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12/20/2024
 
 
 
 
 
By:Michael Palmieri
Dates:1/1/1973 - 12/31/1999
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MP SW1500 1521
Title:  MP SW1500 1521
Description:  Missouri Pacific SW1500 1521 was parked between assignments at the railroad's Race Street Yard in New Orleans. (approximate date)
Photo Date:  10/15/1971  Upload Date: 12/5/2016 5:17:43 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  James H. Selzer, Jr. photo
Categories:  Yard
Locomotives:  MP 1521(SW1500)
Views:  847   Comments: 0
Riverfront
Title:  Riverfront
Description:  Here is a helicopter view of the New Orleans riverfront, looking downstream but facing north! The blue transit shed on the left is the Celeste Street Wharf, the yellow is the Market Street Wharf, the orange is the Orange Street Wharf, and beyond that are the Robin Street and Thalia Street wharfs. One of these wharves covers a railroad ferry landing which was abandoned in 1942, after T&P and MP trains began using the Huey P. Long Bridge. Behind the wharves on the left are the unused Market Street power station and the New Orleans Public Belt's Race Street Yard. The large white area between the NOPB yard and the Mississippi River bridge was the main parking lot for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, which can been seen right on the other side of the bridge. The parking lot was on land leased from the UP, and had been the MP's Race Street Yard up until early 1984. The open area on the left, right on this side of the bridge approach, had been the MP's intermodal yard; and up until 1954, this had been the site of the T&P-MP passenger station.
Photo Date:  8/12/1984  Upload Date: 12/23/2009 3:56:52 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Scenic,Yard
Locomotives: 
Views:  730   Comments: 1
Riverfront
Title:  Riverfront
Description:  We're standing on the New Orleans Public Belt westbound main track, facing east at the Celeste Street grade crossing. The large building on the left is the unused Market Street power station. The NOPB spur on the left runs along South Peters Street to serve Glazer Steel. The spur crosses two IC tracks, one barely used and the other abandoned; but up until the 1960's these were both used for loaded and empty banana trains into and out of Levee Yard, right on the other side of the bridge in the background. On the right are the NOPB eastbound main and the switching lead. The lead enabled switch engines to work the wharf tracks without interfering with mainline movements. The blue transit shed on the right is the Celeste Street Wharf, and the yellow building is the Market Street Wharf. The NOPB and MP Race Street Yards began right around the curve up ahead.
Photo Date:  8/21/1976  Upload Date: 12/23/2009 3:51:25 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Scenic,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  668   Comments: 0
Race Street Yards
Title:  Race Street Yards
Description:  I'm standing on the New Orelans Public Belt westbound main, facing east. The eastbound main is on the right and beyond that is the NOPB's Race Street Yard, which still exists. On the left is the lead track for the MP's Race Street Yard, which fills up most of the photo and was dismantled in 1984. On the other side of the MP yard lead is an ICG track which once went to their Levee Yard, right on the other side of the Mississippi River Bridge.
Photo Date:  4/24/1983  Upload Date: 12/23/2009 3:52:24 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Yard,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  592   Comments: 0
Race Street Yards
Title:  Race Street Yards
Description:  This view was taken from one of the wharves. In the foreground is the New Orleans Public Belt Race Street Yard, which still exists; and beyond that is the left is the MP Race Street Yard, which was dismantled in early 1984.
Photo Date:  4/24/1983  Upload Date: 12/23/2009 3:52:50 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Yard,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  473   Comments: 0
Race Street Yard
Title:  Race Street Yard
Description:  This the MP Race Street Yard, which was dismantled in early 1984. The white building barely visible on the left is the yard office, and the GP15 behind it is waiting for its next job. The track directly in front of the camera, running away from us along South Front Street, belonged to the ICG and ended at Levee Yard. The large, low building right on the other side of the Mississippi River bridge covered both the ICG Levee Yard and the L&N Julia Street Yard. It was an exhibit hall built for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, and is now a part of the ERNEST MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER. The three covered locomotives on the right were General Electric U18A1A's bound for Indonesia.
Photo Date:  4/24/1983  Upload Date: 12/23/2009 3:54:05 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Yard,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  685   Comments: 1
MP 1519
Title:  MP 1519
Description:  The Missouri Pacific only owned four SW1500's and all of them began their careers in the New Orleans area. Here is the 1519 at the west end of Race Street Yard, with the orange transit shed of the Orange Street Wharf and a ship on the Mississippi River as a backdrop.
Photo Date:  7/28/1974  Upload Date: 12/23/2009 9:20:38 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Roster,Yard
Locomotives:  MP 1519(SW1500)
Views:  1675   Comments: 1
World's Fair
Title:  World's Fair
Description:  Most of the land which had been occupied by the MP's Race Street Yard became the main parking lot for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition; but the UP used a small portion of their property as a secure area for parking the passenger trains it ran in from Houston almost every Friday for railroad officials and special guests. The red transit shed is the Robin Street Wharf. (What other color would you paint this wharf?)
Photo Date:  6/2/1984  Upload Date: 12/23/2009 3:55:18 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Scenic,Passenger
Locomotives: 
Views:  540   Comments: 0
Levee Yard
Title:  Levee Yard
Description:  This is a view was taken from S. Front Street looking along the ladder track of the ICG's Levee Yard towards the Mississippi River. For much of the twentieth century, this 16-track yard was used to park refrigerator cars which were loaded in the adjacent wharves. Several banana unloading conveyor machines can be seen above the transit shed, just to the right of the two cranes. Levee Yard was single ended, as all of the tracks dead-ended at Thalia Street.

By the time this photo was taken, the banana traffic -- and almost all of the IC's other business around here -- was gone. The track we are standing on continued up St. Joseph Street while the track on the right ran up N. Diamond Street for two blocks, to S. Peters Street. This area was redeveloped for the construction of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition.
Photo Date:  10/1/1976  Upload Date: 12/18/2009 3:57:17 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Scenic,Yard
Locomotives: 
Views:  1069   Comments: 4
ICG Levee Yard
Title:  ICG Levee Yard
Description:  This is the abandoned scale house and ladder track at the Illinois Central Gulf's LEVEE YARD. The track crosses S. Front Street and then turns to the left, continuing down St. Joseph Street for several blocks. At one time, the track ran down St. Joseph all the way to the IC's Union Station. The tall building on the left is located across the street from New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal and the site of the former IC depot. Plans for the scale house appeared in the April 1963 issue of RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN magazine.
Photo Date:  7/24/1976  Upload Date: 12/18/2009 5:31:55 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Scenic,Yard
Locomotives: 
Views:  727   Comments: 2
IC Warehouse
Title:  IC Warehouse
Description:  For much of the twentieth century, the Illinois Central had scores of warehouse all around New Orleans. Eleven of them, numbered 1 through 11, were located within a 16-block area along the Mississippi River between South Diamond and Thalia streets. The last of these in existence was No. 3, located along Front Street between Gaienne and Erato streets. Notice how the railroad's initial conveniently fit on the end of the building, and its name across the front!

The IC originally reached this area by a track down St. Joseph Street from its passenger depot on S. Rampart Street, until it extended its track upsteam to a mainline connection at Southport around 1905. The track in the street here was the line from Levee Yard to Stuyvesant Docks Yard off to the right. Redevelopment of the this area began with the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition. Front Street was subsequently expanded and renamed Convention Center Blvd., and the site of Warehouse No. 3 is now under the ERNEST N. MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER.
Photo Date:  7/24/1977  Upload Date: 12/18/2009 3:39:52 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Scenic
Locomotives: 
Views:  1092   Comments: 2
L&N Warehouse
Title:  L&N Warehouse
Description:  The sign across the end of this building indentifies it as the LOUISVILLE & NASHVILLE RAILROAD COMPANY INBOUND L.C.L. WAREHOUSE. It was located on Julia Street, between Delta Street (on the near side) and South Water Street. The track in the foreground once ran up Julia Street as far as Magazine, with branches on Fulton and Commerce streets.

Up until the opening of New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal in 1954, the area bordered by Girod Street on the north, the Mississippi River on the west, Calliope Street on the south and Delta Street on the east was full of L&N improvements, including the Julia Street freight yard, engine house, turntable, passenger car servicing facilities, and warehouses like this and the one in the background.

The L&N's presence in this area began to decline after the opening of NOUPT, with the removal of the roundhouse and passenger servicing facilities; although train crews continued to go on duty here for the transfer runs to and from the L&N's big yard at Gentilly. By the time of this photo, these two warehouses and a scale house were all that remained. This area was redeveloped for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, and this site is now a part of the ERNEST N. MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER.
Photo Date:  11/3/1974  Upload Date: 12/18/2009 1:02:55 PM
Location:  New Orleans, LA
Author:  Michael Palmieri
Categories:  Scenic
Locomotives: 
Views:  772   Comments: 2


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