Site: Shreveport, Louisiana
Popular Name: Texas Junction
Location: Louisiana B-1 (Rand McNally Atlas)
Directions: 10 miles northwest of downtown Shreveport. From I-220 (a freeway loop around the north side of Shreveport), exit at Louisiana Hwy. 173. The site is 6.5 miles northwest, just off Louisiana 173.
Description: Junction of north-south and east-west Kansas City Southern main lines, in the northwest corner of Louisiana not far from the Texas state line. The junction is at the north end of Deramus Yard, KCS’s principal yard and system locomotive shop.
Type of Operation: Mainline freight action on both lines, mostly manifest, grain, and intermodal, plus several coal trains. Welsh, Texas, coal trains (2 daily) turn west at Texas Junction. All other north-south trains continue to Deramus Yard. East-west trains all enter Deramus Yard.
Typical Motive Power: EMD GP38-2s, GP40-2s, SD40-2s, SD60s, SD70MACS (BNSF); GE AC4400CWs
Peak Operating Hours: Traffic usually heavy in early morning and late afternoon, generally heavier between Thursday and Saturday
Approximate Daily Train Frequency: 40 or more trains, depending on the day of week, export grain movements, and coal train frequency
Radio Frequencies: 160.260, 160.350 (road); 160.890, 160.305 (terminal)
Nearby Pints of Interest: Numerous junctions and crossings in downtown Shreveport. Union Pacific (former southern Pacific) runs one-way on KCS between Spring Street Junctions and Jordan Street Crossover. KCS lines to Vicksburg, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Beaumont, Texas, radiate east and south, respectively.
Remarks: Gas and food are available in nearby Blanchard. Lodging and other conveniences are available in Shreveport.
Safety Considerations: Park on west shoulder of Louisiana 173, near the junction.
References: “The Kansas City Southern Story,” August and September 1979 TRAINS; “Mike’s Big Railroad,” August 2003 TRAINS
Contributor’s Name: Mike Harbour
I agree with everything here although I believe that of more interest to the railfan would be the area mentioned in Points of Interest: “Numerous junctions and crossings in downtown Shreveport. Union Pacific (former southern Pacific) runs (primarily) one-way on KCS between Spring Street Junctions and Jordan Street Crossover. KCS lines to Vicksburg, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Beaumont, Texas, radiate east and south, respectively.” The area between the north end of Riverfront Yard (UP) and the Jordan Street crossover area will feature more trains per hour, showcasing New Orleans to KC and New Orleans to DFW on KCS, Alliance to Atlanta on the Meridian Speedway, and UP from Pine Bluff to Houston, in addition to a lot of local movements. You can sit on your lunch hour at the dead-end of Jordan Street and see two and up to five trains. In you are at Texas Junction you will miss the UP freights and the KCS/KCSM trains from Lazaro Cardenas heading toward the Southeast. Do come visit!