Acquired new, in 1917, Tremont & Gulf Railway's 2-8-2 No. 30, is captured here in this undated photo leading a westbound freight through northern Louisiana bound for Winnfield. No. 30 was the largest and sole Mikado on the railroad's roster.
The Tremont & Gulf Railway begain life in 1902, when it laid rails from a Tremont Lumber Company railhead 9 miles from the town of Tremont (roughly 26 miles west of Monroe, LA) to Winnfield, Louisiana, some 40 miles to the south. At its peak, the line operated 114 miles of track with connections to the Missouri Pacific Illinois Central, the O N & W, as well as the Louisiana & Arkansas and Rock Island in Winnfield. Despite these advantages, the railroad lost money throughout its existence and was later sold in 1958 to the Illinois Central which itself abandoned the line on March 1, 1986. No. 30 was sold to the Magma Arizona Railroad where it operated as their No. 7, until sold in 1974 to the "new" Texas State Railroad.
The photo above was captured during a Lerro Productions charter at the Texas State Railroad in Palestine, TX along FM 323 (Farm to Market Route 323).
