I live south of
Breaux Bridge, La. As a sometimes follower of old railroad right of ways I may have taken for granted
Breaux Bridge's visible link with what I consider a great accomplishment in railroading, the
Atchafalaya Basin route of the Southern Pacific Railroad between Lafayette and Anchorage (Port Allen) La. No, I haven't. I've done everything I can to make its history common knowledge. What I did take for granted was the inevitability of the demise of the historic rail bridge across Bayou
Teche at the
Breaux Bridge sugarcane mill, also gone. The new bridge seems to carry no more traffic than the one lane blacktop covered relic from the
early 1900's. I know, I know, I'm being argumentative. The old
creosote pilings were surely on their last legs and becoming a danger. As a sometimes amateur photographer, I found her, with the old vehicle lift bridge on Bridge St. behind her, a really unique shot.
OK, so it wasn't beautiful by the widely held
standard in which architectural design is seen as art. It wasn't
artsy. It was functional. It sat above the historical limits to shipping on the
Teche, "just" above so it didn't need to do anything except carry trains. I remember it being blocked by cars servicing the
sugar mill. That was after 1975, so it and the mill hung in there for a while. The mill was the end of the tracks then. The rest had been long gone disappearing in increments after the 1927 flood on the
Atchafalayawhich rendered the swing bridge at
Atchafalaya useless. Enough history, if you want more, write me in the guest book. Now it is gone. The lot the crew had used to stash her parts for pickup and disposal was cleaned bare. Any hope of finding a
mementowas slim. I crossed the new
bridge not really realizing I was crossing a
bridge and suddenly saw something that further brought me down. The rails that connected the bridge to the next section on the west side of La. 31 had been ripped up. I saw the piled up rail ballast (limestone) as an elongated grave. Looking westward toward
Breaux Bridge Junction, once the crossing of the
Cade to Port Barre Branch and the
AtchafalayaBranch of the Southern Pacific RR.
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This is looking to the bayou.
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I walked the grave looking for something to remember it by.
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A rail plate, unidentified screw and a spike would do. I'm still cleaning bugs out of my teeth from grinning on the next stretch of my afternoon's journey. This is a map of the BB rail set up. Click it for a better view.
My next stop would be Mark's, up north of
Opelousas. We had done some horse trading and I owed him a 2
gb memory card. I don't like to be in debt so I would use that excuse to ride toward Ville Platte, an always fun ride since it takes me through country that was settled in the 1700's and you never, never see it all. I dropped off my dues and went looking for an old bank he had told me about up in the country behind his house. Adjust your anticipation to small.
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I stopped and talked to the farmer on whose property it lay. He told me he'd been approached by the Federal Reserve and they wanted to buy it. I asked, "Why"? He responded that they needed to downsize since Obama and the Democrats had thrown all of our country's wealth away and there was no need for a large bank and vault any more. They simply needed a bricks and
mortar location to call the Federal Reserve. I asked how much was he getting for it. He said he had arranged a barter deal on what he'd have to give for
ObamaCare insurance. I shook my head as I knew he been taken like so many and there is no way some people will ever "get it". I asked him about his Medicare costs going up. He said that BO claimed no responsibility for that and it was all Bush's fault. The New Federal Reserve Bank is located somewhere near Prairie
Ronde or
Rhonde (both work) La. It's never open, but it's there. Of course that story was fabricated, but possible. The truth, lies, it doesn't matter anymore. Politicians claim to have gone to Vietnam and didn't, no one cares. Character is out the window. What you do for me next is paramount. Leaving the
NFRB, I headed up the gravel road on the no fear DR 650. I crossed the old T&P rails to Ville Platte spying a loose spike. Why not? It went in the box with the rest of the booty. That's about it, except for one more little addition to my gold chest. Wait, maybe Obama will let me keep my collection in the
NFRB? At least there would be some wealth there. No, I
don't' trust him. He'd rip me off, too. Finally, maybe, this is an old store out on La.347 west of
Arnaudville. I've been in it when you got 5 bucks of gas and a 6 pack to go. It is a landmark. The very large dumpster next to it scares the living hell out of me. There will be yet another void in the very
wholly fabric of Southwest La. There is no respect for the past unless it's profitable or supports an ideology. If the likes of Obama stay in power, watch what disappears next, like your freedom. Let the picture below be a symbol of what could happen. The building is red, white and blue. I just noticed and it gives me chills.
.jpg)
OK, so it wasn't beautiful by the widely held standard in which architectural design is seen as art. It wasn't artsy. It was functional. It sat above the historical limits to shipping on the Teche, "just" above so it didn't need to do anything except carry trains. I remember it being blocked by cars servicing the sugar mill. That was after 1975, so it and the mill hung in there for a while. The mill was the end of the tracks then. The rest had been long gone disappearing in increments after the 1927 flood on the Atchafalayawhich rendered the swing bridge at Atchafalaya useless. Enough history, if you want more, write me in the guest book. Now it is gone. The lot the crew had used to stash her parts for pickup and disposal was cleaned bare. Any hope of finding a mementowas slim. I crossed the new bridge not really realizing I was crossing a bridge and suddenly saw something that further brought me down. The rails that connected the bridge to the next section on the west side of La. 31 had been ripped up. I saw the piled up rail ballast (limestone) as an elongated grave. Looking westward toward Breaux Bridge Junction, once the crossing of the Cade to Port Barre Branch and the AtchafalayaBranch of the Southern Pacific RR. .jpg)
This is looking to the bayou. .jpg)
I walked the grave looking for something to remember it by. .jpg)
A rail plate, unidentified screw and a spike would do. I'm still cleaning bugs out of my teeth from grinning on the next stretch of my afternoon's journey. This is a map of the BB rail set up. Click it for a better view. 
My next stop would be Mark's, up north of Opelousas. We had done some horse trading and I owed him a 2 gb memory card. I don't like to be in debt so I would use that excuse to ride toward Ville Platte, an always fun ride since it takes me through country that was settled in the 1700's and you never, never see it all. I dropped off my dues and went looking for an old bank he had told me about up in the country behind his house. Adjust your anticipation to small. .jpg)
I stopped and talked to the farmer on whose property it lay. He told me he'd been approached by the Federal Reserve and they wanted to buy it. I asked, "Why"? He responded that they needed to downsize since Obama and the Democrats had thrown all of our country's wealth away and there was no need for a large bank and vault any more. They simply needed a bricks and mortar location to call the Federal Reserve. I asked how much was he getting for it. He said he had arranged a barter deal on what he'd have to give for ObamaCare insurance. I shook my head as I knew he been taken like so many and there is no way some people will ever "get it". I asked him about his Medicare costs going up. He said that BO claimed no responsibility for that and it was all Bush's fault. The New Federal Reserve Bank is located somewhere near Prairie Ronde or Rhonde (both work) La. It's never open, but it's there. Of course that story was fabricated, but possible. The truth, lies, it doesn't matter anymore. Politicians claim to have gone to Vietnam and didn't, no one cares. Character is out the window. What you do for me next is paramount. Leaving the NFRB, I headed up the gravel road on the no fear DR 650. I crossed the old T&P rails to Ville Platte spying a loose spike. Why not? It went in the box with the rest of the booty. That's about it, except for one more little addition to my gold chest. Wait, maybe Obama will let me keep my collection in the NFRB? At least there would be some wealth there. No, I don't' trust him. He'd rip me off, too. Finally, maybe, this is an old store out on La.347 west of Arnaudville. I've been in it when you got 5 bucks of gas and a 6 pack to go. It is a landmark. The very large dumpster next to it scares the living hell out of me. There will be yet another void in the very wholly fabric of Southwest La. There is no respect for the past unless it's profitable or supports an ideology. If the likes of Obama stay in power, watch what disappears next, like your freedom. Let the picture below be a symbol of what could happen. The building is red, white and blue. I just noticed and it gives me chills. .jpg)