I was incorrect. OO-L quickly corrected. I had known that the statement was chancy at best and based on a single reading of factual information he had taken the time to painstakingly explain. His ire came swiftly as if a ruler across the knuckles. You don't write your version of history in The Agent's classroom.
I had said that the Avoyelles Sub. which I had heard mentioned on the radio concerning overturned cars had stretched from Addis (Baton Rouge Jct) to Alexandria.
His reply:
The Avoyelles Subdivision never went to Alexandria, but I'll be glad
to assist with any historical questions that you might have.
This write is built on my understanding of his contributions.
I have hesitated in writing this one. An explanation of the history behind the stretch of rails between Addis, south of Baton Rouge, La., and Alexandria, La., far north of Baton Rouge, is complicated. You can tell me stuff until the cows come home, but unless it is visual, I conflate easily. Colors bleed colors and I am left overdosed and prone on a levitating and falling floor strone with the names and locations of all that is railroading
floating about.
floating about.
Writing it out is how I assimilate. That has been forever.
It is the only way to keep my mind from wandering out
the window and imagining the pleasures beyond.
You may want to copy in long hand what is below
if you are prone to window wandering.
It is the only way to keep my mind from wandering out
the window and imagining the pleasures beyond.
You may want to copy in long hand what is below
if you are prone to window wandering.
Why should I give a hoot about the rails between Addis and Alexandria? I'll stop there because I know what your next question is, "Why should I give a hoot about any rails"?
My answer is that I like history, but that is not enough for me. The academics of railroad history are as dry as the Texas sand. Tracking those tracks breathes life into the history. When you are out there you know that the ghosts and ghost trains are all around. I've heard and seen them amongst the colors of .....
I have attempted tracking those KCS rails on several occasions. On both no trains were met except at the small Kansas City Southern yard south of Alexandria. Interestingly, there were a couple of Mexican engines there.
A contributor had commented that traffic on those rails was meager. Optimistically, he did gather the preparatory information for a chase, but arriving at Lobdell Jct. at 7:00 AM would require a level of dedication I have not yet achieved. First, I would have to awake .... and then .... and then ....
A contributor had commented that traffic on those rails was meager. Optimistically, he did gather the preparatory information for a chase, but arriving at Lobdell Jct. at 7:00 AM would require a level of dedication I have not yet achieved. First, I would have to awake .... and then .... and then ....
Oops, my concentration was interrupted by domestic duties. Can I regain focus?
Addis to Alexandria
The easiest way of doing this is to present the facts if I have them right.
In 1903, the Texas & Pacific Railroad's New Orleans Division, in part, operated the rails from Addis, then called Baton Rouge Junction, to Torras Junction.
Lots of maps will follow.
Green to dark green is the route of the New Olerans Division of the T&P RR
north of Addis.
Dark green depicts the abandoned T&P rails from Lettsworth to Torras Junction.
Light green depicts the rails as they are today.
The red line, from the river east, was Edenborn's second LR&N route
across the Torras Peninsula, after the Naples route was abandoned.
The T&P created Torras Junction.
Actually a "junction" takes at least two and I'm not sure who was there first.
That entity would not be the junction maker as he would be alone.
The second to the party would be the one to consummate the junction.
Employees of both companies worked at Torras Jct.
I did a report on a T&P RR employee and his son.
A memento of the son's Torras days was a L&A RR calendar.
.
Lots of maps will follow.
Green to dark green is the route of the New Olerans Division of the T&P RR
north of Addis.
Dark green depicts the abandoned T&P rails from Lettsworth to Torras Junction.
Light green depicts the rails as they are today.
The red line, from the river east, was Edenborn's second LR&N route
across the Torras Peninsula, after the Naples route was abandoned.
The T&P created Torras Junction.
Actually a "junction" takes at least two and I'm not sure who was there first.
That entity would not be the junction maker as he would be alone.
The second to the party would be the one to consummate the junction.
Employees of both companies worked at Torras Jct.
I did a report on a T&P RR employee and his son.
A memento of the son's Torras days was a L&A RR calendar.
.
Since I mentioned the Texas and Pacific's part in this scheme, here is a schedule.
From Here.
1903 Schedule
It was suggested that it might help to show with colors the historic rail lines
1. Lettsworth toward Ferriday,
That is done above.
2. Bunkie-Moreauville
That is done below.
This area is so deep in railroading history that comprehension should be addressed.
00-L mentioned that I should make sure you understood everything.
I fear he might be trusting a knife in a gun fight.
3. The purple line was the T&P's Avoyelles Branch (Moreauville-Bunkie). It is now abandoned.
OO-L: states:
The Moreauville-Bunkie segment and its branch to Marksville undoubtedly
were the origin of the term "Avoyelles Sub".
But ..... OK, let's push on.
The purple line originating on its west end at Bunkie connected with Moreauville.
The rails between Moreauville and Simmesport were owned by the the Texas and Pacific RR.
That is a flaw in the map below. That stretch should be T&P green.
As he states, the Avoyelles Branch had a spur north to Marksville
He continues:
4: LR&N/L&A segments (Moreauville-Naples and Simmesport-Filston).....
The Moreauville to Naples route (Edenborn's first) (brown line) required traversing the Red River, Old River and the Mississippi to reach Angola. That is the brown route.
Simmesport (Legonier) to Filston (Phillipston) (Torras Landing) (Incline) is shown below in red.
You can see that both of Edenborn's attempts sought to achieve an Angola landing though those
landing spots may have been different to coordinate with the routes.
Now that you have an idea of who owned what, lets go on.
00-L continues:
The Lobdell Junction-Lettsworth (originally
Lobdell Junction-Torras) (green) trackage rights were obtained when the Baton Rouge
bridge replaced the Filston-Angola Ferry.
Me: that was approximately 1940.
T&P's original role as landlord has passed down to UP.
Me: that is because Union Pacific has bought up so many old name railroads.
What may not be common knowledge is that the Texas & Pacific RR
was owned by the Missouri Pacific RR.
When they were bought out by UP both entities were absorbed.
Me: that was approximately 1940.
T&P's original role as landlord has passed down to UP.
Me: that is because Union Pacific has bought up so many old name railroads.
What may not be common knowledge is that the Texas & Pacific RR
was owned by the Missouri Pacific RR.
When they were bought out by UP both entities were absorbed.
OO-L:
The current KCS route between Baton Rouge and Alexandria is a hodgepodge, cobbled together by KCS and its predecessors LR&N and L&A from lines that they built and trackage rights over scraps of various T&P lines as follows:
1. From Baton Rouge to Lobdell Junction,
not shown as I'm not clear on this.
I know KCS controls the rails over the Mississippi River Bridge at Baton Rouge.
2. From Lettsworth to Simmesport, shown below as the direct route between
Legionier and Lettsworth.
3. From Moreauville to Alexandria.
These are original to the KCS family.
The Simmesport-Moreauville trackage rights were obtained FROM THE T&P RR to allow the L&A to access the Simmesport bridge and replace LR&N's original Naples-Angola ferry with its Filston-Angola ferry.
Me: That portion is a mix of red and green.
(my previous coloring mistake)
They replaced the Big Bend Route: Moreauville to Naples to Angola. It is seen in brown.
The T&P's Portion
From Lobdell Junction to Lettsworth (green below), and from Simmesport to Moreauville (green/red above) were original to the T&P family.
I am not certain of the current ownership status of the Moreauville-Simmesport segment.
OO-L said that UP could have sold it to KCS at some point, since there would be no obvious reason to keep it.
History by OO-L
Several decades ago, the route between Lobdell Junction and Moreauville was a "joint track operation" by MP and KCS. This means that both ran trains on it, with each exclusively serving customers on its owned segments.
The KCS used the route (as now) as part of its Shreveport-New Orleans main, with MP locals running Alexandria-Addis to serve its on-line customers (using above Moreauville the now-gone Bunkie-Moreauville segment and the Alexandria-Bunkie segment of the old T&P mainline.
During the joint-track times, each railway had exclusive rights to serve customers on its owned segments, with the other having only "overhead" trackage rights--meaning for through traffic only. As local customers dried up, MP scaled back its service and scrapped Bunkie-Moreauville (map above). For a time, it would run a local turn up to New Roads weekly or as-needed, but those eventually became unneeded and haven't run in years.
I'm certain that the Lettsworth-Lobdell Junction segment still belongs officially to UP. Absolutely the only reason that UP didn't sell it to KCS years ago is the prospect that the major coal-fired power plant near New Roads (me: and the new bridge) might someday start receiving coal by rail. (Currently, that coal is railed from Wyoming to St. Louis and barged from there.) If that were to happen, UP would have exclusive rights to serve it, since the plant is on its rails and KCS's trackage rights are overhead. Meanwhile, UP undoubtedly bills KCS for its share by use of all costs, taxes, etc. on the segment--which is 100-percent of it! In reality, UP lets KCS do all maintenance and operation, with even the mileposting being numbered from Kansas City.
He offered up an example of the understanding between Union Pacific and the KCS.
Seems like the one that pays the bills writes the rule book..
Ancillary Information by 00
KCS also has trackage rights on UP between Beaumont and Rosenberg and between Victoria and Robstown in Texas as part of its vital route to Mexico that's growing in traffic by leaps and bounds. Conversely, UP has vital trackage rights on KCS between DeQuincy and Beaumont and on the Baton Rouge and Laredo bridges
1. From Baton Rouge to Lobdell Junction,
not shown as I'm not clear on this.
I know KCS controls the rails over the Mississippi River Bridge at Baton Rouge.
2. From Lettsworth to Simmesport, shown below as the direct route between
Legionier and Lettsworth.
3. From Moreauville to Alexandria.
These are original to the KCS family.
The Simmesport-Moreauville trackage rights were obtained FROM THE T&P RR to allow the L&A to access the Simmesport bridge and replace LR&N's original Naples-Angola ferry with its Filston-Angola ferry.
Me: That portion is a mix of red and green.
(my previous coloring mistake)
They replaced the Big Bend Route: Moreauville to Naples to Angola. It is seen in brown.
The T&P's Portion
From Lobdell Junction to Lettsworth (green below), and from Simmesport to Moreauville (green/red above) were original to the T&P family.
I am not certain of the current ownership status of the Moreauville-Simmesport segment.
OO-L said that UP could have sold it to KCS at some point, since there would be no obvious reason to keep it.
History by OO-L
Several decades ago, the route between Lobdell Junction and Moreauville was a "joint track operation" by MP and KCS. This means that both ran trains on it, with each exclusively serving customers on its owned segments.
The KCS used the route (as now) as part of its Shreveport-New Orleans main, with MP locals running Alexandria-Addis to serve its on-line customers (using above Moreauville the now-gone Bunkie-Moreauville segment and the Alexandria-Bunkie segment of the old T&P mainline.
During the joint-track times, each railway had exclusive rights to serve customers on its owned segments, with the other having only "overhead" trackage rights--meaning for through traffic only. As local customers dried up, MP scaled back its service and scrapped Bunkie-Moreauville (map above). For a time, it would run a local turn up to New Roads weekly or as-needed, but those eventually became unneeded and haven't run in years.
I'm certain that the Lettsworth-Lobdell Junction segment still belongs officially to UP. Absolutely the only reason that UP didn't sell it to KCS years ago is the prospect that the major coal-fired power plant near New Roads (me: and the new bridge) might someday start receiving coal by rail. (Currently, that coal is railed from Wyoming to St. Louis and barged from there.) If that were to happen, UP would have exclusive rights to serve it, since the plant is on its rails and KCS's trackage rights are overhead. Meanwhile, UP undoubtedly bills KCS for its share by use of all costs, taxes, etc. on the segment--which is 100-percent of it! In reality, UP lets KCS do all maintenance and operation, with even the mileposting being numbered from Kansas City.
He offered up an example of the understanding between Union Pacific and the KCS.
Seems like the one that pays the bills writes the rule book..
Ancillary Information by 00
KCS also has trackage rights on UP between Beaumont and Rosenberg and between Victoria and Robstown in Texas as part of its vital route to Mexico that's growing in traffic by leaps and bounds. Conversely, UP has vital trackage rights on KCS between DeQuincy and Beaumont and on the Baton Rouge and Laredo bridges
But, did you notice, I'm still not clear on the location of the present day "Avoyelles Sub".
That out of the way, it will be time for a few pictures maybe tomorrow..
".....the name "Avoyelles Sub" is a UP
term that descends from {the}T&P {RR} It currently refers to the UP-owned track between Addis and
Lettsworth, plus the UP transfer runs to CN that go across the KCS rails on the
US 190 Mississippi River bridge by trackage rights (which replaced MP's ex-GCL
Anchorage-Baton Rouge ferry).
Looking at KCS history, we see that the LR&N line between
Shreveport and New Orleans first ran via that company's own rails and its
Naples-Angola ferry. LR&N became L&A, and the Simmesport combo
highway-rail bridge came to be, which allowed L&A to get trackage rights on
T&P from Moreauville to Simmesport and to move its west-bank ferry landing
from Naples to Filston. L&A became a KCS subsidiary, and when the US
190 bridge came to be, trackage rights were obtained on T&P to reach it from
northern Pointe Coupee Parish.
Meanwhile, in the world of UP's predecessors, T&P was
shedding itself of the line between Pointe Coupee Parish and Ferriday.
West of the Atchafalaya, it shed itself of the Simmesport-Melville line and made
its eastern connection to its little Avoyelles Parish branches
(Bunkie-Marksville-Moreauville) via trackage rights over KCS's L&A from
Lettsworth. It was undoubtedly during this time that the name "Avoyelles
Sub" became en vogue for the T&P secondary route between Addis and
Bunkie; and it has obviously continued to stick, even though MP pulled up its
little Avoyelles Parish lines and embargoed its service above Lobdell Junction,
leaving the line above that point about 99.44 percent in the hands of KCS.
Meanwhile, over in the KCS world, that railway's route
between Latanier and New Orleans (which uses trackage rights over part of UP's
Avoyelles Sub) is called the "New Orleans Subdivision." KCS from Latanier
to Shreveport is the Alexandria Subdivision. KCS never had an Avoyelles
Subdivision.
However, UP does use the name "Alexandria Sub" for its
ex-T&P main line between Livonia Yard and Willow Glen Yard (in southern
Alexandria). The ex-T&P southeastward from Livonia to greater New
Orleans is the Livonia Sub. UP's ex-GCL/MP line westward from Livonia is
the Beaumont Sub, and eastward it's the Anchorage Sub.
The ex-T&P line between Addis and Lobdell Junction does
indeed belong to UP, which serves it exclusively.