Ride 1/11/2014

The prettiest day of the year started out looking dim. That changed.
It's been a while.  I've been though some adversity which has taught some lessons. One is "take your hole shot when you can".  "Hole shot" is a racing term. It is that instant where you can get around what's been  holding you back. My hole shot got underway about 11:00 AM Saturday morning.

I'll share with you some of the shots I took along the way.
I'll try to restrain from too much text  unless I see a hole shot.
Like magic I was at Cade exactly on time because Ms Sunset wasn't.

 I didn't catch your number, darlin'.
In New Iberia Mz 1707 loves her new scales.
They can't get her off of them.
 The Center St. Crossing and Grocery, New Iberia.
Here the rails change direction.
Others may say that there is a turn at Center St.
 Kon Rico Rice Mill
My wife and her group have just been there.
I was checking to see if they'd broken anything.
 Albania Road, a required private place. 
 The Dark Towers of Sorrel
Located in the Sea of Cane.
 Baldwin.
These cars had FURX written on them.
Looking up FURX, HERE is what I found.
They were "new" looking.
These people are big.
Want train stuff, they rent or sell it.
 Crossing the high bridge near Crowley.
The wind was becoming a factor resulting in  fewer action shots.
 I had heard a train being given a warrant from Baldwin to Raceland.
I spurred the DL650 upwards to the speed limit and caught it
between Crowley and Bayou Sale.
 Crossing the Wax Lake Outlet Bridge


The Naval (as in "Navy) looking ship is gone.
I thought it was a doomed rust bucket ready to salvage.




  I would cross the tracks up ahead and wait.


From the top of the guide levee.
The water is rising.
A new crop of sugarcane is "planted".
 I'd noticed that the train had slowed at Bayou Sale.
I had an idea why and that panned out to be correct.
As I said, I waited.
An itcy trigger finger resulted in a lot of similar pictures.
A few useful ones were taken.
The 90.06  is a mile post depicting the distance from
roughly Avondale, La.
Here she came.


The camera was snapping pretty well.






I knew I'd have to wait  for it to cross my road out so I took it easy getting to the bike.
She was a long one.
 The engineer had blown friendly toots.  That inspired a chase.
Every once in a while I run into a crew that enjoys having a little fun.
I've met a few of them and possibly this was one.
It was 72F in January with a Colorado blue sky.
What more could a  young man want but
a great train chase in perfect weather?
I saw the spires behind the cars and thought the picture
might be interesting.  Oh, well.


What, again? It had stopped.
Winter is wonderful.  The camo is gone.
Mostly.
 I waited at the location of the Texas and New Orleans RR
depot at Paterson. There is a big turn there that offers
an interesting shot location or two.
The dark horizontal line is the railroad. It is
about 90 degrees or more from where the incoming train.

The illusion of "uphill" is not fabricated.
I went to the second Berwick crossing and zoomed a bit west.
That's her literally "down there".
From here.
Then I zoomed a bit more and got this interesting perspective on the altitude rise from the west to the river.
He wasn't burning up the rails coming uphill.
I turned east from the same spot and took a new perspective shot of the bridge.
I know, that seems impossible.

From here. The building on the right had to be rail serviced.
I can see where the access doors have been covered over.
The depot was off to the left.
The access rails to the wharf  exited left, also.
Of course we know why all of this is so elevated.
I wonder where that name came from?
"Southern Pacific" wouldn't fit.
The rails to the wharf can be seen to the right.
The reason the train was hesitating is because the bridge was "running traffic".


Down she came, perfect timing.
Shooting back west I saw the sign next to the tracks.
E. S. S. is "East Siding Switch". Two sets of
tracks come almost to the bridge.
An old house sits where it has seen and heard trains forever.
Waiting, I looked toward the old and new traffic bridges and the old light house.
Tracks once ran here under the bridge and up toward where Buena Vista is now.
Who was this guy?  A moment of panic hit me.
He had a backpack on and was wearing a hood in 70+ degree weather.
I took a close up if  it was to be needed.  NOT shown here.
Here she came a toot tooting running  him over.
From this vantage the trains seem to be models. Sometimes they are mammoth and sometimes miniature. Could it be a distance thing? Maybe, but I think there is more involved.
The lazy birds just kill me.
Look at them between the spans.
Here comes rumbling destruction and what do they do, sit. The nation seems to mimic them. Sitting is easy.
There were still a few lingerers.

Finally.
Do I still see a few sitters?


This I'm adding since dealing with the Morgan City / Berwick files has unearthed the best visit there.
Al and I were exploring the station / wharf ramp.
These pictures are priceless. I'd hesitate taking them now.

 The store, shown before is the locator.
 Up we go.
 Looking down. This has to be the location of the Berwick depot.
The buildings and water tower are across the river.
The slab would still be there. Look in front of the tree.
Via Satellite
You can see the ramp going down on the left. 
Where the rails straighten and the stacks of rails are on a slab is where the depot was.
 Now, what was across the rails to the south on that slab?
What did we hear next?
 Hey, you missed the station!!









 A sad note to bring you all back to earth from all that train elation.
This is what is left at the Garden City Store. The house is gone but being gone
what appears to be a storage house and  the original
mill site office is exposed. Up behind it is a red brick building that has to be
a part of the original cypress mill. It is an interesting place that is about gone.
Wouldn't you love to go through that rubbish pile.
A parish sheriff lives next door. 
Somethings are worth it.  Dealing with a St. Mary Parish off duty cop, isn't.
That's it. The first ride on 1/11 was 1st class and now it's over.