Ex-Southern Pacific steam locomotive #745 steams over the Bonnet Carré Spillway during its break-in run in December of 2004. The engine had just been restored by the Louisiana Steam Train Association. The 745 is a class Mk-5 Mikado (2-8-2), and was built in the Espee’s shop in Algiers, Louisiana back in 1921. She operated on the Texas and New Orleans subsidiary of the Southern Pacific.

The Bonnet Carré Spillway is a flood control operation in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Located in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, about 12 miles west of New Orleans, it allows floodwaters from the Mississippi River to flow into Lake Pontchartrain and thence into the Gulf of Mexico. Both the Kansas City Southern and Illinois Central Railroads built trestles spanning the spillway, and they provide an interesting place to photograph a train. This scene of the 745 was recorded by a small, but dedicated group of railfans during this “historic” run.