For this first posting in the month of November, I’m featuring a photograph from the 1986 calendar published by the Louisiana State Railroad Museum, it being for their month of November. The caption for the image follows below.

“Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the August heat of 1932 is heavy in the air. A 1906 Baldwin built with slope backed tender, Louisiana & Arkansas #80 was originally built for L&A predecessor Louisiana Railway & Navigation Company. Note the “summerized” engineer’s cab window! (Photo from the collection of Harold K. Vollrath)”

I generally do research on locomotives that I post photographs of. And this is one that I drew a total blank on. I wasn’t able to find a single iota of additional information, or even other photographs of this steamer. It’s obviously an 0-8-0 switcher with a sloped back tender, she appears to be an oil burner, and that’s about it. And I’m curious about that “summerized” cab window that is in the photo’s caption. Even blowing up the image, I can’t figure out what the author means. I’m assuming the window was a three-piece design, with the forward section fixed, the remaining two designed to slide behind the first to give the opening. It appears that one of the slide sections is missing. As for “summerized”, I think the best use for that concocted word would be for the canvas sun shade over the window.

I also suspect that this locomotive is in a dead line. I’m not seeing any signs of grease and oil anywhere on the valve gear and piston rod. Nor any brightness on the driver tires or tender truck wheels.

If any reader has more information about this locomotive (and especially about that window :-), then please post a comment.