HISTORY HUNTS WAREHOUSE: 2009 RR&G RR w/Al

This is 2013 updated rewrite. Most of it is original.

What needs to be done?

After resolving my dilemma over the planned LaFouche ride {see them in the ride menu}, I sat there in a quandary reflecting on the needs of the exploding, in number, general motorcycling public. {I once cared} Bikes were bought, brought home, hours were spent polishing to impress, then what? The avoided question of "where to ride it" was waiting at the end of the driveway. After several crashes, the "Ride to the Bar" choice was chucked by most. After projectile vomiting within a full coverage helmet, the "Ride to Eat, Eat to Ride", idea was also chucked. Pardon my choice of words. With bars and unlicensed / monitored eateries off the list, where else could there be to go?

May I suggest an "Old Railroad Beds in the Forest" tour. I'm not going to tell you to spend hours looking for humps and bumps like Al and I did. I want you to simply ride their routes following my maps while enjoying our beautiful Louisiana countryside. I think this will satisfy your need to get somewhere over and over. Each new chance to see the old bed will keep you riding along. I'm not saying this course will prevent spills or puking, but it's a better bet than your previous choices.

Back to the tour preparations. Al was available to assist, so I first went by his new place. He emerged with helmet installed. He seemed groggy and stumbled. I asked if he was OK and he replied that he was, but hadn't slept well the previous night. I noticed his beard and hair were a bit longer.

I feared Al was becoming less focused.

Our first stop was Big Cut located at historical Camp Claiborne, once a US Army installation.

Simply, Big Cut is where the Army's Claiborne and Polk Militaray Railroad crossed the route of the Red River and Gulf RR. It was headed west Camp Polk {later Fort Polk} in Leesville, the RR&G was headed west You will have no problem getting to it on your motorcycle. We didn't.

Yes, a Moto Guzzi and a Suzuki DL 650 had no problem.

Here are the directions.

Get on Boy Scout Road. It lies just north of where Spring Creek is crossed by US 165 between McNary and Forest Hill.(La) It is the white line with the black dots. Take Boy Scout to Forest Road 259. Ride it east until it makes a hard right. Let it go, you keep straight until you see 2 big bumps in the two rut road. Don't go over the second bump without your parachute deployed.

The purple line on the map is the Red River & Gulf Railroad bed as it leaves LongLeaf Junction, a historical place. It proceeds west to where you see "CROSS" written, that's Big Cut. The brown line is the old bed of the C&PMRR, the Claiborne and Polk Military Railroad, as it heads for Fort Polk. You ride it to the location of Big Cut. Forest Road 259 to the Big Cut extension is an exciting ride as the bed fill stands high above the low forest. If you have not ridden Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, this is good practice.

When you are done with Big Cut, tear yourself away and retrace to Boy Scout Road. The C&PMRR continues across the road. Go north on BS to Otis Melder. Go west on it. You are back on or near the RR&G bed. Next is Tattoo Road. If it is not the RR bed, then play like it is. You won't even have to flip on your imagination. Sorry, you'll have to because Tattoo is not the RR&G. But, it could be if you want it enough. To prevent frustration breakdown, a good tool is the ability to speculate. I speculate a lot. Al is a more structure oriented person and he tries to keep me factual.

This tour will be based on a combination of our strengths.

Below, I've taken one of Everett Lueck's maps and augmented it with the modern road names, a missing part in actually understanding where the railroad went. The road names are in red. Important roads, so far, on this tour are Boy Scout, (O)Otis Melder, Tattoo and Potato Farm Rds. The yellow line is our track. I should have gone down Melder Rd. to check that crossing. Next time I will. Remember this was a rough beginning. Al kept falling asleep, much like you are probably doing right now. .

Potato Farm goes right up the railroad route. Potato Farm runs into Booster Wright Road. At the cross roads of Elmer and Booster Wright was the settlement of Emerline. There was probably some sort of lumbering installation there as the RR&G serviced lumbering installations, being a mill owned railroad.

From time to time I'll drop little hints like that, so read carefully.

When you get to Potato Farm Rd., it will look like this. To the right, where the power line is, is what appears to be a railroad bed. Remember, speculate, then imagine.

Emerline will look like this:

I forgot to take a shot of Lisso on La.112, another lost opportunity.

Look, I know this is all hard to absorb at one time. Take your time. It's taken me over a year to figure it out. I finally have learned to marry the maps with my GPS software. It took a strange, missing ingredient, work. This next one features Potato Farm, Booster Wright and Boyd Road. That gets us to La.112. The railroad went straight, we had to veer off on 488 and then ll99 on up to La.121 and 465 to follow it. When we rejoined it. That was a memorable moment with High Fi's and Low Fi's all around.

More later, I'm worked out.

Until I do more work, CLICK HERE to read a little something on Big Cut and the Army railroad.

Update, at this rewrite I have no idea if the links work. I cannot try them while posting and I'll

be damn if I'm reading this thing again.

Or if you want to really get into it CLICK HERE.

This ride report will be a somewhat irreverent and unofficial survey of the route as far as Hutton goes. I'll have to camp out somewhere to continue from that point. As it was, this first foray was 300 miles in length. Al was "loosing concentration" at about mile 260. After you see what he did, you'll understand why.

Continuing the tour, we rode 1199 up to Owen Miller, a quiet neighborhood road short cut over to La.121. We arrived at the approximate location of Lewiston, a speculated depot location. I can't find my RR&G schedule, if I had one. On the map, the yellow line is the railroad and the white line is our attempt to follow it. As you can see, we got pretty far OFF trying to get back to 465. We went south on 121 for a short distance, then turned west on La.465. At Ian Johnston we turned north and crossed the railroad, then turned east on Powell and crossed it again. I don't think we realized we were crossing on either occasion. I did feel a tingle in my leg twice, to borrow a term from dear Comrade Cris Mathews.

I have two map sources I can use in showing you the way . One is by using my GPS program's on again, off again, rough rail route coverage. The second is using Everett's old maps that don't have the roads and modern highway names marked very well. His has the rails right, mine has the roads right. That is why you are getting both versions each augmented with the other. I'll stay with the yellow line as the rails, and white line as our trail. When this is all done, you'll be able to visit each exact spot.

At that point I mentioned listing coordinants. What? More work? It never happened.

Then I promised to leave some candy in a hollow tree? Al did that once.

I've never figured out the significance of the flashing earrings he also left.

I didn't have a dress they'd go with .

Above is Everett's old map. Yellow marks the highways. I failed to mark the Johnston Road exit and the side trip down Powell Road where the tingles occurred.

The brown tracks continue to be the RR&G. Enough maps. Here are a few pictures.

The following is a speculative picture since I did not mark its location. Let it work for you. If it does not work as a Right of Way picture, enjoy it as a view of the topography.

An ability to positively adapt is essential out here in the field.

Al wanted to claim it. I convinced him that he didn't want to fool with a pipeline.

We rejoined La.465. Before Sieper, Al saw it. The bed is close to the highway and there was no fence barring a chance to stand on it. This is a monumental place. It is marked "Bed 465" on the top map.

It is complete with a telegraph line an poles.

It is a magical place.

The old telegraph poles were still there.

And the lines were in good shape. I could hear the telegrapher tapping away.

Al noted that the bed fill had to come from the surrounding land. A borrow pit lay next to the bed.

His phenominal insights are priceless.

Although he was afraid to venture into the undergrowth, Alphonso de LaSalle officially claimed for France all of the Red River and Gulf right of way as far as it would travel in all directions through his proxy, me. I had to carry the damn Fleur de Lis back out to the "tracks", hold it while he performed the ceremony that I had to repeat word for word. I wish he'd been in his Lt.Robicheaux era and had one of his invisible deputies do the honor.

Here he is yelling his head off that I didn't say one of the words.

This may be a scary scene for some.

In reality I was relieved to see that Al was back in form and had awakened.

We would next search for Hood Camp.

I could close my eyes and see this.

The picture above is from the SFH Museum in Long Leaf, La.

{McNary / Glenmora}

Up 465, this road would have taken us to Hood.

The gates really irritate me. I know, "private property".

But, a hinderance to valuable historical exploration, also.

Above Sieper, we took RV Rhames to Stille and Clifton Crossing to La.28. I never realized I was in Stille. No tingle. This in Indian Country. The Clifton Choctaw Community is above La.28. We could have taken Reginal Perry Road out of Sieper and followed along the bed, but I forgot. It's a dead end, anyway. Here's the map. Pictures only, I'm rapped out. The RR&G crossed the Cypress Bayou water shed. There must have been a number of long trestles. I think Al found one, possibly in the picture with marked stubs, below.

Trestle supports in water.

You still there Al?

He would slow down and linger.

I know I was going 15 miles per hour, way to fast.

Forgive me, Al.

We emerged out onto La.28, the busy Alexandria to Leesville thoroughfare. There I stopped and surveyed a very probable location of the RR&G crossing, marked "Mystery Road" on the map. I'm including this because I don't want you making the same mistake. And, besides, now it belongs to France.

This flat topped route took off to the north just as the RR&G did. Ahead was a drop off.

Al motioned me to the precipice and we speculated on a long trestle carrying the trains north. Then he went down and inspected the cement abutment. I failed to notice that there was no sign of posts at the time.

I knew Al was having his doubts, but nevertheless, King Louis owned a bit more property.

I zoomed the GPS down and saw the alignment move a little west. We rode the 200 feet difference up the highway. There it was, plain as day. Of course it had the usual welcoming sign.

Directly across the road was the corresponding opening.

Al bolted across the highway to investigate, or something.

He drinks a lot of coffee. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Help me.

About that time a State Police car pulled up. My bike was off of the shoulder, so I knew, for once, I was legal. I worried that a report had been sent in about our country being invaded by France. He stuck his head out of the window and asked if everything was OK. I thumbed through my folder of category files finding "responce to La.State Police" and responded with a suggested "Yes, thank you sir," while trying not to look at Al and his flag across the road.

Next, we really do moved up the road to Hood Camp. I know I said that on the last page.

TV news uses that hook to keep you watching. I'm no better.

The RR&G next crossed a wild area above La.28. A place called Jericho was out there somewhere along the line. I could find no way to it. Hood Camp would be the next stop in the line of lumbering locations. After Hood, Temple Spur would be next and then Comrade. I believe Comrade was an early settlement and just so happened to be the location of a mill. Hutton would be the next stop going west after Comrade.

Maps and dirt roads may be getting boring so I'm going to kick start your imagination a little.

This is what it was all about from the early 1900's to the late 1940's.

Again, the picture is from the museum.

And this one, taken at Hutton, where we are going.

My picture of a picture taken at the museum.

That puts a face on it. Now absorbing more maps and dirt roads will hopefully be a bit easier. The pictures were either supplied by or taken at the Southern Forest Heritage Museum in Long Leaf.

Yes, they have a website.

On with the ride. We went west on 28 and then rejoined 465 going northwest. Reaching Hood Camp was impossible from 465. What were "parish roads" had been eaten by hunting clubs. (mentioned in that picture above. I would not quit trying until we reached the turn off for Comrade. One more chance presented itself, Hood Camp Road off of La.8, east of Simpson. That one sounded right even to the questioning explorere. On the way we passed though Temple. Old stores with Lone Star Feed signs are "Kodak moments", a soon to be lost praise since the Kodak company is belly up.

I bought one of their last cameras, a testament to why they are gone.

Near there was this historical marker. From it I make my thesis that Comrade was not a classic mill town, but had its roots a bit deeper in history.

On seeing the road sign, complete with unbarred road, I became elated.

The GPS said that Hood Camp was 3.4 miles down the gravel road.

Seven miles netted this.

The ride to these remote places is endless. The return rides to the main highway go quickly.

How going and coming can occupy different amounts of time, I have yet to figure out.

Next, we turned off of La.8 onto Comrade Road going west this time. The much anticipated sweep across the arc of the RR&G took to its various mills, etc, was about to begin. The rails would be close, but something was wrong with my GPS. I finally figured out that "No Map" is an option. That corrected, we forged forth. It was getting late. We were 140 miles from home port and headed off into the wilderness. As leader, I would have to weigh time and space once again. This time I based my estimate liberally, relying heavily on the newly activated, Daylight Savings Time . We hustled. Al even folded his flag.

I am not satisfied with our inspection.

There will be a next time on this stretch.

I had to check out the Comrade Cemetery, just north of "town".

The grave of Mrs.Elizabeth Crager, Dec.6,1828--April 9,1905 would signify the history of this area.

I always take pictures of the portrait headstones. They are great. It's like meeting the folks.

Bud and Lula, I know, were nice people.

We hurried on to Hutton. A paved road replaced the gravel, a sign of increased civilization, sometimes. There was civilization at Hutton, but nothing worth shooting, so I shot the GPS which is still one hour off. It was 4pm. The horizontal dashes are the tracks, the triangle is us. I'm sure there was more, but I was panicking. Night riding is very bad. People don't see bikes in the daytime. It's much worse at night.

We lit it up and shortly reached 465. We'd fly back to Simpson, almost. I had to stop at the Welcome Cemetery. The name drew me. I think "Welcome" was a community.

We didn't go in.

On to Simpson we rode. I suspect that there was a large mill there and that this old building is the sole remaining remnant. I have shot it at various points in its demise.

Here's what I believe was the storage pond for the mill.

I may add a few more from the ride home. Hutton was the end of the line for now. The RR&G continued hugging La.465 to Kurthwood. Then La.118 would be the closest through road to follow the rails to Peason. That later.

Update, Maybe that one is an idea for this 2013 Spring.