HISTORY HUNTS WAREHOUSE: Southeast Louisiana Rails> Hammond Louisiana

I cut this off the wherever to wherever ride because my

Hammond rail explanation was way too confusing for most.

If you want a little look at Hammond and attempt to understand

my explanation of the Hammond rail exchange area, read on,

but you've been warned.

Enjoy

Back to my ride:

I pulled into Hammond expecting to be in a ghetto along

the tracks. Well, it happens a lot so that's what I expect

and prepare for. Nope. I was in the middle of coed bicycle

riding Southeastern Louisiana University.

To keep my train on track, I took a few church shots. Hammond

had a church neighborhood just like Amite did. Sorry, there were

too many to show all here. If your denomination is not featured,

maybe next time.

I have no idea, but I'll go with "Catholic" on this one.

Below:

The steeple probably gives this one away but I'm not

an authority on steeples. I wonder if the deal on top is

suppose to be that way?

Ok, this must be the Episcopalian, mentioned below.

This one is old, but not that old. The old ones I've seen

in central and south La., as well as Mississippi were consecrated

by General /Bishop Leonidas Polk. He got around.

Then I moved on to a few shots of the old downtown trying

to exclude the railroad . That's hard to do in these old towns

because their centerpiece was commonly the railroad. Many

towns, well most, if they had a railroad, were there because of it.

Case in point:

Just across the tracks from the main drag is the depot.

That side of town was the location of the church area and

the neighborhood.

OK, let's shift gears. It's time to man talk diamonds.

Hammond's rail semi diamond exchange.

This gets thick and cannot be digested by most people that

have contacted me speaking in a very dizzy manner.

Below is off my old Garmin map. It does not show all the rails. I will

attempt to cover most from the evidence I found and maps taken

from above. These are the easy to find POI's on the "diamond",

meaning, "junction configuration" for normal people.

I'll slide down and tell you what the numbers represent.

1 is the feeder from the north/south bound (where I came from) to

the west bound that heads to Baton Rouge. (of course these tracks

work in both directions, like e/w and n/s, dig?)

2 is incoming/outgoing mainline from the north.

3 fed the east/west railroad at one time. Now it feeds the

old rails that go to some industry to the east and stops.

Virgil's going to ID that RR for me, I know.

4 is the feeder south to east or east to south.

5 goes to Baton Rouge or comes from it.

6 is where I took a bunch of shots. I boldly crossed a set of rails on

my bike to avoid taking a picture of the CN RR's dumpster. Hey

you Canucks, your area was an eyesore. The rest of downtown

Hammond was postcard quality. Out of towners?

Here I was at "6" and still clipped the dumpster.

That is what Amtrak visitors see, CN, your mess.

Notice the rails between me and the mainline.

I'll harp on them later.

This was the back of the station (street side). It is a working

Amtrak depot serving the City of New Orleans and one other,

I do believe. Now, more information. I almost printed it twice.

In 1854, the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad (later the Illinois Central Railroad, now Canadian National Railway) came through the area, launching the city's emergence as a commercial and transport center. The point where the railroad met Peter's trail to Springfield was at first known as Hammond's Crossing.

The current Amtrak station in Hammond was built by the Illinois Central Railroad in 1912 and designed by the railroad’s in-house architects. The depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a component of the Hammond Historic district. Built of deep brown-red brick, the station is in the Queen Anne revival style, with a dominant octagonal tower and elaborate molding and archways and boasts the original cove molded ceiling.

The station complex is currently owned by the Hammond Chamber of Commerce. It was renovated for the Chamber’s use by Holly & Smith Architects in 2008. The main station building houses the chamber, the former restaurant houses a Court Clerk, and the former freight house, extensively remodeled, houses the current Amtrak waiting room and ticketing facilities. Holly & Smith received the 2008 AIA New Orleans Award of Merit for Historic Preservation/ Restoration/Rehabilitation for its work on the station.

In 1854 the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad reached Hammond, establishing “Hammond Crossing”, a flag stop a block away from the current depot. The railroad immediately began to bring economic benefits to Hammond, prompting Peter Hammond to sign a contract with the railroad requiring that all trains passing through Hammond call on the station.

This is a 2003 news clip about the restaurant.

From AP Wire:

May 29, 2003 00:01 EDT

Hammond businessman aims to revamp old train depot

DEON ROBERTS

HAMMOND, La. (AP) _ Train tracks have been a fixture here for decades

and a reality for anyone who has walked or driven the city's streets.

Likewise, architectural remnants of the railroad heyday _ from the

middle of the 19th century until about the middle of the 20th century _

still exist downtown.

One of those buildings, an old freight depot, might soon be put back

into commerce and placed on the Historic Register if a local

businessman's vision becomes a reality.

John Wong, a restaurateur who owns Trey Yuen Chinese restaurant and

other buildings in Hammond, is behind a project to covert the old depot

into a seafood restaurant. He also would like the building to be put on

the Historic Register, a move that would grant him a 20 percent tax

credit on the renovation expenses.

Wong's son, his brother and his nephew are also collaborating on the

project. Some ideas include a seafood buffet and sushi and oyster bar.

The restaurant would seat about 450 people, including about 200 in a

banquet room.

Restoring train tracks and placing old rail cars on them is another

concept that is still being developed. The cars could be part of a

railroad museum.

City officials are excited about the building being renovated, because

the part of town in which it exists is not well_traveled by pedestrians

or shoppers. The restaurant could provide an anchor that would draw

people to the area, bringing it to life and possibly attracting other

businesses.

``This is going to be a major anchor,'' said Marco Monoc, executive

director of the Downtown Development District.

The freight depot did not always exist where it is today. Sometime in

the 19th century, a combination passenger and freight depot existed on

the east side of the tracks, near where the parking malls are today,

said Tom Davidson, a local historian and train enthusiast.

Then, in 1911, a passenger depot was built on Railroad Avenue, where

the current Chamber of Commerce is housed. That left the freight depot

alone until 1922, when a work order was made to move it to its current

location.

It cost $9,115 to move the depot and expand it, with the work being

done by the Illinois Central railroad company, Davidson said.

Four years later, on Nov. 29, 1926, the depot caught fire and burned

to the ground. At the time, the damage was estimated at $50,000. In no

time at all, a temporary depot was built next to the ashes and was

standing in December of the same year, he said.

Although he didn't have a documented cause, Davidson believes the

depot caught fire when a passing train threw a cinder, a theory based on

the fact that between 20 to 30 freight trains were passing each day. On

average, eight passenger trains passed each day.

The temporary depot was replaced in 1927 for $15,486. It operated

until 1962, when the railroad consolidated its operations to the depot

on Railroad Avenue. Since then, it has been abandoned. >

Wong bought the property this year. Officials with the Baton

Rouge_based Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation visited the site

in May, asking Wong and his brother about their intentions for the

building.

The National Park Service would have to approve his plans, but the

state division can help Wong prepare the applications and go through the

process, officials said.

Louisiana has about 30 historic depots left. But only 19 Louisiana

depots are listed on the Register, said Donna Fricker, state coordinator

of the National Register.

It takes about six months to get on the Register, during which time a

state review committee goes over the application at a quarterly meeting.

If the building gets a favorable recommendation from the committee and

approval from the state historic preservation officer, the nomination is

forwarded to Washington, D.C., where the Department of the Interior

reviews it.

The Keeper of the National Register in the Department of the Interior

makes the final decision. So far, it looks like Wong's proposal might

make the cut, said Jonathan Fricker of the state division. ``This has a

good case. Old train depots are now quite rare,'' he said.

Wong wants to leave the building as authentic as possible. Some things

will have to change, though, like the bathrooms, which would not comply

with contemporary code.

He wants to put a deck around the approximately 9,000_square_foot

building, also.

Some parts of the ceiling beams will have to be altered because of

fire damage, Wong said.

The building is mostly cypress and hard pine. Wong wants to leave as

much of the original wood as possible.

=================================

The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing

railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

Here's Virgil's thoughts on the above.

The brick building next to the railroad, now used by the Hammond Chamber, and also an Amtrak stop, was the passenger depot. As far as I know, only the City of New Orleans stops there, no other passenger trains come thru. I think CNO stops twice a day; once on the way to NO, and again when it heads back to Chicago.

The building referenced in your article was the freight depot, as I'm sure you noticed (no I didn't)

Small towns usually combined the passenger/freight into one building. Larger towns, or cities, usually had separate facilities. Can't have Aunt Martha flapping around those crates and barrels looking for Cousin It. Obviously at one time Hammond rated separate facilities.

I haven't been that way in awhile but last time I recall passing that way and noticing the freight depot, someone had turned it into a bar or something. No old rail cars next to it that I recall. I think they did paint one side of it to "resemble" a railroad car or train, cutesy graphics. I have mixed feelings about cutesy rebuilds like that. The purist in me would prefer an accurate restoration, with actual railroad cars parked next to it.

I suspect the Wong family gave up on that depot and sold it to someone else, who opened the bar or nightclub or whatever in it.

Get ready, this gets silly, but it's what I do. I follow rails

in hopes of understanding what the designers were trying

to accomplish and then lie about it. Here's the same map

as above. The explanation follows.

1 is the feeder from the north/south bound (where I came from) to

the west bound that heads to Baton Rouge. (of course these tracks

work in both directions, like e/w and n/s, dig?)

2 is incoming/outgoing mainline from the north.

3 fed the east/west railroad at one time. Now it feeds the

old rails that go to some industry to the east and stops.

Virgil's going to ID that RR for me, I know.

4 is the feeder south to east or east to south.

5 goes to Baton Rouge or comes from it.

6 is where I took a bunch of shots.

Now to attempt to relate the maps to what was on the ground.

This is the top of the diamond from the west side.

---------------------------------------------------------

This is looking north. You can see the two sides of the

diamond diverging west and east, west to Baton Rouge,

east to the industry and in the direction of Covington where

I'm sure they connected at one time. I've been out on the

rail bridge at Robert. That was an experience.

The non mainline rails parallel the main line southward.

The harp begins.

I think they were another railroad's (the one from Covington?)

route to the depot. Then it could back up and cross the n/s

line and proceed west. Or, coming from the east, back down

to the depot area? Whatever. That was a century ago.

----------------------------------------------------------

Two speculative lines are below. The first is the dark line

on the right, coming south paralleling the green main line.

Oops, that's the one I harp about.

Forget about it crossing the e/w line. I blew that off. It, as

seen above, joined the e/w line. Well, don't completely write

it off crossing the e/w. It might have.

The second speculative line is the purple line that cuts across

the diamond e/w. If trains, coming from the east or west wanted

to continue on there east/west route, they would have to cross

the diamond or back up onto a feeder to the n/s main line and take a feeder

to cross it, but I'm no pro on driving trains. The yellow lines exist.

The inner one feeds the "yard" and had a small car on it. It may

have been the depot rails for RR "X", the one from Covington.

Keep reading and don't think too much or you'll end up with one too many

rails and call me down on it. You'll see the map in a minute and it will

workout.

The outer one is still plainly there and feeds the industry to the east

from the south. Orange and inner yellow would belong to the RR "X".

That red to the right of the green line did not make it all the way to

the red/green/orange ones, but veered off and met the orange.

Later, a picture will fix you up.

Then there's this one. This is looking into the CN property

which lies inside the outer orange line which is yellow above.

Ok, from here out I'll try to keep my colors straight.

You see my speculative purple line next to the rails? The thin one.

There are the yellow rails (above) below.

We are now going to back away from the CN offices.

Count the buildings, they are in order. When shooting rails,

always keep landmarks in the shot or they are useless, unlike these.

Now you see, I didn't have a transition shot between the

last shot and this one. I lost my cool when I was doing so well.

This may be redundant, but some of us need redundancies, I do.

In the one below you can see the blue line going from south

to northeast to east.

This is the blue line.

Below is the blue line coming from redish "harp" line. Remnants

of the yellow line must meet it above the switch to the redish line.

Notice the rails bordering the cement. Also notice the stop sign in

the distance at the next street crossing.

The rails below are seen above but from the south instead

of my shot(above) which is taken from the north.

The rails below would be going southeast next to that rusted

tin roofed building.

The rails bordering the cement continue to the next stop

sign where they may have ended, but I doubt it. There is

a parking lot there now. See the car by the tracks, in the

distance, above.

Here is where the yellow line meets the green line, the mainline.

I know, I'm tired of this, too, and I've been there and I should be

all excited. It ain't happening.

Looking back north from the switch above. Now it's getting cool.

There is no visual evidence in the shot below of what I have

drawn with the inner yellow line joining the live rails to the right,

but I know it did.

Here's the proof. See the line from the railroad yard (yellow)

joining the north-east feeder that went through the "C" in "Cates".

By the way, Cates was a pretty important cat around here.

Drop the "e" and that will make sense. Seriously, any descent

history of Hammond mentions Cates.

The north-east feeder probably crossed the rails next to

cement, also.

There they all are, then some.

This is the grand climax.

If you can't read south to north, I included, yet again, the

rails to the south of the picture above the picture above.

Just to prove the purple line, there they are in front of the

main line. Again, I have a feeling of deja vu, again. Yes, I already made

that point, sorry.

Here's the south end of the Depot rail district, for lack of a

better name.

So, what about the rails going east toward Baton Rouge?

Here they are coming off the red line from the green north

line. This is looking east toward the station. Remember the

"speculative" purple line, the one that crossed the diamond

going east-west? There would be a switch near the curve

in the distance for these rails to continue straight instead of

bending northward.

This is looking westward through the university neighborhood

headed to Baton Rouge. It is quite a pretty lane.

Virgil remarked:

There used to be a railroad that ran from BR to Covington and on to Slidell. I think the name of that railroad was the Baton Rouge, Hammond and Eastern, will check and verify. I believe I've seen old maps of Hammond that show a real diamond (where two tracks actually cross each other) north of the depot. (That is what I suggested with the purple line) I believe the current alignment, where the westbound trackage swings north to connect to the northbound trackage, was there to allow interchanging between the two railroads. The original diamond, if it was there, is gone. But you knew that.

The old BRH&E trackage only runs as far east as just short of the Hammond airport, serving some industry there, I need to check on exactly what. The tracks between there and Covington were torn up in the '60s if I remember correctly. You've seen the trestle pilings and the old bridge at Robert; that's a remnant of the BRH&E. There's a similar bridge near Covington, hard to see because it's buried in foliage. Another railroad ran from Covington to Slidell, it underwent two different alignments over a century. The rails once ran from Covington to Pearl River, thru Abita Springs. At some point the rails were realigned and went from Abita to Mandeville, and thence to Slidel; the line from Abita to Pearl was abandoned.

GM&O eventually got most of this trackage; it became part of the Illinois Central when GM&O merged with it. As you know, Illinois Central is now Canadian National. Another piece of U.S. industry now owned by foreigners.

The old BRH&E trackage from BR to Hammond was IC, now CN. It's still in use by CN.

Below is a map of the approximate line between Covington and Hammond.

Click it and it gets bigger.