While browsing on Terraserver, I found an aerial shot of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad roundhouse. The link below should work. As far as I know, the roundhouse, turntable and associated shop buildings are still being used. It would be a great place to store the T&NO 2-8-2 being rebuilt a couple miles away.

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=10&x=3897&y=16564&z=15&w=1
runner@i-55.com

The link below shows the Crowell Family Sawmill in Long Leaf, LA. This arial mosaic was taken midway between my visits in 1995 and 2001.

The largest building in the picture is the lumber Lumber Storage shed. Above it is the planing mill, the structure to the right of the planing mill has since burned down.

Below the Lumber Storage shed is the Dry Chain/Take Down shed. To right of it is the Sawmill Complex; the shadows of the smokestacks are clearly visible. Between and below the Dry Chain/Take Down shed and the Sawmill are the drying sheds.

The pond east of the mill is clearly visible; the engine is clearly visible to the left of the pond; the machine shop and carknockers sheds cannot be seen because of all the growth.

The water tank and rolling stock on the grounds cannot be seen, and only portions of the track are visible. This gives a good idea what can and cannot be seen using Terraserver.

Another interesting note: I know the location of a refinery that has at least five steam pumps out in the tank farm. But when I scrolled over the refinery itself; the resolution was automatically increased, and you could not zoom in. I don't know if this feature was added after 9/11, or beforehand to prevent "industrial espionage".

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a


Long Leaf, LA
james1@pernet.net

This link is not much to look at, but it is one of my favorites because of the story behind it.

"Blue Hole" was a granite quarry north of the Neches River and Rockland, Texas. Some of the granite that went into the Galveston seawall in 1900 is said to have come from "Blue Hole".

One evening, the workmen knocked off for work, leaving a steam train and steam shovel down in the quarry. When they returned to work the next morning, they found that a sinkhole had opened up, and the train and shovel were gone.

My pastor and other locals saw in this "bottomless pit" when they were young. I was told that a sport diver found the steam locomotive and cars in the pit, along with dumped stolen automobiles and hundreds of 45 records frisbeed into the water. It is supposedly about 50 feet deep.

"Blue Hole" is now owned by a sporting club. They removed the cars from "Blue Hole", and dynamited the cliff that made it such a popular diving spot. I assume the locomotive and railcars are still down there.

The larger body of water is Bouton Lake and the Boykin Springs campground. Blue Hole is deeper than either Bouton Lake, or the nearby Neches River, so it is darker than either.

(The picture below came from the webpage at http://www.lx.net/schizo/boykinsprings%20.html .)

"Blue Hole"

james1@pernet.net