The New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad (NOO&GW) was chartered in 1852. Construction began at

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, across the Mississippi River from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, in late 1852. By 1857, the track had reached Brashear (now Morgan City) on

Berwick Bay Berwick Bay is the section of the Lower Atchafalaya River in Louisiana from Morgan City north to Sixmile Lake. U.S. Route 90 crosses Berwick Bay connecting the town of Berwick on the west bank of the Atchafalaya to Morgan City on the east ba ...

, and this remained the end of the line for over 20 years. The NOO&GW was built to the " Texas gauge" of , the only such railroad in the New Orleans area to use that gauge; the line was converted to in 1872. In 1869, steamship operator Charles Morgan bought the NOO&GW and began operating it as owner. In 1878 he organized his railroad property as Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad and Steamship Company,Warren, p. xix, 30, 46, and 48. and it eventually became part of the

Southern Pacific Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

's main line. The line is currently owned and operated by

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

Leadership

From the establishment of the company in 1852 until 1862, Benjamin Flanders (later

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

Governor of Louisiana The governor of Louisiana (; ) is the chief executive of the U.S. state government of Louisiana. The governor also serves as the commander in chief of the Louisiana National Guard. Republican Jeff Landry has held the office since January 8, ...

and Mayor of New Orleans) was the Secretary and Treasurer of the line. In 1869, the company was bought by Charles Morgan.

History

Planning for the railroad began in 1851. The company was organized as the New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad company to run from Algiers to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and

Opelousas Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a junction here. According to the 2020 census, Opelousas has a population of 15,786, a 6 ...

. The start date was likely October 1852 with an optimistic completion date set for January 1855. Bad weather, heavy rains, periodic flooding, and a yellow fever epidemic delayed the rail reaching Boutte in late 1853 and another six months to reach

Des Allemands Des Allemands is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lafourche and St. Charles parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 2,179 at the 2020 census. The town, known as the " ...

. A bridge was required to cross

Bayou Des Allemands In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

. When the rail did not reach Lafourche Crossing until November 1854 it was already clear the completion date was overly optimistic. A 10 mile stretch of land referred to as "trembling prairie" meant piling and trestles had to be used on the rail bed almost the entire distance. At

Bayou Lafourche Bayou Lafourche ( ), originally called Chetimachas River or La Fourche des Chetimaches (the fork of the Chitimacha), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 b ...

a unique

draw bridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

had to be constructed.

References

External links

New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad
a
The Historic New Orleans Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Orleans Opelousas Great Western Railroad Defunct Louisiana railroads Rail lines receiving land grants Predecessors of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company Railway companies established in 1852 Railway companies disestablished in 1869 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in the United States 1852 establishments in Louisiana