Animal Tracks

As promised, this and future posts will bear the titles of many of my ancient LP's.

 Tonight's title is found on an album by the Animals, an English rhythm and blues group.

It appeared in 1965, the year I graduated from high school.

The back of the album sported this picture.

Eric is holding what looks like a flare gun.

The songs on the album were :

*We Gotta Get Out of This Place

*Take it Easy Baby

*Bring It on Home to Me

*The Story of Bo Diddley

*Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

*I Can't Believe It

*Club A-Go-Go

*Roberta

*Bury My Body

*For Miss Cauher

(*) means that I have used the song title in this ride report.
(amended)

To continue riding I have to have
a game to play or it becomes boring.

The new game is  this:

I will try to use each of the song titles in the ride narrative. I know

it sounds like an impossibly stupid task, nevertheless I'm resorting to to that level.

Here we go:

Edited: 2014

My life is richer now and I've backed off "stupid" and updated this write to "dumb".
The titles have been mercifully removed.
What dumb is left is on a personal level.
Enjoy:
(I hate that "enjoy" crap)

I got to Lafayette and saw that a 3rd rail had been laid

up and and down the line.

I had come to believe that Union Pacific / BNSF /CN wanted to be

the Masters of All That is Rail.

It seems that the Lionel Model Train Company has been lurking in the 

shadows and has made its move while we slept,

thus the 3rd rail.
Obviously the first portion of this write is aimed at fellas who had electric trains 50 years ago,
(a selective audience)
(told you it would be dumb)

The Lioneletts were busy at work.

The track inspector swayed heavily as she took to the rails.

The Sunset Limited was due 10 minutes ago. 

It is a very quiet train and today's rails don't clickety clack.

I was terribly worried.

Seems she was actually a federal inspector.

You suspected "racism" as being my motivation in the pictures above.

Wrong!!! "Federalism" and it's disdain  drove their use.

At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 And the Lioneletts sang,  "dupe tee dupe tee dupe dupe tee dupe tee doo"

 Lights Action

 This was a new photo location. 

 The train was slowing for the depot.

 As the train left, evidently the Conductor had mistakenly left his mike on.

Surely he didn't mean the world to hear,

"We Gotta Get Out of This Place".

(9) 

(a remnant of the last version)

Part 2

Well, that was kinda dumb and I really didn't enjoy it and

I know I still have one song title left.
(that has been mercifully removed)

From Lafayette I went west thinking I'd intercept an east bound freight.

You know form the last ride report about my obsession with interceptions.

What I thought was a train was another Lionel crew.

(this ride report now settles into a chase hunt, thankfully)

 I decided today was the day that I was going to chase the AKDN Cabot

train up to St. Landry and get a shot of it crossing the big trestle, from the trestle location.

I would go by Mark's and see if he wanted to tag along. 

You can't go to Mark's w/o stopping by the AKDN office, first, so as to report to him
the latest in a seldom changing scene.

They are the "Sanford and Son" of the railroad world.

I 

Mark either was not available or bowed out.
After leaving Marks, I went on up to Ville Platte. 

Gateway Western 1500 was tied up, I mean down,  at Union Tank Car.

 It was 3:00. It should have been at Cabot building a train.

I rode on into VP.

 This building has always reminded me of something out of a "space fantasy",
an evil castle, possibly?

 Phillip had written and said he was enjoying the rides.

I told him I especially like the simple pursuits of silliness. 

You know, "Train Chases".

And, I was glad that he did, also.

But, 

I'll have to break in with a little academia here.

 This is the location of the beginning of the historic 

Ville Platte to Eunice Texas & Pacific route.

It was the stretch that the Texas &Pacific RR Company

finished after they bought out the Louisiana East and West.

That stretch  was considered unnecessary in the war year 

of 1942 and was abandoned.  After that, the T&P

needed access to the south and built the branch 

you see curving to the left which still goes to Opelousas, though

rarely used to its full extent by Acadiana..

My theory is that the T&P needed that connection since it had another branch down 

at Opelousas, the Melville to Crowley (old Opelousas Gulf and North Eastern) run. 

 We'll be back here. I found something

Next, since I was 70 miles from home and had

already done 90, I went on out to Cabot to see if  another engine was out there.

 No, but it's a pretty place.

 Back at the T&P split, this is what I found. Can't see it?

 There was a large slab here.

The Eunice rails ran against that building to the left.
I need to know if a  railroad building or rail office was here.

 I went back by Union Tank  to see if  GW1500 had moved. 
No, only the GE  two headed  tug was shuffling cars.

 I decided that I'd try to hook up with some of the country lanes above Opelousas.

Bayou Grand Louis

 Crawfish nets.

 Shade is priceless. So is a GPS.

Back in Opelousas I had to shoot the old 1957 vintage 

bomb shelter. These things sold for 900 bucks

back then. It was the height of the Cold War

and fear was everywhere. I remember doing the

"duck, and cover your head under your school desk 

to protect yourself from the nuclear bomb explosion" drill.

I tried to get dad to buy one of these. I figured it would 

made a good fort if nothing else.

" Time to Bring It on Home to Me"
(another remnant)

I know that makes no sense but I used it in the ride report so it counts.
(actually, it was one that did make sense)

Yes, this one needed watering down.