Virgil, it seems that your visit to Homer has sprouted and flowered. First Marion sent update pictures and now this from Patrick.
Thanks Patrick, your article answers a lot of questions and supports some of my teetering accuracies. (remember what is below is from a 1966 perspective.)
Enjoy:
PS: This was copied from a pdf doc. The transfer to text was not completely successful. I've had to correct some symbols / letters and may not have caught them all, ie, quotation marks came out as "@", etc, so ignore what seems out of place if you come across it.
THE LOUISIANA AND NORTH WEST RAILROAD COMPANY
by
Patrick W. Jacob
November 3, 1966
Of the one hundred and fifty or more separate railroad companies that have been chartered in the state of Louisiana only a few are known by the general public. Some of them have long been abandoned, others have joined together to form larger railroads, and some actually never laid any rails. Approximately eighty years ago the Louisiana and North West Railroad Company (L. & N. W.) began its history in Claiborne and Bienville Parishes. The L. & N. W. was first incorporated on November 28, 1885 as the Louisiana North and South Railroad Company (L. N. & S.). This company was found to have a defective charter and was therefore reincorporated for ninety-nine years as the L. & N. W.1 Since that date of December 3, 1889, the railroad has greatly expanded and then suffered partial abandonment but yet still operates today as a separate company.2
From 1887 to 1890 the L. N. & S. constructed 36.4 miles of first main track between Bienville and Homer. This property was transferred to the L. & N. W. by a deed dated on January 21, 1890. From 1897 to 1898 the L. & N. W. built 35.7 miles of track between Homer and Magnolia, and signed a lease with the St. Louis - Southwestern Railroad for 6.7 miles of track between Magnolia and McNeil. The line was pushed southward from 1900 to 1901 with the addition of 7.5 miles of track between Bienville and Lucky, and from 1901 to 1905 with the addition of 35.7 miles between Lucky and Natchitoches.3 Thus, by 1905 the L. & N. W. consisted of a line between McNeil and Natchitoches with 121.4 miles of first main track.
Connections were made with the railroad "world" at McNeil with the St. Louis - Southwestern Railroad (Cotton Belt), at Gibsland with the Vicksburg Shreveport & Pacific Railroad (Illinois Central), at Bienville with the North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad, at Chestnut with the Louisiana & Arkansas Railroad (Kansas City Southern), at Hagen with the Louisiana Railway and Navigation Company (Kansas City Southern), and at Natchitoches with the Texas and Pacific Railroad (Missouri Pacific).4 Through these connections the L. & N. W. was able to reach almost any town in North America.
Unfortunately the L. & N. W. has suffered two mayor abandonments. The line between Chesnut and Natchitoches was removed in 1921.5 In 1949 the line between Gibsland and Bienville was acquired by the North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad and the track between Bienville and Chesnut was taken up.6 These abandonments left a railroad of 62.6 miles between McNeil and Gibsland.
Of all the physical traces left by the abandoned portion of the railroad, probably the most outstanding was the Red River bridge at Grand Ecore. Stone battlements of nearby Fort Selden were used in building the bridge piers. This bridge was converted and used as a highway bridge until it was recently replaced by a new structure.7 Another definite reminder of the railroad's abandoned trackage can be found in Natchitoches. The Natchitoches City Hall was the L. & N. W. railroad depot. Many portions of the embankment and roadbed are still clearly visible to interested railroaders.
A little satire on the early days of the railroad can be found in a 1904 copy of the Natchitoches Times:
The latest from the La. Anywhere and Nowhere rr. [sic] otherwise known as the Beardsley is that on a recent trip the train stopped for some unexplained reason. After an hour or so the conductor came sneaking through the coaches, glancing furtively at the mad passengers as he slipped along. Stopping in front of one who seemed the coolest he lean [sic] down: "Say", he whispered, "have you got a piece of string? We want to fix the engine." 8.
The L. & N. W. presently operates a total of 76.5 miles of all tracks. Included in this total are 62.6 miles of first main track between McNeil and Gibsland, and 13.9 miles of secondary tracks (yard, spur and siding) located along the main line. 9
This trackage is constructed of rail weighing 60, 75, and 90 pounds per yard. However, the standard rail on the L. & N. W. weighs 75 pounds per yard and is 33 feet in length. Most of the cross ties have dimensions of 6 inches by 8 inches by 8 feet. They are spaced approximately 3,200 per mile. The maximum main line curvature measures 2.8 degrees (i. e., 2,005 feet).10 These factors allow for a comparatively slow maximum safe speed of 30 miles per hour. A slower 10 miles per hour is observed through turnouts (switches) and other dangerous areas.11 Specifications of this sort are common on many small railroads but would be entirely unsatisfactory on any heavy-duty railroad.
The railroad operates five small yards which are located at McNeil, Magnolia, Haynesville, Homer, and Gibsland. A wye (a-track arrangement for reversing the direction of a train) is located at both McNeil and Gibsland. All of the train movements are recorded
at three register stations: McNeil, Homer, and Gibsland.12 The car shops occupy several buildings in Homer while the locomotive shop and fuel station is located in Gibsland. All of the buildings are painted a unique yellow and orange.13
Telegraph operations were replaced in 1949 by a two-way radio system. Locomotives and cabooses are radio-equipped. Radio units are located at McNeil, Magnolia, Emerson, Haynesville, Homer, Athens, and Gibsland.14 This type of system does not require the maintenance of telegraph lines.
On December 31, 1965 the railroad had four diesel electric locomotives. Two were purchased new in 1949 from the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors.15 They are model NW2 switchers of 1,000 horsepower each.16 Two extra locomotives were purchased second-hand from the St. Louis - Southwestern Railroad in 1963. The purchase of those two locomotives was prompted by the extra freight handled during that year. They are presently stored in Homer but have been leased on two occasions as a source of added revenue.17 They are Baldwin-Westinghouse model VO switchers of 1,000 horsepower each and were built between 1942 and 1945.18 At one time during the years preceding the diesel-electric locomotives the railroad had twelve steam locomotives.19
In the years before 1958 the railroad had a comparatively small fleet of freight cars. At the end of 1965 there were 133 freight cars and two service cars on the railroad's roster.20 Under the multilevel per diem rate plan (a system of rental fees used in the interchange of freight cars) these freight cars were placed in the $2.16 and $2.79 pay levels. Many other railroads own freight cars that are placed in higher pay levels. Thus, the L. & N. W. is at a disadvantage when interchanging cars.21
In 1907 the Louisiana Public Service Commission required that the L. & N. W. offer passenger service over its entire line.22 Several passenger trains have been scheduled on the railroad since that time.23 However, all passenger service was discontinued in 1948. By 1949 the railroad owned no passenger equipment.24 However, during the 1920's the L. & N. W. had a fleet of approximately ten passenger cars.25 Among the last passenger equipment to be used was a colorful combination car. The car once operated on the Pagoso Springs branch of the narrow gauge Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.26 A gasoline motor car ("doodlebug") was also used during the last years of passenger service. It came from the "Egyptian Zipper" fleet of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad.27 Thus it can be seen that even though the L. & N. W.'s passenger "story" was unfortunate it was still rather colorful.
Presently two freight trains are operated daily except on Sundays and on Christmas Day. The southward train, number 15, leaves McNeil at 7:15 A.M. and arrives in Gibsland at 11:00 a.m. The northward train, number 16, leaves Gibsland at 1:00 p.m. and arrives in McNeil at 3:48 p.m.28
The railroad has been controlled by company organization except while under lease by J. D. Beardsley from 1895 to 1898 and while under receivership from 1913 to 1922.29 In 1958 the H. E. Salzberg Company acquired ownership of the railroad from the Middle States Petroleum Company. A seven man board of directors presently controls the L. & N. W. through corporate offices in Flushing, New York. In December of each year an annual meeting is held for the seventy-two stockholders. Five company officers direct fifty-three employees through general offices located in Homer.30
The L. & N. W. is listed by the Interstate Commerce Commission as a freight only class II railroad (i. e., has annual revenues of between $1,000,000 and $100,000).31 During the six years from 1960 to 1965 the average number of revenue tons handled per year was 312,692. During the same period the average train load was 248 tons.32
An average of 170 cars of pulpwood per month are delivered to the North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad. In turn the L. & N. W. receives an average of 150 cars of finished paper per month. During 1963 the railroad handled approximately 2,500 cars of sand, gravel, and cement for the construction of a new highway near Gibsland. Several plants in Magnolia produce rubber, joint cement, flooring, and lumber. Petroleum is handled at Kerlin and State Line. A plant in Homer coats finished paper with plastic. These and other sources account for the railroad's recent freight revenue.33
Thus this eighty-one year old railroad has grown from a small line of approximately 35 miles to a line of about 120 miles and then shrunk to a moderate railroad of just over 60 miles in length. This company has operated several freight and passenger trains but operates only two freight trains per day in 1966. Many other similar Louisiana railroads have long been erased from the list of active companies but yet the Louisiana and North West Railroad still maintains an existence today.
1.Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission, Vol. 135, November, 1927 - March, 1928. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1928. pp. 849-880.
2.Ira G. Clark. Then Came The Railroads. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1958. pp. 252-253.
3.Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission. loc. cit.
4.Rand McNally and Company. Commercial Atlas, 97th ed. Rand McNally and Co.: New York, 1966. pp. 198-199.
5.Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Annual Report of the I. C. C., 35th. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1921. p. 19.
6.Ibid., 63rd. 1949. pp. 164-165.
7.J. Guardia. Historic Natchitoches. Natchitoches: Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce, 1936. p. 88.
8.Editorial, Natchitoches Times. Natchitoches, La., August 26, 1904. p. 3.
9.Frank St. Clair (editor). Moody's Transportation Manual, 1966. New York: Messner, 1966. pp. 81-82.
10.Henry Sampson (editor). World Railways, 2nd ed. Chicago: Rand McNally and Co., 1958. p. 137.
11.Louisiana and North West Railroad Company. Time Table No. 49, (1950). p.3.
12.Louisiana and North West Railroad Company. Supplement No. 2 to Time Table No. 49, (1958).
13.Conversation with Mr. Speer, Train Dispatcher, Louisiana and North West Railroad Company. Homer, Louisiana. October 8, 1966.
14.Ibid.
15.Ibid.
16."0ur GM Scrapbook - 4", Trains Magazine. November, 1964. pp. 22-23.
17.Mr. Speer, loc. cit.
18."Like A Blue Streak", Trains Magazine. November, 1962. p. 2.
19.Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Statistics of the Railways in the United States, 39 Annual Report, 1925. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1927. pp. 174-175.
20.Moody's Transportation Manual. loc. cit.
21.Mr. Speer, loc. cit.
22.Louisiana Public Service Commission. Report of Louisiana Public Service Commission, 1925. Baton Rouge: State Printing Office, 1925. p. 260.
23.A. J. Burns, and J. T. Burns (editors). The Official Guide, 69th Year, December, 1936. New York: National Railway Publication Co., 1936. p. 1187
24.Mr. Speer. loc. cit.
25.Statistics of the Railways in the United States. loc. cit.
26.Lucius M. Beebe. Mixed Trains Daily. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1947.
27.Ibid.
28.Louisiana and North West Railroad Company. Supplement No. 2 to Time Table No. 49, (1958).
29.Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission. loc. cit.
30.Moody's Transportation Manual. loc. cit.
31.Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Statistics of the Railways in the United States, 67th Annual Report, 1953. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1956. pp. 510-511.
32.Moody's Transportation Manual. loc. cit.
33.Mr. Speer, loc. cit.
My Page:
Last minute insert:
First, thank Virgil for putting this burr under my saddle. He originally sent me a note he had from a widow of a Louisiana & Northwest Railroad employee. He asked if I was interested in that kind of stuff and of course I am. He proceeded to send me his T M article on the RR and a box of pictures he had taken of Homer, La., on the L&NW line. I like a rabbit even thought this hunt would be totally virtual since that area is more than a day's ride away and back, and, I have to get back. So....The following is from the company's site. I'll expand as I can. As you know, I can expand like a hot air balloon.
I'm going to take the company's text and augment it with my maps so that the history will be easier to follow, plus everyone loves maps. Then we'll look at one of the towns along the way, Homer, using Virgil's shots and ones I've copped off the web. Homer is above Interstate 20 in north, north Louisiana, or basically another country. Virgil has ventured there and has brought back pictures proving that such a place exists. I know it does because I have north, north Louisiana relatives but proving it has always been a challenge. Thanks Virgil. That later. First, let's get acquainted with the L&NW.
And, there may be a Bonnie and Clyde connection? If not, I'll make it up.
We in south, south Louisiana have Jean Lafitte and all those stories are true.
They have B&C.
For the source of what you see below, Click Here. It's the L&NW company's site. You have to know history to understand the present. Otherwise, you are walking on shaky ground led by those that would deceive you. But, then, is all history a deception? Let's hope we can believe the following.
From their Rail Fan Page:
The parent company, the Louisiana North and South Railway Company, was chartered on November 28, 1885, under the laws of Louisiana, to construct a railroad from Gibsland, LA to Homer, LA, a distance of 19 miles. Its construction was not commenced, however, until August, 1887. It was opened for business early in 1888.
Gibsland to Homer:
The company was reorganized as THE LOUISIANA AND NORTH WEST RAILROAD COMPANY, which was chartered under the laws of Louisiana, on December 3, 1889, for 99 years, and was projected to run from Alexandria, LA to Hope, AR, a distance of 230 miles.
{My guess would be too much of a reach to attempt a map.}
In 1890, an extension was built from Gibsland to Bienville, LA, a distance of 15 miles. However, completion of the road to its southern terminus at Natchitoches, LA, 44 miles, was not effected until about 1901.
Gibsland to Bienville:
In 1898 the line was constructed from Homer, LA to Magnolia, AR, 36 miles, and in November, 1898, opened for traffic.
Homer to Magnolia:
In addition to this, another 6.4 miles of track from Magnolia to McNeil, AR, was leased from the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (now the Union Pacific Railroad Company), under contract dated April 27, 1897 and revised January 1, 1923.
Magnolia to McNeil:
RECEIVERSHIP
On August 23, 1913 the company was placed in the hands of a receiver. Under the receivership, the property declined to such an extent that in July, 1919 when it was advertised for sale with an upset price of $500,000.00, there were no bidders. The court became dissatisfied with the administration of the affairs and on October 1, 1920, appointed E. R. Bernstein of Shreveport, LA as receiver.
The new receiver found operations had ceased because the roadway and equipment were no longer fit for service and because there were no funds with which to pay wages and current obligations. He addressed himself first to restoration of the service and the morale of the employees, then to the rehabilitation of the track and rolling stock. Soon the road was capable of transporting the increased volume of tonnage then offered, although not until after having suffered the loss of a considerable amount of the traffic that commenced to move following the opening of the Homer Oil Field in January, 1919.
Upon application of the receiver, the Railroad Commission of Louisiana on February 11, 1921, authorized the cessation of operation of 22.2 miles of railroad extending from Chestnut, LA to Natchitoches, LA, and on August 24, 1921, the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized the abandonment of that portion of the line. This action was of considerable benefit to the Company since that section abandoned had been operated at a loss, entailing a burden on the remainder of the line.
{Abandoned: Natchitoches to Chestnut. This is a guess, but probably close.}
I'm guessing this was the rail bridge over the Red River used by the
L&NW. I found it at the Grand Ecore visitors site on La.6.
Grand Ecore is just to the east of Nachitoches.
Mr. Bernstein continued as Receiver until May 21, 1922, when the court ordered the property restored to the Company.
In 1949, the Company received approval from the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the portion of the railroad between Bienville, LA and Chestnut, LA.
Abandoned: Chestnut to Bienville.
{Note: the brown and dark blue are guesses. The light blue is shown as existing rails on my old map software. I would assume that my software does not go back to 1949 and that the route to Bienville
from Danville (where dark blue changes to light blue) and then on up to Gibsland, might be operated
by another railroad, at least for a while following 1948. Look I'm new on the block and just trying to
figure this out.}
About this same time, the Company sold their portion to the railroad between Gibsland, LA and Bienville, LA to the North Louisiana & Gulf Railroad.
{Ah, see, there you go, the NL&G picked up Gibsland and Bienville and probably operated Danville to the east. Right again, the NL&G went to Hodge, north of Winnfield on US 167. In fact, if you want to follow the
crumbs, the NL&G was sold to the Mid Louisiana Rail Corp in July, 1987. I cannot follow this rabbit further but it sounds like a great ride.}
Therefore, at the present time the length of the railroad is 61.5 miles, operating a freight train daily, except Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and alternating directions every other day, between Gibsland, LA and McNeil, AR. The railroad has connections at Gibsland, LA with the Kansas City Southern Railway Company and the Louisiana Southern Railroad (a division of WATCO Company), and in McNeil, AR, the company connects with the Union Pacific Railroad Company.
Our timetable file dates back to 1905 when passenger trains were being operated. In 1948, however, the Company ceased to operate passenger trains. In that same year (1948), the L & N W Railroad became the first railroad in the United States to be completely operated by radio.
On August 1, 1970, an immense rebuilding program was initiated. Between Magnolia and Gibsland, bridges were rebuilt using new creosoted materials, new crossties were installed, the track was raised by 4 inches, and new rock ballast was added.
In 1991, and for the first time in the history of the L & N W, a reroute order was issued. Due to the devastating flood in May of that year, track was washed away to such an extent that no trains could operate. Water rose so rapidly that headbolts were pulled through crossties and bridge stringers, moving the mainline some 20 feet downstream. In some cases, complete sections of track were completely washed away or left dangling 5-10 feet above solid ground. Between May 1 and May 15, cars destined to L & N W’s north end customers traveled via the MidSouth Rail Corporation (now the Kansas City Southern) to Shreveport and thence the Cotton Belt Railroad (now the Union Pacific) to McNeil, AR. Since recovering from the flood, the L & N W has invested well over $2 million rehabilitating its track structure.
{Here's what I gather was the flood induced detour.
Blue is the L&NW, purple is the detour to McNeil.}
The L & N W is extremely proud of our customers and our employees. Hard working and dedicated to improving the community as well as the company, our employees are some of the best in the world.
Railfans and railroad enthusiasts from as far away as Australia have visited the L & N W over the years. This shows that, no matter how small you may be, your reputation may reach much further than you dreamed. Several full-length articles about the L & N W have appeared in national magazines such as “Railroad Modeler” (December 1975), “Railroad and Railfan” (April 1978), and “Trains” (May 1985)
{That's the end of the company's site's rap. I'm on my own from here out unless I tell you otherwise.}
Wiiki Link CLICK HERE Below is a rehash of what's above, Don't waste your time.
Nature of Firm
LNW operates freight service from McNeil, AR to Gibsland, LA (62.6 miles). The track from
McNeil to Magnolia (6.5 miles), is leased from the St. Louis Southwestern. Connections are
made with UP at McNeil and the KCS Railroad at Gibsland, LA.
History
The company was incorporated December 3, 1889, as successor to the Louisiana North & South
RR. The railroad opened Homer to Magnolia, AR in November 1889. By 1904, the line was
opened from Magnolia south to Natchitoches, LA (117 miles), and was projected to run to Ft.
Smith, AR (225 miles). The company failed in 1913 and operated in receivership until 1922
and again from 1935 to 1939 when the present corporation was formed. Passenger service was
discontinued in 1948.
There's much more to come so hang in there. Virgil's shots, the lady's note about her husband's and father's life on the railroad, and pictures of my dog. I know, just pretend it's Christmas Eve. Santa will be here soon.
OK, cool it, this is a serious documentary and has nothing to do with the Simpsons.
Let's have a little quiet.
Continuing:
I found this on Patriot Rail's website. They are the new owners of the L&NW.
Louisiana & North West Railroad
The Louisiana & North West Railroad ("LNW") is a 68-mile, freight short line railroad headquartered in Homer, Louisiana. The LNW was incorporated in 1889 to take over the former Louisiana North & South Railroad. Today, the LNW operates trains from Gibsland, Louisiana, to McNeil, Arkansas. The railroad interchanges traffic with the Union Pacific at McNeil and with Kansas City Southern at Gibsland.
In addition to the rail line and other track assets, the LNW owns 845 acres of real estate, a general office building, five locomotives, maintenance of way equipment, motor vehicles, a locomotive shop, two rail car repair shops, three rail yards, three communication towers and 27 railcars.
Location: Homer, Louisiana
Headquarters:
Louisiana & North West Railroad
304 West Main Street
Homer, LA 71040
Phone: (318) 927-2031
Fax: (318) 927-2549
General Manager:
Johnnie
email: I know you'd love to have it so you could ask
a bunch of questions and request rides, but I can't divulge it.
Ol' Johnnie would not be happy with Ol' Stevie.
Mileage: 68
Equipment: 5 locomotives
Employees: 28
Connecting Railroads: Union Pacific @ McNeil, Arkansas, and Kansas City Southern @ Gibsland, Louisiana
Primary Commodities Handled:
Chemical products, wood products, steel products and plastics
Major Customers:
Albemarle Corporation, Weyerhaeuser, CMC Steel Arkansas, Partee Flooring and Berry Plastics
FROM: Here
Ok, what did I promise you?
Pictures of Virgil?
No No! Virgil's pictures. He was up in Homer, north, north Louisiana attending a conference. When he was asked to leave, he got in his car and drove around town a while taking pictures with a movie camera in still mode even though he was moving. So, and according to him, too, they ain't that good. But, I like them because they ain't that good. I'll tell you why. They are old and being old, they should wear some age. I'm not saying they are black and white old, but a "little faded" old. I'm trying to let you down off the high expectations I nurtured on the previous page. The pictures are appropriate if they ain't that good. But he had an excuse, of which I'm jealous.
If I made you dizzy, here's a reminder, we are looking around Homer. Did I day that north Louisiana is different?
This is not one of Vigil's pictures.
.jpg)
Whoa, bet these get hit by the image hounds. I snagged them
off the company's site so go ahead. It's free advertisement for
them, so send them to all your friends.
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Cool side door caboose. This is the caboose that Virgil asked a
lady about which led to a note she sent him about life in a railroad
family. That's at the bottom of the page. Don't skip around or
you will miss stuff.
.jpg)
Here are Virgil's pictures of Homer. The smartypants comments
are mine.
Time to check into the Claiborne.
.jpg)
Very regal. I wonder if Dolly still sings there?
Not Dollyville Dolly, Dolly in "Gun Smoke".
.jpg)
OK Virgil, I need a little clarification here. This place looks like a jail.
Or a bank?
.jpg)
I'll lay money this monument is a tribute local boys that fought
in the Civil War, erected in 1909 or close, and done by the Daughters
of the CSA. There was a movement at the time to get this done, it
seems to me.
.jpg)
No doubt.
.jpg)
.jpg)
I know it is tough, but Homer is to be commended for his efforts
to keep the place preserved.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Now this is different. It looks like tile on the roof, a Spanish touch.
.jpg)
This one is very similar to the one in East Feliciana Parish which
was built in 1840.
.jpg)
Without a doubt.
.jpg)
This place is cute. More tile roof.
.jpg)
This one needs a friend and occupant. Looks like a date or name
on the front. Do you see that today? No.
.jpg)
OK, I'd seen the "1877", but wasn't sure.
.jpg)
I really like these boxy post offices. They are so "federal".
.jpg)
Built in the midst of the Depression, a very federal time. It seems
we are entering another one. [Depression and federal time]
.jpg)
Good message.
.jpg)
The roof line is very similar to a warehouse in Washington, Louisiana.
.jpg)
We can all lament about the fate of the old SERVICE Stations.
Guess what brand this one was. I guess, "City Service".
.jpg)
With clean rest rooms, "go on in the door is open".
.jpg)
Good job guys. Hang in there.
.jpg)
And, here we are at the corporate offices of the L&NW.
.jpg)
.jpg)
I guess that's it down there. Since there is no passenger service
there would be no need for a depot. The number on the boxcar
is 70X6yd5. Just kidding.
.jpg)
I'd hoped Virgil had gotten a steel building.
.jpg)
Are you getting in the mood? I love these places.
.jpg)
Neat shot. Notice the sliding door on the little building. Bet there
was a spur there. Maybe not, the building behind it is very close
to the tracks. Trying to figure it all out is such fun.
.jpg)
Shizam, this looks like fun, too!
.jpg)
This one looks like it might help cars back on the track.
.jpg)
Is that a barbecue pit on that thing?
.jpg)
I'd buy a ticket to see that thing work. I'd buy another ticket to work it.
.jpg)
Round houses are now square. Must have been a weekend.
Do you see those barbells? I ain't messin' with no railroad man.
.jpg)
Here's a defining shot. There's the corporate headquarters and
the round house. Madison Square Gardens is not long square.
It's oval. Where you fix trains will always be a roundhouse. Put
that in your piggy bank.
.jpg)
I'm looking at the white houses on the hill. It was a cold gray
day in February. My guess. The neighborhoods are different
in north north Louisiana, midwestern, I guess. I think they are
more like Arkansas than Louisiana. I see the change happening
distinctly above Winnfield or US 84. That's all theory and subject
to debate, but not with me.
.jpg)
Another service station. My guess, Conoco.
.jpg)
That's it for the slide show.
Virgil had met this older lady while up in Homer. She turned out
to be a golden connection in understanding what life as a L&NW
family was like.
First from Virgil, "Mrs. T, from Homer, La., who looked into the
Homer caboose for me, also shared some memories. Her father and
husband both worked for the L&NW. Her father was a Track Foreman
then a Road Master. Her husband worked his way up from clerk
to President. Apparently many of the workers lived in boxcars
converted to living quarters in Magnolia, Arkansas".
More on the boxcars further down.
Virgil asked me to keep the personal side of this note out.
I thought the easiest way to do that was to convert it into
an interview format so that's what you get. Let's get going.
Now remember, I tweaked this, so it is only my interpre-
tation of the note that Virgil handed me.
--------------------------------------------------------
I asked her about her husband working for the railroad.
She said that was about all he ever did. He had started
out as clerk in Magnolia, Ark., then he came to Homer as
a dispatcher, then he was Chief Dispatcher, and when he
retired, he was President.
I asked her about her father. She said her dad was Track
Foreman at Magnolia when she was born. In fact, railroading
was about all he ever did, also. In 1956 he moved to Homer
as Roadmaster.
By then her husband and she had been married 10 years. She graduated
from business school and went to work for the L&NW in the office
where her husband worked in 1944. He moved to Homer a few months
after she started working there. In 1946 she joined him in Homer as
his wife. She explained that while working at the station in Magnolia,
the train crew got a kick out of kidding her about him.
She explained that back then, communication was by telephone,
so there was opportunity, once in a while, for them to speak to each other.
She said that when he came home to Magnolia on the weekend he would
come by the station to see everybody. She said that she didn't work
for the railroad after they were married, but that she managed to ride
the train to Chicago a couple of times to join her husband when he and
a couple of guys they went up to get some training on the new diesel engines
when they were changing over from the steam engines. She said he was
sent to the training school so that he could advise the guys working on
the engines in the shop and that he also had to get his radio licenses
when they went to radio communications, replacing the telephone.
She reflected that they depended on him for a lot of different things.
She went on to say that when growing up, the family could ride the
train for free, expressing how fun it was.
She went on to add that one Sunday afternoon she suggested to
her husband that they drive up to Magnolia, about 35 miles, and
look around where we had lived . She exclaimed how things
had changed in that area of town. The old depot which was a large
building had been torn down, the old cotton compress was gone, and
the water tank where they watered the engine was gone. The platform,
which was out in front of our living cars, everything was gone.
She went on to say see didn't see how so many things fitted into the space there.
She said that the road master and bridge crew lived in what they called living
cars set on rail road track so they could move around. The bridge crew
moved up and down the railroad but the Road Master hardly ever moved
because there was a road master stationed about every 12 miles.
She explains living in a box car:
She said that where they lived, her father had a garden and that they
had chickens and a cow and a couple of pigs, and a big fig tree at the end of
the cars. They had one car which was the kitchen and dining room and
one car which was two bedrooms. In the middle there was a large area, or at
least it seemed large to her then, which was a living room. We looked
out the large window in the kitchen area to a cattle pen where they
unloaded cattle and horses from a cattle car and watched what was going
on when they brought in a load of cattle. The big platform in our front
yard was for unloading automobiles. They played on it and under it and
there was an area between the depot and the platform where they played
baseball. The whole area was their playground and the kids liked to visit them
because they had so much they could get into, and they did. They had been
trained to stay off the tracks when the train was around. When she was
about twelve years old, her father decided they needed to get to a
more appropriate place to live with the two daughters and a son,
so they moved into a house down the tracks a couple of blocks. The
railroad track was still in their front yard, but a bit further back.
When she was attending a WMS Retreat some years back, they played a
game. They wrote something about themselves on a slip of paper and
several guessed who each one was by what they wrote. She wrote
she was born in a boxcar. She said she was about the last one identified
and that back in 1926, people were born at home and that there was not a
hospital in Magnolia.
She said she'd moved away in 1946 and that it was sad how so much had changed.
She explained how things in that part of town had gone down, but over on the
other side of town, or on the other side of the tracks, they had seen some
beautiful homes and sites and she felt more uplifted since that was where
her relatives had lived and a few still do.
She went on to say that the interest in the caboose had brought back
memories and that "you just can't go back!"
Thanks Virgil for sharing the note and pictures with us. That stuff is priceless.
More later, but not right now.