Yesterday, I found the missing link in my history hunt for the old railroads that ran up and down the Teche Valley of South Louisiana. I sat there on my motorcycle as a farmer, sitting on his backhoe, slowly gave up what he knew about the old Southern Pacific branch that ran from Cade to St.Martinville.
I had seen him crossing Lady of the Lake Road. I heed and hawed about approaching him. I'd approached a number of people and was, frankly, getting tired of the "stare".
Nevertheless, I'd give it one more try. I rode the bike up his driveway, killing the motor while still moving. I find that a good entrance overture. I asked him, hesitantly, "Do you know anything about an old railroad that ran from Cade to St.Martinville". I again, was either over zealous or figured that he was a dead end and why bother with all the formal introductions. That was a mistake and I probably paid for my lack of manners.
He replied, "It didn't go to Cade".
Silence.
You know the reaction that you have when you've finally found something you've lost for a while? Yea, that one. I responded, "I figured that", trying to contain myself, knowing I'd hit pay dirt. I continued, "So, it met the main line south of Cade"?
He nodded. More silence. He was trying to figure me out. Forgetting to state my business had created suspicion. This was not going well and I couldn't figure out why. I've been told that I have a charismatic personality, was it not working? I asked him where the rails had run.
He said, "There", pointing to the road I had just left.
"So, the road was the railroad"?
"That's right".
Silence.
"Do you know how it went into St.Martinville"?
"No, but they found a bunch of pilings down there".
"Oh".
I hadn't picked up on the importance of the pilings and I think he sensed it.
He finally got around to asking me, "May I ask why your are interested in all this".
I made some self demeaning comment about my mental health as a hunter of old rail routes and that this stretch was the last in my hunt for the Cade to Port Barre branch. He seemed to find some humor in that. For some reason his containment gates opened a bit. He went on to tell me that this, waving his hand toward the south, use to be all water. He emphasized that there was water everywhere "down there". He further told me that his mother, when she was trying to get her property deed straight, had to get the former railroad property reverted to her name. His concerns might have been linked to that, who knows.
I replied, "So Spanish Lake reached up this far"?
He smiled, I guess in the realization that I was familiar with the neighborhood and was probably local or near local since I knew the lake's name. I now realize I never did identify myself. He continued talking more about the pilings, I guess in hopes that I'd catch on. He said, "They found them while they were building the road. The pilings started where the road goes down (in elevation) toward St.Martinville".
A light went on. "Oh, there was a trestle across the shallows of Spanish Lake".
He nodded, giving me that "you finally got it" look, smiling like a teacher that had reached a resistant student.
I beamed, thanking him profusely for his time and effort. We parted cheerfully, each with a sense of accomplishment.
So, you think this history hunting thing is easy, do you? Show up at someone's house and start asking off the wall questions.
Now, for more than you've ever want to know about the Cade to St.Martinville Branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It must have been an awing ride. Cade sits atop the Coteau Ridge which is basically the west boundary of the Mississippi's historical meanderings. The Coteau is a dizzying 15 to 20 foot escarpment or bluff at Cade. The train would have to get up and down that treacherous ridge. Figuring how that was done has occupied a lot of time and thought. Further, I have seen that question repeated in our local newspaper. Being aware of that interest, I can only surmise that this article might be an epiphany for the community at large, not just those intently interested in ancient railroad history, numbering six.
Featured on the map above (Click it to enlarge) is a red line. That is what I guess, with some credence, is the route the train took. It had to travel south from Cade to the branch switch which turned it down what is now Lady of the Lake Road. You can see "33" written on the route. That is the approximate elevation of the Coteau Ridge. From that point the train had to descend to about 16 feet at Delacroix, not only getting down, but crossing over the shallows of Spanish Lake and Bayou Tortue. The trestle had to be built as a very gentle decline, coming from the west. That part of the ride must have been quite scenic, the train being suspended above the water with the escarpment to the west and north and the swamp, bayou, and eventual farm lands to the east.
RIP BELOW THIS LINE
PAGE 2
Now that the fluff of the introduction page is history, it's time to get down to the nuts and bolts of this history hunt. I left rubber on this road and now it's your turn to look at what I found.
I just took a closer look at Google Earth. It seems that there was another possibility concerning the actual route to the main line toward La.182. I don't think Lady of the Lake Road, in red, on it's last stretch west after the chicane, was the route. I believe B.Beyt Road was the route, marked in green.
This makes a lot more sense.
Past the houses you can see the tilt of the land.
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After the chicane I came to a side road that went down the edge of the escarpment that faced to the south and Spanish Lake. The rise is easily seen here. Possibly there has been a slide along a fault.
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Next is on top, where you see the power lines is where the rails were, you can bet on that. This was past the chicane where Lady of the Lake was the rails.
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These two old places were before the drop off into what was the old Mississippi River.
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This is one my favorite old places. It sits on the edge. The barn and small building were near the rails.
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I went down the bluff into the bottom land, and stopped where Delcroix was, seen in the top right corner.
Here's looking up the "hill".
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The farm highlands are cut off from the Coteau Ridge by Bayou Tortue.
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The following pictures were taken from Granger Road looking back west toward the escapement and the farm. This field below was traversed by the rails to go on into St.Martinville.
The gas pipeline is a good candidate for the possible route. It lines up perfectly.
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And here's how it went on into town hooking up with Railroad Street. The green line shows the amendments which I've added because of elevation lines and looking closer at Railroad Street, the southern entrance for the Railroad. Click map to enlarge.
Of course the epiphany of this evening means a visit to the green line is in order for tomorrow. That's it for tonight. Click Here for Page Three
Due to timing, weather conditions, and an opportunity to escape responsibility, I've decided to carry on with the ride up the Teche Valley on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Next will be a series of GE maps that review the ride from Cade into St.Martinville. I'm using this format with the sense that you believe, as I do, that you can't have too many maps, and you can't look at the same map too often. Plus they are great filler when you have nothing to say. There will be some real live pictures at the bottom of the page. You know how to scroll if you are not a "Mappie".
Here, we see B.Beyt Road, which I feel sure is the actual rail route, leaving the main line south of Cade, the true origin of this branch to St.Martinville. BTW, a reader described a link with B.Beyt Road which I found hilarious. Be careful out there, it is a small world and what you did 20 years ago can come back to bite you.
Next, we see B.Beyt intersecting with Lady of the Lake as the rails head east. Where the crook straightens is the approximate location of the beginning of the trestle that gently lowered the train over the shallows of Spanish Lake and Bayou Tortue until a point close to where you see "L" above in, "U of L Farm".
After leaving Delacroix, I believe the train continued to follow where L of the L is today, continuing along the gentle northerly bend and then leaving the road cutting across the corner of the field. This is pure speculation. It could have been anywhere between Delecroix and the Smede Hwy, La. 92. The next two pictures show the range I feel is correct.
I bent this one down a bit because of what I saw as a curve between "1" and "2". But, I see a stream which would have been avoided with the route above. Remember, we are talking about a 1920's route. The landscape could have easily changed.
WRONG ABOVE THIS LINE