It Could Be The Beginning Of The End

Jimbaux wants you to try walking in his shoes.

But Before You Come To Any Conclusions

Today is Monday 09 March 2020, I went to the gym today for the first time in more than a week, and I have some potential bad news to report regarding the subject matter of the photographs here.

It’s easy to measure the number of people you have attracted to a cause by deliberately dumbing down the message, but it’s not easy to measure the number of people alienated from the cause by that process.  They were a “no” before and, with the perception of the cause that you helped to create in their minds, are a more ‘informed’ “no” now.

Plus, the people who were attracted to the cause due do Yang’s stupid framing are in the worst position in the world to understand why others might be put off by it.

That’s why the aggressive nature of my retort was there. Scott knew better all along, and I knew all along that he knew better.

Anyway, I was talking to myself there. I am sorry.

Where are we? Why are we here?

Oh, yes, so, shortly after 13:00, I was at Erath, and I saw a headlight over in Delcambre where the bridge across the Delcambre Canal is.

This is the first train on the Abbeville Branch in more than a week; the last one was on February 27.

I continued eastward and found the train, which was led by the LDRR 1707, past the western end of the bridge.

The train was comprised of the three hopper cars that I saw last week in New Iberia.

Now, let’s get set up for the broader shot to the west.

One year and one day ago, I made similar shots of a train right here.

And, just like one year and one day ago right here, Peartree is on the train!

This time, though, he is at the controls.

Let’s see him coming into Erath.

Unlike in the above image, in the below image, you can see the big Highway 14 lift bridge in the background.

It’s okay, but I could do without that graffiti, as you know.

Now, here is a new shot, by these signs in the middle of Erath.

I like that, and notice the railroad milepost, too!

Let’s do one more shot in Erath, this time, by the ballpark.

Ballparks and I don’t get along all that well.

Anyway, here we are at South Grosse Isle on the outskirts of Abbeville.

We are on the jointed-rail part of the branch now, and I love it!

I love this spot. I love the tree-tunnel effect along with the jointed rail.

What do you think?

It’s not as cool when the train gets closer.

Hey, look, it’s Peartree!

So, I need to tell you about that bad news, but, wait, here we are at South Hospital Road.

There is some crawfishing work to do!

I figured that I’d record some other scenes while waiting for the train.

Here comes the train.

This is one of my favorite scenes on this line.

What do you think?

My homie Porkchop did a good shot over here more than a decade ago.

The weather is starting to get warm and the sun is coming out, and the experience of doing these shots at Hospital Road was a very trainy, branchliney experience. It felt kind of real, like back in the 1980s.

Okay, now, it’s time to go into town.

I try to imagine what much-longer trains and what passenger trains would have looked like at this spot, because, at one time, there were much-longer trains and there were passenger trains here!

Anyway, I like the tree effect.

Next, I went and got set up at the mill, or west of it, where I got some views through the old hull loader of Terry and his sister Lashayla watching and photographing the train arrive.

There was a track under that thing, and rice hulls were loaded there, but that operation ended more than a quarter of a century ago.

So, here is the runaround track, and I call both of these tracks – all of the tracks between the switches that can be used to run around a train – the runaround track.

I do wonder about the original layout of track here.

I don’t know what is happening here.

Okay, so, here is the news. I am told that the mill is likely shutting down in the next few weeks.

I am saddened by this, but I am not surprised by it, given how anemic recent trains here have looked.

So, I really need to get pictures of action here while I still can!

Here are Terry and Lashayla watching the 1707 do its thing.

What appears to be a father and son on bicycles also take a peek at the action.

The 1707 enters the mill to grab the outbound cars.

I guess that this may be one of the last times that this happens.

I don’t know what that sedan is doing there, but I wish that it wasn’t.

At least it makes a good size comparison with the railroad cars.

The view opened up by the dismantling of that old store to the right is helping.

I am sure that the old place could have told some stories.

The crew is shoving the outbound cars into one of the runaround tracks.

Now, it’s moving to the other track to grab its inbound cars.

Yes, I am not the only one interested in what is happening here!

I hope that you, the viewer, too, like what you see.

Here come the inbound cars.

There is plenty happening here.

A couple of minutes later, the cars spotted, the 1707 leaves the mill.

It then moves back to the outbound cars.

Now, it’s time for me to photograph the outbound train, and, so, I move two blocks to the east, to South Saint Charles Street.

Next, we are at South John M. Hardy Drive, and I love those old tipples or hoppers and wish that I could see railroad cars serving them.

You can see by the mileposts that this is 20 railroad miles from New Iberia.

Next, we are back in our treed area around South Grosse Isle Road, which I love so much.

This really is one of my favorite locations on this line.

I’ll say it again: I love the jointed rail here.

This is a good place for going-away views.

As regular readers likely would guess, next, I did my swoosh shot at Mack.

I really like that.

Well, the first shot here was the best.

Well, I tried to hide the graffiti.

Okay, you get to see the whole train, absent the highway, now.

Well, let me get the shot near the ballpark, but I think that I’ve about had enough.

Yeah, I think so.

That’s a good way to end it right there.

Man, I hope that the mill doesn’t close, but I am glad that, if it does, I got these pictures while I still could.

Jim