2008 The Camp Claiborne Adventures

Sunday Afternoon: Company had cleared out and I felt the need for a little ride. It would just be a relaxing meander through lovely Louisiana, no purpose, no plan. Somewhere along the way a place name came to mind, "Big Cut". I can't remember how I knew of this place. I think I was doing some research and happened on it. Then I asked the house railroad authority what the heck it was. He told me. Somewhere out on the Louisiana Plains, I decided I needed to be there. I had done a guess estimate of its location having wandered Camp Claiborne before the free range policy was terminated. I was familiar with what looked like a rail bed and this place was right there, though I'd never been to it, or if I had it had been in a blur of speed and flying mud. What the heck, I thought. It's only 2:00 PM and I'm not that far. I found it, I shot it, I went to its opposite side and shot it, I went down in it, I shot from there, and then I traced a rail bed all the way to US165. I then came home, terminating the ride in a white out rain storm in the dark. Being soaked didn't dampen my enthusiasm. The first thing I did was to write him and tell him that I'd found BC. I really like sharing with people that get as excited or at least portray the same excitement I'm experiencing. Take my word, the number of such people is limited. Obviously, he was excited and almost immediately opened his vault of goodies and started laying them on me. I told him I needed a picture of the bridge and he sent me an article and more and more. Then when I passed that around, Mark, the map man, got into the act and offered up his collection. Seems Camp Claiborne is one of his hobbies.

My dilemma is now how to handle this wealth. My pictures and ride report are both brilliant and captivating. Nevertheless, The story and pictures of the men and machines responsible for the Big Cut Bridge, and so much more, do trump my offerings a little.

You will get the history first. It's around 1941. It is one of those getterdone war stories that should be captured as a movie. These guys were not, for the most part, green inductees. They were railroad men gone to war. Let's get started. Here's "World War II Railroaders by William T.Church. Some pics by John B.Allen. I like to mention the photographers. First this paragraph whose gist I'll credit as soon as I find the source. If you were wondering what the heck I was talking about, maybe this will help.

The Army's 711th Railway Operating Battalion arrived in Louisiana in August of 1941. It's mission was to begin laying tracks connecting Camp Polk to Camp Claiborne some fifty miles away. They trudged through miles of swamps to raise twenty-five bridges, with the help of a clanging steam powered pile driver. The workers designed and built the bridges. After finishing the rail line, the 711th was sent to Iran where their Louisiana experience helped them maintain the Trans-Iranian Railroad which carried vital military materials to Russia throughout World War II.

Now I'll try to explain the necessity of the Big Cut Bridge. Not to get into what I think was a little squabble between the Red River and Gulf and the Army, let's just leave it at "the Army's railroad needed to cross the RR&G line to get to Fort Polk". The Big Cut Bridge was the answer. See the map below.

This is the  Red River and Gulf Railroad's right of way through Big Cut before the C&P.

The Big Cut Bridge Construction:

Ready:

Test:

Yes, Longleaf sent one of its cars to help.
(Don't believe everything you read)

Go:

There were other bridges:

Approaching Spring Creek on the way to Camp Polk.

The caption reads:

Why were there cars being pushed? The line was notorious for derailments. The speed limit was 15 mile per hour at first and I'll bet the cars were "track testers".

The crane would often follow at a distance.

They turned this:

And this:

Into this:

There was quite a celebration:

Dignitaries arriving.

And spike driven near LaCamp:

Here's the map on into Polk.

Now you have an idea of the historical weight of the place a whim had led me.

The NEXT PAGE will be my ride there and beyond. After leaving Big Cut, I made the mistake of following the rail bed of the Claiborne and Polk up the line to the east, then asking about what I suspected.

Page 2

If you just came from the historically leveraged train article, you are no doubt radiating with the glow of pastly empowerment. That is one way of approaching the Big Cut and C&P Railroad story. I initially approached it like this:

I rode up to Glenmora which resides on US165 between McNary and Oakdale, but much closer to McNary and near Longleaf, home of the Southern Forest Historical Museum, featuring a working lumber mill and a bunch of Red River and Gulf engines and stuff that roamed these wood [howz that Everett?]. I knew that I could find Forest Service Road 259 on up Boy Scout somewhere. I turned west off of US 165 onto Boy Scout Road right after crossing Spring Creek on US 165. I'm trying to be clear. You go by the Dunes, which is a four wheeler, dune buggy mecca. I took the next road to the east following a pickup towing a horse trailer. It stopped and I asked if they knew of an old rail bed in the area that went to a place known as Big Cut. Bike riders and horse people don't mix well. There has always been an amount of animosity between the groups. It was the Forest Service's fault for mixing them in the first place. Bike riders go fast and are intent on the immediacy of the terrain. Horse riders feel they have equal rights on the trails, which they do, but don't always realize a blind corner can mean disaster for their animals, themselves, and the bike rider. The solution would be to have separate trails for each since the horse people take umbrage about getting off the trail when THEY CAN HEAR a herd of berserk riders coming. They think that galloping is fast and don't realize these trail bike guys can be doing 60 and if the riders do see them, so what, it's over. That ain't my war anymore but I knew I wasn't dealing with a friendly group when I moseyed up and asked for help. [I think the Forest Service has now rectified this problem, no doubt causing many more]

Bottom line, if you approach a group of horse people out on these back gravel roads looking for info and they look at you like they'd like to whip your butt, it isn't personal. Just turn off your bike a ways before getting to them, be friendly and ask if riding past their animals would be a problem. Your concern usually melts what are normally good people. Oh, the guy I asked said, "the tram is at the second corner, take a hard right and go to the end, and be careful". That was pretty nice as he could have said, "turn right, gun it and go as fast as you can". Soon we'll see why, for horse people, they were all right.

I was going slow and looking from side to side as the grade lifted. I knew I was on the railroad.

The trail was getting dark as I wondered how much further it would be.

I came to a pile of dirt in the trail which usually means "End of Maintenance". I rode over the bump and parked. The rest of the way would be on foot. I gave the bike a parting shot.

What I saw next seemed to fit the description.

I leaned over and there were cement works. They were way to steep to chance.

I walked down a path to the right and the Cut got shallower. I found an eroded area bikes had made and slid down it.

I was now down on the Red River and Gulf Railroad level.

I just shot and shot as I looked around.

Looking up on the opposite north wall.

Back to the south side.

Looking west down the RR&GRR.

The crazies ride here.

Those are not routes down, they are routes up for motorcycles.

Another perspective.

I climbed back up and shot some more down into the Cut.

I'm sitting here loading these pictures and it just hit me so I want it to hit you. I had been in a canyon where steam engines had hauled logs and passengers to and from the mills and mill towns. Above, steam engines belonging to the Army were used to train soldiers in the art of maintaining and building a military railroad. If ever there was a place to stay and wait for ghost trains, this is it. Want to join me? WoooooooWooooooooooooooooo.

I looked around one more time. I love this forest and I cannot absorb enough of these woodsy scenes. It was time to back track. I had not had enough. I needed to find the other side of Big Cut and the Claiborne side of the rails. I had an idea where it might be. My GPS does not have FSR numbers so I guessed.

I was headed west on the Claiborne & Polk Military RR.

Or known to us mortals as FS 259.

I rode up Boy Scout until I got to Melder Road and took it east to spectacular La.112.

I took 112 to where it makes a hard left on to the boulevard of old Camp Claiborne. There I took a hard right onto FSR 200 that goes back into the rear section of old the camp.

I had to ride to where our old campsite was. Such good memories.

I reversed and went back to pick up FSR 264 to get back to the "subdivision" where cement roads of old Claiborne were set up as "blocks". By the way, that cement is still mostly perfect. I'm thinking this was a warehouse area from looking at Mark's maps.

I headed to the back and picked up 259. It looks like a rail bed raised high on an embankment. I have taken my RV down this road. I was more crazy than I am now. This place is one of the cooler places in all of Kisatchie. Yes, Everett, you can drive your school bus back here.

When the road turns left, stop and park. You are 30 feet from the precipice.

Anticipation

One more down the shoot which is set on the side of the timber support "steps".

I headed back up the C&P bed to the bike.

You have to take it easy along here. There are holes. This stretch was used by an oil company at one time which kept the road deep in this green stuff that really worked. Erosion is starting to take its toll.

Back at the subdivision, the tracks curve around alongside the back street and then cure toward the front toward 264.

Here, my bike is looking at the bed headed back up to FSR 264.

Before I got back to 264, the front road of the subdivision, I saw this little building which should have been along the tracks. Had it been a part of the railroad?

Sure it was. Believing is more fun than shunning. Let your imagination go.

This place is unbelievable, speaking of believing. Where else can you follow 2 historical railroads within a few square mile area? I'm sure there are many, but not as pretty as this place. On the next page we visit the sewage disposal plant that serviced Camp Claiborne.

Page 3

At this point I'll explain to those who don't follow along that I was in the middle of taking my readers across Camp Claiborne, La. following the military RR to where it met the main line on US 165 above Forest Hill, La. Before we go any further, I want you to understand that I know that there is a finite number of people that can look at a little bald place in the woods and see multi-ton steam engines driven by soldiers learning how to build and blow up railroads. Not to worry, this report has none of that, well, some.

As this report has evolved, and Lord it has, several people, some of whom have been mentioned numerous times and some that are new, offered and delivered multiple maps, pictures, observations and information. I now realize that I was portraying my interest in excess of reality and beyond the technical possibilities of this this little blog to display, as far as I know.

I have a few revealing pictures from the rest of the ride and Mark has a few. We both agree, as I said before, that they are for the connoisseur and are probably uninteresting to others not committed to knowing all the nooks and crannies of Camp Claiborne.

So here goes. I'll tell it like it happened. I was back in the back of Claiborne [a generic description of where I was]. I followed the bed that had come from Big Cut on to the east and the main line. My GPS was helping put it together and the right of way was easy to see.

If you click on the map it will enlarge and you can see the red line which was the location of the railroad coming from US165, swinging below the camp to where the shops were and then on to Big Cut and points west, all the way to Camp Polk, now, Fort Polk. [all right, now take a breath]

This is my GPS tracks map. The hot pink line is the rail bed, the white one is me. The pointed irregular section in the tracks line was a GPS hiccup caused by who knows what. The cause of this anomaly might be linked to what I saw later.

One of my reporters, Orville Bloominghouse, seems to be quite interested in the sewer plants at Claiborne. Near the railroad, where it goes due north, you see that hiccup. I saw this and thought it had been part of the RR. Not so. It was identified by OB as a sewage lift station. Not just anyone would know that. He said there are many around the camp, all of which he has documented and registered.

At this point, I'm going to insert one of Orville's pictures. The truth is, I already paid him for it and I don't pay for stuff I don't use. This one is called, "Spur to Sewer Plant". Yes, Julia, it is for sale in the Site Store.

I came to FS 264 that took me to present day La.497, which crosses Claiborne in a zigzag route on into Forest Hill. I know it looks like a road patch and that's what it is, over the bed. I think it is just about where you see the first "ROW" on the left of the route map. If not, it doesn't matter.

I looked at the patch and lined myself up exactly with it. I saw this road next to the assumed trajectory and followed.

I could see the bed through the thick undergrowth. I came to a blockade and had to backtrack, going to the last cross street. I then went down a block and continued east. That detour resulted in quite a find. Orville got giddy when I showed him, exclaming, "I knew there was one there, I just knew it!"

Of course, it's what's left of a huge sewer plant.

You can see the large tank to the right that has been broken out. Whew, glad I wasn't there for the breaking out.

I looked closer.

I wondered if I should go in. What the heck.

I continued.

It got dark and I could not make my way any further. The place had a musty odor. I heard noises and decided it was time to leave.

Later, I showed these pictures to Randolf Bloom, our intergalactic specialist here at History Hunts. With a shocked face, he responded, "Have you ever heard of the Alien Incarceration being carried on at Claiborne? The place is riddled with tunnels and secret chambers. I think they took the famous Roswell space craft and crew from Area 51 in 1951 because the media was getting close to unraveling the government's story. They couldn't fly the thing in, it was too large. It had to be shipped by rail. The incarceration took place at a sewer plant, which by the way, has had the stairways cemented up. It was the one by the rail head. I have the pictures to prove it".

He fumbled around in his desk looking for the pictures but couldn't find them while I got back up off the floor. If he does find them, I'll post them. Check back often.

Back to the ride, I retraced my way up the stairs, jumped on the bike and left.

Collecting myself, I realized that I still had a block to go. Along the way I could see the bed as it was well above ground level.

Being parked, I decided to take a look.

I had hoped to get a good right of way shot, but there was just brush. Most mortals can't see past the undergrowth and imagine a railroad like I can. This is what I saw.

Most normal people see this.

Don't let that bother you, you'll get the hang of it.

Now for some extras. The ride, as such, is over. I emerged from the ghost camp of Claiborne into the light of US 165.

Here's one of the engines that rode the rails here on the Claiborne and Polk, No.4. (Thanks Everett)

And this little honey was sold after the war. She can now be seen pulling trains at the Texas State Railroad. I've been in the cab. If ever there was an animated link to our local past, it is this gem.

EL sent that picture.

A history of the engine for all those that like genealogy can be read from This Site.

Ok, so you are stoked up a little with pictures and a whole bunch of text. It's time to set the C&PMRR aside for a while. Soon we'll move on to the latest ride where Dave, aka, Couyan, and I explore the peninsula between Simmesport and the Morganza Spillway Levee. If ever there was fertile soil for historic RR action, this is it. I spoke of camping out and waiting for the ghost train at Big Cut. The chugging and whistle blowing at Big Cut would be small time compared to the noise heard out on the peninsula we are going to next.

Until then, you can revisit my visit to Big Cut. CLICK HERE.

Credits:

During this presentation:

Mark played Orville and Randolf

Everett played himself.

Mark also contributed the 2 step pictures

and the picture of the patch on the road at the sewer plant.

As mentioned earlier, there were several contributors that donated so much of their time and energy to what could have been a serious article on Camp Claiborne, a very serious place. I want to especially thank them and apologize for coming up short in that endeavor.

The remaining pictures were taken as I left on 165 and then on the ride down Turkey Creek road from Glenmora.

Turkey Creek/Glenmora Road

Lake Cocodrie
THE LINK TO THE RIDE REPORT going WEST TRACING THE RR IS HERE