Southern Pacific #745
team locomotives always needed repairs, so the Southern Pacific Railroad worked up a large order of spare parts from the original builder of its class Mk5 locomotives -- the famous Baldwin Locomotive Works. In came the parts: boilers, fireboxes, driving wheels, pony trucks, tubes, flues ... all the parts needed to keep the SP fleet of Mk-5's running.
Except the Southern Pacific had no intention of merely repairing locomotives. The company consigned most of the parts to New Orleans, and a smaller order to the SP shop at Houston, Texas -- all ostensibly for repairs. Soon the two shops put their boiler makers to work. Over the next two years, the two shops turned out more than a dozen "built in Algiers" (or Houston) Mk-5 steam locomotives. For two years at least, Algiers Shop was in the steam motive power manufacturing business.
he Louisiana Steam Train Association has restored and now operates Southern Pacific #745, a Louisiana-built Mikado steamer rescued from from deterioration in New Orleans' Audubon Park and now in excursion service around the region. 745 is the last surviving steam locomotive built in the state of Louisiana. With a mission is to educate and entertain the public about railroading in general and steam railroading in particular, LATSA also rosters a small collection of rolling stock and locomotives -- including a restored ALCo RS-1 believed to be one of the oldest of the model still in operation.
HawkinsRails thanks railfan friends Louis Saillard and Gordon Payne for their photos of SP #745
Southern Pacific #745
New Orleans, La / Dec 2005 / Louis Saillard
Southern Pacific #745
26 x 28 inch cylinders
51,076 lbs tractive effort
280,960 lbs overall weight
200 psi boiler pressure
Houston, Tx / Nov 1947 / C W Witbeck / collection
Galveston, Tx / Feb 1955 / collection
New Orleans, La / Jun 1967 / Louis Saillard
New Orleans, La / Aug 2004 / Louis Saillard
New Orleans, La / Aug 2004 / Louis Saillard
Snapshots
Norco, La / JCH
Norco, La / JCH
Norco, La / JCH
Norco, La / JCH
KCS engine terminal / New Orleans, La / Dec 2005 / Louis Saillard
New Orleans, La / Dec 2005 / Louis Saillard
Shreveport, La / Apr 2005 / Louis Saillard
NOUPT / New Orleans, La / Mar 2005 / Louis Saillard
Jennings, La / Apr 2005 / Louis Saillard
Lafourche Crossing, La / Gordon Payne
Gretna, La / Oct 2010 / Paul Griffith
Huey P. Long bridge crossing / Elmwood, La / Oct 2010 / Gordon Payne
Gordon Payne
Gretna, La / Oct 2010 / Wade Sickinger
Father-Son Whitewalls
Lifelong railfan pal Gordon Payne sent the following note and pictures:
After sitting in Audubon Park for nearly 30 years, ex-Southern Pacific 745 was moved in 1984 and finally restored to operating condition in about 2002 (give or take). It actually made a revenue run while in Kansas City during its coming-out tour.
This weekend, it finally is scheduled to make its first revenue run at home. Yesterday, the crew -- including my long-time friend Erich Lendermon as engineer -- fired up the loco and ran it to the New Orleans Public Belt roundhouse. James and I went to the Louisiana Steam Train Association (LASTA) yard to see her off and ended up painting her tire rims white. After she left, we went to Audubon Park to get a photo run-by.
In one photo, you can see the area across the street where the loco sat during its time in the park. Yes, the engine had to back up all the way. No, I was not allowed on the roundhouse property, and Erich was not allowed by the Public Belt crew to detrain, so when the engine was turned, no one took pictures. Happily, we got the run-by; sadly, a true moment in history went undocumented. Perhaps the NOPB folks just don't understand good PR.
We had a great time anyway. And every time I look at the photos and those nice white wheel rims, I will know I shared some quality time with my son. What a joy!
New Orleans, La / Dec 2017 / Gordon Payne
New Orleans, La / Dec 2017 / Gordon Payne
745 Association
Louisiana Steam Stream Association
Kansas City, Mo / Feb 2006 / Tony Fey
The Louisiana Steam Train Association is a non-profit 501c3 organization run entirely by volunteers. Our mission is to educate and entertain the public about railroading in general and steam railroading in particular. LASTA is supported entirely by gifts, donations, and labor of the community and other organizations to which it is eternally grateful.
Louisiana Steam Stream Association #1
caboose / New Orleans, La / Dec 2005 / Louis Saillard
New Orleans, La / Dec 2005 / Louis Saillard
Links / Sources
- Louisiana Steam Train Association website
- Wikipedia article for Southern Pacific #745