Hi. Today is Monday 30 December 2019, and, today, for the first time since my epic flying trip over the metro New Orleans area with Porkchop 11 days ago, I took out my SLR camera to take some pictures, and it would not have happened had people in the weight room not been hogging the benches that I needed, frustrating me to the point of leaving the gym without finishing – or barely even starting – my workout.
I Heard A Horn
The train caught me by surprise as I was sitting in the Wal-Mart parking lot after leaving the gym without working out at all because the benches that I needed kept being occupied by others. Destiny had this really nice hair today, and I commented on it.
I got ahead of the train and got a shot of it at South Saint Charles Street.
I hate graffiti. I hate it.
That view is a little better, but that graffiti on the SSW hopper car pisses me off.
I don’t remember what I did in the 46 minutes between the above image and the below image of the outbound train going in the other direction at the same spot, but I don’t imagine that I stayed there that whole time.
Anyway, here is our outbound train, also degraded by stupid graffiti.
The cars on the train in both directions are badly tagged, which depresses me and limits my photo options.
The LDRR 1703 came to the rice mill with seven cars and pulled four. This seems to be one of the first times in awhile in which it was a complete swap of all cars at the mill (as in, all cars there are pulled, and all cars there after the train left were brought by that train), unless you count the times they came light power and pulled everything.
Check out the helicopter in the below image.
So, yes, I am set up at Mack, by the police jury place, and I must have gotten here just before knock-off time, because the parking lot cleared out shortly after I got there, or, maybe I just smell really bad.
Here is a view of the track.
Here is a view of a mobile home passing eastbound on Highway 14.
Here comes the train.
I like that jointed-rail look, don’t you? I love it.
Let’s see a cropped version of that image, so that we can see, among other things, a better view of that jointed rail.
I would love to see more business on this line, but I hope that it wouldn’t come at the expense of that neat old stick rail!
Let’s see a cropped version of that image.
It appears that the last car is not loaded. Perhaps it was a bad-ordered car, rejected by the mill.
Anyway, especially since I hate graffiti, I am done chasing this train. That’s all for the pictures for today, and I guess that all of this is slightly more interesting than what I did one year ago today.
I really needed a shower.
This has been a crazy year, and I am just glad that it is ending.
I see no reason to think that I’ll take my camera out tomorrow; so, this is it for 2019, and, gosh, has it been real.
Next month will be intense, as it will be my last month in New Orleans.
Let’s hope that 2020 is better than this crazy year.
Be well.
Jim
