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| The remains of Crowell & Spencer Lumber Company Locomotive #400 sit in the woods just outside the old Red River & Gulf Railroad facilities in Long Leaf, Louisiana. - Photo by Ken Hulsey |
The Southern Forest Heritage Museum in Long Leaf, Louisiana has announced that they will be looking for volunteers this weekend to work on the restoration of the long abandoned Red River and Gulf Railroad facilities. It is their hope to one day return several pieces of vintage railroad equipment to working order, including a recently acquired Heisler Logging Locomotive and former RR&G 4-6-0 number 106.
Are you looking for a unique railroading experience here in Louisiana this weekend? Come and get in touch with some real railroad history!
tuckbake@gmail.com
(C) 318-201-9712
Intrepid Volunteers Are Still Working On The Railroad in Central Louisiana
On this past Saturday a group of twenty-two such intrepid volunteers gathered in the cold and wet early hours to begin working on the remains of the Red River & Gulf Railroad. A railroad that had ceased operation long before any of them were born. Their goal for the day was to begin laying the groundwork for a new switch and a new section of track that will allow them to move old railcars indoors for reconstruction and renovation.
Abandoned Louisiana: Crowell & Spencer Lumber Company Locomotive #400, Long Leaf
Looking into the heart of #400 is a double edged sword. One one hand it is somewhat thrilling to come across a vintage steam locomotive parked at the edge of a Louisiana forest, yet on the other it is very sad to think of what this machine used to be and observe it's present state.
Meridian Lumber Company 2-6-0 Steam Locomotive #202 A Visual History
Locomotive #202 was the first of a series of twelve new locomotives of four different types ordered by the Crowell Interests from 1913 to 1923. It was placed into service to serve as a woods engine for the new Meridian Lumber Company mill located in Meridian, Louisiana. In 1919, Meridian purchased a nearly duplicate engine, #204 for use on the Meridian timber properties out of the new logging camp in Sieper, Louisiana and in 1923 Meridian went back to Baldwin for the largest engine ever to serve the Crowell lumber companies, a 2-8-0 #206.
Details of this weekends work schedule provided by Volunteer Coordinator Tucker Baker include:
We have a scheduled volunteer session upcoming this weekend January 19 to 21. If you are coming and need overnight lodging, please let me know so it can be coordinated.
Objectives for this session include:
- review/finish track inspection to flag ties for replacement (will be completed Friday)
- one gang distributing ties to flagged locations around the track
- one gang leveling and spiking the ties (10-15) that we placed in the track but haven't been leveled and spiked yet
- Finish sawmill pad clean up and organization
- Weather permitting, paint M4 roof
We are aiming for a mini excavator rental for the week of February 19-25, which will include the session of Feb 23-25. This will be a major tie replacement campaign. Any assistance during that time, such as helping the equipment operator on the ground, or contributing to cover the cost of the rental, is greatly appreciated. Please contact me for further information.
There are also additional smaller projects ongoing that require minimal tools and equipment. If you are looking to volunteer on a non-session weekend and are looking for ways to help, please let me know.
Thank you, and I hope to see you at Longleaf soon!
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Tucker at:
(C) 318-201-9712
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On this past Saturday a group of twenty-two such intrepid volunteers gathered in the cold and wet early hours to begin working on the remains of the Red River & Gulf Railroad. A railroad that had ceased operation long before any of them were born. Their goal for the day was to begin laying the groundwork for a new switch and a new section of track that will allow them to move old railcars indoors for reconstruction and renovation.
Looking into the heart of #400 is a double edged sword. One one hand it is somewhat thrilling to come across a vintage steam locomotive parked at the edge of a Louisiana forest, yet on the other it is very sad to think of what this machine used to be and observe it's present state.
Locomotive #202 was the first of a series of twelve new locomotives of four different types ordered by the Crowell Interests from 1913 to 1923. It was placed into service to serve as a woods engine for the new Meridian Lumber Company mill located in Meridian, Louisiana. In 1919, Meridian purchased a nearly duplicate engine, #204 for use on the Meridian timber properties out of the new logging camp in Sieper, Louisiana and in 1923 Meridian went back to Baldwin for the largest engine ever to serve the Crowell lumber companies, a 2-8-0 #206.
The proper name is Forestry museum. Forest is a noun meaning a mixed growth of trees. Forestry is the comprehensive and inclusive concept surrounding all elements of woodlands, timber, lumber, forest managment and cultivation, land management, controlled burning, prescribed burning, reforestation, hardwood and pulpwood harvesting and thinning techniques, forest disease management, forestry genetics, forest conservation, forest preservation and regeneration, and much more.
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