Greetings, and welcome to the June 2006 Sampler essay. This was a bit of a momentous time. Due to Hurricane Katrina, I had just lost a teaching job in the metro New Orleans area, and I was beginning to work in the construction industry, but I had already had some scheduled travel and decided to go on it. This scheduled travel involved attendance of the Kansas City Southern Historical Society annual convention, which, on this year, was held in Shreveport, and, on the way there, I swung out to Fort Worth to spend time and foam with a friend.
It was an interesting time.
Thursday, The 1st
I think that this was the last day of school.
We are by the New Orleans & Gulf Coast Railway yard in Gretna here.
Monday, The 5th
On this date, I was at Schriever, and I photographed, among other things, the Louisiana & Delta Railroad train SC1 switching in the siding.
I would later catch Union Pacific Railroad’s LLS51, with the EOTD left on the front platform, and an eastbound BNSF Railway train with three standard-cab SDs as power.
Friday, The 9th
On this afternoon, I caught the westbound Kansas City Southern Railway Katrina-abbreviated train 54 on the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad at Eagle Street in New Orleans.
It had this car with this old Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac logo!
Thursday, The 15th
This picture was taken on St Charles Avenue in New Orleans.
This was my new work.
Saturday, The 17th
I am back on the NOPB on this morning, as I see the MPEX 2003 with a couple of cars that it just grabbed, stopped by Cooter Brown’s.
This area once had meaning for me.
Sunday, The 18th
On this morning, I caught UP’s weekly, weekendly Monsanto unit train with HLCX 8140 pulling 78 cars blasting through Chacahoula on a Sunday morning.
That locomotive was still wearing the Cascade Green paint scheme of the Burlington Northern Railroad.
Tuesday, The 20th
Saint Jude was at my place on this evening.
Those were such innocent days.
Wednesday, The 21st
This was the first day of my little big trip, going foaming and meeting with foamer friends in northeastern Texas before attending the KCSHS convention and Shreveport and foaming in that area, too.
We started the day at Saginaw, as we saw BN 9620 leading BNSF Railway train C-JRMSLP0-82 eastbound on the BNSF Railway Wichita Falls Subdivision as the engineer photographed us with his cellular telephone.
We then saw BNSF train G-GDNPTR9-19, a grain-shuttle move from Garden City, Kansas, to the Port Terminal Railroad Association in Houston, and here is a picture of the train in Haslet, Texas.
We would see at least three more BNSF trains on this afternoon, the-H-EAPKCK1-17 in Justin, the H-PASFTW1-15 southbound on the Fort Worth Sub at Justin and Haslet, and the H-TULTPL1-21 southbound with five new Ferromex locomotives on the Fort Worth Sub at Krum.
I can’t remember if it was this night or the next night that we went to Buffalo Wild Wings, but it may have been the next night.
Thursday, The 22nd
On this day, I met Whiskey Sierra Charlie.
We then went by Alliance Yard and photographed the switchers there and then went out to the northwest on the undulating track of the Wichita Falls Subdivision, which I loved. We caught a few trains out there, and I got some good shots around Rhome.
Looking back on these events is now difficult, now that my friend went off the deep end.
Friday, The 23rd
At some point on this date, I drove my old Ford Explorer from the DFW Metroplex to Shreveport. I found the since-closed Junction Yard of the Kansas City Southern Railway and found a couple of those Gateway Western bumblebee locomotives there.
That evening, I got a few shots of old BNSF locomotives at what appears to have been UP’s Riverfront Yard in Shreveport, as seen here.
I think that this was the night that we convinced Steve G to host the following year’s convention in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Saturday, The 24th
We got to ride the KCS business train!
It would not be my last time inside of the thing, either.
Sunday, The 25th
We got to tour Shreveport Yard!
Yes, this was the time of those yellow EMLX locomotives operating on the KCS.
That evening, I went east and photographed a KCS local train with those GWWR bumblebee locomotives switching East Sibley, and I got a flat tire in the process. A local resident helped me fix it.
Monday, The 26th
On this morning, I awoke in the Shreveport area and went to bed in the New Orleans area. I went westward and caught KCS train I-DAAT2, led by NS 9926, eastbound at Blanchard-Latex Road in Mooringsport, Louisiana. Then, I went further westward, back into Texas, and caught the I-CLAT2.
I spent high-sun time traveling southeastward back home away from the Shreveport area. By the time that the light was getting good, I was around Baton Rouge, and I decided that this was a good opportunity to go northward on the old Y&MV line to see if I could intercept the Canadian National Railway’s Zee Job, which I did at Baker.
Here is a going-away view of the train coming into Baton Rouge as it crosses the KCS D Line, as seen from Harding Boulevard by Southern University.
That was a neat old train.
Even though there were four days remaining in June, apparently, I got no pictures in that time, as I was diving back into work after my travels. I would travel, much farther away but still within the United States, in the following month, though. Stay tuned for sample images from that trip.
Jim
