Pontchartrain. Thus the railway was important in transferring cargo between ocean-going ships docked at the lake and riverboats. Many passenger sea ships also arrived via the lake, and the railway took passengers the remainder of the way into the city. For decades the passenger fare was 15 cents for a one way trip, 25 cents for a round trip. The railroad had terminals at the two ends of the line; stops would also be made at a small station at Gentilly Road, about the midpoint of the line, by advance request. In 1871 the line was purchased by the New Orleans, Mobile and Texas Railroad. In 1880 the Louisville and Nashville Railroad leased the line, and the following year purchased it outright. The railway served passengers for the last time in 1932, with service from Milneburg to New Orleans replaced by buses. The line switches from shipping to recreation In the late 19th century, the Pontchartrain Railroad became less important for commerce, as ships too large to use the Lakefront routes became common and the extensive network of long distance railways grew. However, at the same time, the line became more important for recreation. Especially during the long summer, excursions from the city out to the lakefront became common, to enjoy the cooling breezes and the entertainments at Milneberg. In the early 20th century rates were 10 cents for adults, 5 cents for children one way, and double for round trip. Generations of New Orleanians fondly remembered the archaic veteran steam engine nicknamed "Smoky Mary" running on the line as late as the 1930s. The somewhat less outdated companion locomotive on the line was called "Puffing Billy". Final years Thanks to the popularity of recreational excursions at Milneburg, business remained brisk for the Pontchartrain Railroad through the mid-1920s. After this, however, the railroad declined for two reasons. One was less demand for short distance rail passenger service with expansion of electric streetcar routes and growth in automobile ownership. The final straw, however, was the closing of the Milneburg resorts while a land reclamation project dredged earth into the shallows of lake Pontchartrain there in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The last passenger service of the line was on March 15, 1932, the line having been in business for over a century. Freight runs on the line continued to 1935, mostly servicing the Lakefront land reclamation project work which made