On March 30, 1954 the Red River & Gulf Railroad ran it's last train from Lecompte to Long Leaf, Louisiana. The once profitable lumber railroad was founded in 1905 to carry raw materials for a sprawling lumber mill in Long Leaf but by the early 1950s the cost of running the line outweighed the revenue it produced. The tracks, locomotives, rolling stock and facilities of the Red River & Gulf were simply abandoned where the stood for decades.
The harsh weather combined with the aggressive fauna of central Louisiana has taken it's toll over the past 60 plus years. The locomotives are rusting away, the tracks are almost impossible to find and the wooden freight and passenger cars have rotted away leaving only their metal parts behind.
Recently volunteers from the nearby Southern Forrest Heritage Museum, who have been working for years to preserve the Long Leaf sawmill complex and the railroad that served it, located the old Red River & Gulf yard in the woods nearby. A crew cleared the trees and brush around what used to be two old wooden cabooses and other rolling stock. It is their hope to be able to extract what is left of these railcars and return them to the museum where they can be rebuilt.
This morning I passed by the site and took several photos. According to the museum's website what can be seen in these images just the tip of the iceberg. There is reportedly numerous more pieces of railroad equipment just out of sight in the trees.
Map:
Here is what is left of the old Red River & Gulf railyard.
Check Out:
We still have a lot of cleaning up to do at this site as we prepare to move the equipment. Our next planned work session is January 21, 2023, and if you would like to come and help us out, meet us at the bunkhouse at the museum at 9 for the safety meeting.
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