AKDN 701 ... Where Are You?

There are 2 local railroads, the Louisiana and Delta, out of New Iberia, and the Acadiana Railroad, based in Opelousas. L&D's engines, for the most part, are cookie cutter, neat and spiffy in appearance. There are different series of engines, but who'd notice.  Acadiana's, on the other hand, are all different and in different stages of spiff or spifflessness if you judge on that criteria.

I'll try to put it a different way. If  you prefer dog pound puppies over the boutique types, you'd like the Acadiana Railroad. I do.  I worry about their engines as I've grown to know them.  Mark and I have nicknames for them.  When you name something, that's it, you're attached. Don't name a  hog if you want pork chops. Don't name a hog if you don't want to worry about where it is.

Maybe worrying is what happened last night.  My wife said that at about 3:20 I sat up in bed and yelled, "Old Ugly, where are you"?  There was some explaining to do before
I was allowed to go back to sleep

I awoke early and prepared to leave on my quest to find her. No not my wife.
Old Ugly was out there, probably alone.

Here's  her rap sheet.

 701 is a GP30. She  was built by Electro-Motive in February 1963.  Her first ID was Union Pacific 701. She was retired on July 29, 1989 from UP.  She was leased to Mineral Wells & Eastern as 701 in October 1989 and was sold as MW&E 701 in February 1990.  She was sold in March 1992 as AKDN 701
Below is a picture from RRPictures Archives.Net

More from Marshall:

She sure was pretty:

Time has not been kind, but when is it? My shot.

I don't know if this was AKDN's original line up or not.

The only engine I don't know personally is 4128.

Being a CRIP, it may have returned to Los Angeles.
Oh, "crip". You mean it might be "crippled". That's a rough way of putting it.
You know, people have no sensitivities these days.
I apologize for that politically correct statement.
No, I don't. I was  being sincere.
Political correctness has nothing to do with sincerity.
It is a political tool used by panderers.

 I found the cutting I'd done from the original AKDN Page.

Look who's leading the train, "701".

The original Acadiana Railway address was on the old SP rails which connected 

Lafayette with Cheneyville.

Notice the write refers to the rails at Crowley as "Southern  Pacific", not "Union Pacific".

 

I was off.

I checked all three  Missouri Pacific/Iberia Northern ROW humps in Pecaniere.

Hump No.1

ROW No.1

ROW No.1a

Hump No.2

ROW No.2

Hump No.3

Hump No.4 (La.743)

Some of the humps have no ROW pictures because there was no ROW
evidence and a picture of soybean fields would not lend to my investigation.
She would not be in a soybean field, I guess.

But, it would make sense she'd be looking for an old MP route noting
the  history of the tracks to which she was accustomed.

She wasn't home.  (Opelousas AKDN headquarters)

 She wasn't in Eunice, her last known address.

I was wondering what that cement border was at the 

rail interchange.

That is not a windshield. I was on the DR and I take it off when warm. It's been warm.
Have you ever heard the term "Windshield Queen".
If you fit that description, I suggest you manup and toss it.
If you don't like the elements, get back in  your car.
Ya know, wussies ruined sport cars. What is sporting about having a stereo
that drowns out the motor. You are not in that car to sport, you are in it to
wuss around.
And, while I'm possibly creating new categories, here's another one,
WWWQ's
Weekend Warrior Windshield Queens.
You know who you are. Please stay in the bar or on the interstate.
It had to be said, back to telling you about looking for Old Ugly.
Oh, I don't know what that is but it ain't a windshield.

The Eunice to Crowley branch connected Eunice to Crowley.

I'd head down it looking for 701.

The scoop on AKDN's holdings go like this.

"The Eunice line was built by the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad before 1900. The Eunice and Bunkie lines are former Missouri Pacific lines and were sold to the current owner {AKDN} in October 1990. Short line service started October 15, 1990.  Thibodaux Industrial Lead was leased and freight service started September 2000".

The statement about the  Bunkie line being MP would make Mike Wilson roll over in his grave.

It was a Texas and Pacific route. Technically, since MP owned the T&P, it is correct.
The Thibodaux deal would not work out. I went looking for it and it is all but pulled up.
The one mill it did serve it doesn't. Still it was a nice, informative ride.
This is the old interchange, well part of it. I finally figured it out a while back.
It's pretty bizarre, incorporating a small yard and 2 wyes if my memory serves.

 A bridge caught fire severing the route between  Eunice and Crowley.

I consider these rails awaiting the time when they are pulled up.
I'll tell you when to get out the crying towels.

 Exiting south Eunice

 You can't ride La.13 and not take a side trip to Mowata.
I almost didn't.
OH MY GOODNESS!!!

Dear,  you're OK.

 The old rail crane was still there.

Uh oh. Is Mowatta  now a cemetery?

 I don't think so, at least not in Ole Ugly's case. 

A flat car would not be placed toward the burned out bridge (south) with
her between it and the only way out.

 Looking back north, the one way out.

One way out?

That rings a bell:

One Way Out by James Elmore / Marshall Sehorn / Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller)
Play along HERE

Ain't but one way out baby, Lord I just can't go out the door.
Ain't but one way out baby, and Lord I just can't go out the door.
Cause there's a man down there, might be your man I don't know.

Lord you got me trapped woman, up on the second floor;
If I get by this time I won't be trapped no more.
So raise your window baby, and I can ease out soft and slow.
And lord, your neighbors, no they won't be
Talking that stuff that they don't know.

Lord, I'm foolish to be here in the first place,
I know some man gonna walk in and take my place.
Ain't no way in the world, I'm going out that front door
Cause there's a man down there, might be your man I don't know.
Cause there's a man down there, might be your man I don't know.
Cause there's a man down there,

Lord, it just might happen to be your man...
Lord, it just a might be your man,
Mmm-mm-mmm-mm...
Lord, it just a might be your man,
Oh baby, I just don't know..

 Looking south. Notice the switch for the sidetracked crane.

 

I have no idea why 701 is down this dead end. She did handle the  Crowley run

to Louisiana Rice.  When her usefulness went away, possibly it was  easier 

to leave her here instead of bringing her back to Opelousas.

8063 (Mz Tigress) is in Crowley. It had to 

be renamed as SILX 8063 and transported to Kinder, then down to

Iowa Junction, then back east to Crowley to work there. 

I was told by the engineer that "it wasn't cheap" to get her moved.

Bidding the old girl farewell, 

I was southbound. Oops:

Southbound by Dicky Betts

by Dickey Betts (c) 1973 & 1974 No Exit Music Co., Inc.

Well, I'm Southbound ... Lord I'm comin' home to you
Lord, I'm Southbound, baby ... Lord I'm comin' home to you
I got that old lonesome feelin' that's sometimes called the blues

Lord, I been workin' every night ... oh travelin' every day
Lord, I been workin' every night .. whoa traveling every day
Oh, you can tell your other man ... sweet daddy's on the way
Oh, you better believe
Well, I'm Southbound
Lord, I'm Southbound, baby
Oh, you better tell your other man ... sweet daddy's on his way

Got your hands full now, baby ... oh as soon as I hit the door
Got your hands full now, woman ... yeah as soon as I hit that door
Well, I'm gonna make it all up to you ... for all the things you should have had before

Well, I'm goin' Southbound
Oh, Southbound, baby
Ohhhh ... I'm rollin' Southbound
Yeah, baby ... make it all up to you ... ohhhh ... the things you should had before

Play that before your next bike ride and pull off that windshield.

 Going under I-10, just above Crowley, I shot back.
I'll restrain from any more lyrics for the present.

 Then I shot south.

This write's bike shot.

 I found Mz Tigress (8063), Ole Ugly's cousin. She never strays far, she can't.

 I was watching the clock. The Sunset Limited was due in Lafayette around five o'clock.

East of Crowley, an east bounder sat on the sidetrack. I knew why.

 It was probably a grain train, maybe from Crowley.

 I finally got a good look at this sign. 

It is an exact copy of the famous swamp pop bar's sign in St.Martinville.

This Signorelli was a mattress man.

 I had time to burn so I stopped at the yard. Of all things, a CN engine 

was among the 6 engines pulling about as many cars. It sat waiting for the passenger train to come 

by, also. The engineer was just a little troubled by the wait and kept troubling
the lady dispatcher about the whereabouts of the passenger train.
She, in turn had to ask the passenger train where it was.
That all worked for me since I knew that it would eventually arrive.

I roamed Lafayette for an hour. I'd stop and start feeling prone so I'd have to leave.
I didn't want another interview with a cop or play cop.
It would be strike 3 and I might have lashed out.
Often I lash out without really focusing.
I might, at this point apologize to all the Weekend Wussies for those Windshield Queen remarks.

 This is looking into the western sun  and yard. I am very happy with the little camera.
Now if I could just get my foot up to the throttle I could shoot on the run.

 She finally came in. It was almost 6pm, possibly 45 minutes late.

 I went to Gerami's warehouse. It is usually a good place. 

I had the camera set wrong so I just turned this one into a b&w.
The result is that it looks like a negative. What's a negative?

 Yes, the engineer was waving and honking out a tune.

My faith in friendly railroaders was renewed.
Some aren't. Some are jerks.

Amtrak folks are always friendly. I guess they are having a good time.
Maybe the wieners aren't? 

Now that's being friendly.

There they went.

 The engineer waiting back at the yard had asked the AMTK conductor

to let him know when they had cleared the depot. 

He did when he had cleared Lafayette.

 I positioned myself  on Grant Street to the west of the depot.

It would afford a long enough stretch to shoot all of those engines.

 I've just come to understand that the Southern Railway became 

part of the Norfolk Southern when they merged.

The Southern Railway's depot in New Orleans was on Canal Blvd and Basin.
This picture from HERE.

Go to  his site to see the "below photo...".

Check out the New Orleans History Hunt.

Were these cars previous Southern Railway's?
I have received an affirmative on that.
Below is more.

Steve,

Yes, anything marked "SOUTHERN" belonged to the Southern Railway until it disappeared into Norfolk Southern in 1990.  (In 1982, Southern and Norfolk & Western had both become properties of a single holding company called "Norfolk Southern Corporation", which assured us that it was merely a holding company and that "You’ll never see ‘Norfolk Southern’ on a boxcar." Yeah, right!)  The Southern’s assigned reporting marks were SOU, but they didn’t use them.  They preferred to use the whole word SOUTHERN and the number, both writ large all across the side of the car, as in your photo.  The only other modern railway that did that to my knowledge was the Pennsylvania Railway before it disappeared into Penn Central in 1968 (and Conrail in 1976), which put a large PENNSYLVANIA and number all across its rolling stock instead of its reporting marks PRR.  There was some AAR rule that exempted long-existing railways with one-word names from the requirement of painting reporting marks and numbers on the left end of each car side.

 Thanks to OO- for that info.
 As you can see, it was a full afternoon. It was time to go  home.

 Across the Vermilion and into St.Martin Parish. Sometimes late is great.

The End