Sundown Spillway
Empty Canadian National PetCoke train U701 is seen here at sundown crawling out over the Bonnet Carre Spillway west of New Orleans, LA, on the railroads Baton Rouge Subdivision. The former Yazoo and Mississippi River Valley main line sees the bulk of traffic on the south end of the CN System. Numerous unit train terminals populate the line from Destrehan in the east and to Helvetia in the west. This particular U701 is running back empty from the multi-purpose Convent Rail Marine terminal. Convent is a cash cow for the CN, and they send at least one loaded coal, coke, or all-rail iron ore train a day to be offloaded onto barges for a trip on the Mississippi River. The spillway this train is rolling over now is a diversion channel that keeps the city of New Orleans safe in the event of a high river. Last opened in 2011 this man-made spillway can divert river water into Lake Ponchatrain three miles north of here. Water will then flow out through the Rigolets pass some miles to the east, and away from New Orleans to the south. The spillway is a neat place to watch trains cross both the CPKC and CN bridges here. At night it is often aglow from the burnoffs at chemical plants surrounding the river.
Thanks for looking!
Sundown Spillway
Empty Canadian National PetCoke train U701 is seen here at sundown crawling out over the Bonnet Carre Spillway west of New Orleans, LA, on the railroads Baton Rouge Subdivision. The former Yazoo and Mississippi River Valley main line sees the bulk of traffic on the south end of the CN System. Numerous unit train terminals populate the line from Destrehan in the east and to Helvetia in the west. This particular U701 is running back empty from the multi-purpose Convent Rail Marine terminal. Convent is a cash cow for the CN, and they send at least one loaded coal, coke, or all-rail iron ore train a day to be offloaded onto barges for a trip on the Mississippi River. The spillway this train is rolling over now is a diversion channel that keeps the city of New Orleans safe in the event of a high river. Last opened in 2011 this man-made spillway can divert river water into Lake Ponchatrain three miles north of here. Water will then flow out through the Rigolets pass some miles to the east, and away from New Orleans to the south. The spillway is a neat place to watch trains cross both the CPKC and CN bridges here. At night it is often aglow from the burnoffs at chemical plants surrounding the river.
Thanks for looking!