1949. pp. 164-165.
7.J. Guardia. Historic Natchitoches. Natchitoches: Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce, 1936. p. 88.
8.Editorial, Natchitoches Times. Natchitoches, La., August 26, 1904. p. 3.
9.Frank St. Clair (editor). Moody's Transportation Manual, 1966. New York: Messner, 1966. pp. 81-82.
10.Henry Sampson (editor). World Railways, 2nd ed. Chicago: Rand McNally and Co., 1958. p. 137.
11.Louisiana and North West Railroad Company. Time Table No. 49, (1950). p.3.
12.Louisiana and North West Railroad Company. Supplement No. 2 to Time Table No. 49, (1958).
13.Conversation with Mr. Speer, Train Dispatcher, Louisiana and North West Railroad Company. Homer, Louisiana. October 8, 1966.
14.Ibid.
15.Ibid.
16."0ur GM Scrapbook - 4", Trains Magazine. November, 1964. pp. 22-23.
17.Mr. Speer, loc. cit.
18."Like A Blue Streak", Trains Magazine. November, 1962. p. 2.
19.Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Statistics of the Railways in the United States, 39 Annual Report, 1925. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1927. pp. 174-175.
20.Moody's Transportation Manual. loc. cit.
21.Mr. Speer, loc. cit.
22.Louisiana Public Service Commission. Report of Louisiana Public Service Commission, 1925. Baton Rouge: State Printing Office, 1925. p. 260.
23.A. J. Burns, and J. T. Burns (editors). The Official Guide, 69th Year, December, 1936. New York: National Railway Publication Co., 1936. p. 1187
24.Mr. Speer. loc. cit.
25.Statistics of the Railways in the United States. loc. cit.
26.Lucius M. Beebe. Mixed Trains Daily. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1947.
27.Ibid.
28.Louisiana and North West Railroad Company. Supplement No. 2 to Time Table No. 49, (1958).
29.Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission. loc. cit.
30.Moody's Transportation Manual. loc. cit.
31.Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Statistics of the Railways in the United States, 67th Annual Report, 1953. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1956. pp. 510-511.
32.Moody's Transportation Manual. loc. cit.
33.Mr. Speer, loc. cit.