Continuing our coverage of the 745’s shake down run, we pan around as the train sashays by on this balmy February morning at a leisurely 10 mph. And we’re rewarded with a nice open end observation car following up the rear of the train. Note the kerosene marker lamps resplendently displayed in the traditional fashion.

It’s February of 2007, and the Southern Pacific #745 is passing through City Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has just embarked on the return leg of her shake down run following fairly extensive repairs. She is headed for New Orleans, her home terminal.

The locomotive had been restored some years earlier by the Louisiana Steam Train Association in New Orleans. 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.

In early September of 1970 I visited the Reader Railroad up in Reader, Arkansas. Even though it was a weekday, the railroad was shut down for the day. I was able to peruse the railroad’s shop facility though, located maybe a quarter mile from the depot. Here is a photo taken with my trusty Polaroid camera of their #108, a nice little 2-6-2 “Prairie” locomotive.

This locomotive was a product of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1920, and she had an extensive list of owners over the years. The little Prairie first worked for the San Augustine County Lumber Company in east Texas, then later for the Angelina and Neches River Railroad. In 1954 she was purchased by the Reader, where she was in service until 1976. From there she went to the Conway Scenic Railroad, but after just a couple of years, was sold to the Blacklands Railroad. She was moved back to Texas, and was supposed to be overhauled to continue operation. The last I heard, she was sold yet again to a corporation, but was still stored in a somewhat disassembled state on the Blacklands Railroad. If any of you folks have any news of it’s present situation, please post a comment about it.

I’ve been going through a lot of old photos that my mother had, and came across this snapshot. This locomotive is Colorado & Southern 2-8-0 #60, and she’s on display in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The following is from the display plaque by the engine:

“Was built by the Rhode Island Locomotive Works in 1886. Number 60 began her career on the Union Pacific-owned narrow gauge Utah and Northern Railroad as No. 263. In 1890, the Union Pacific transferred U&N Engines No. 260-265 to its Colorado-based Denver, Leadville, and Gunnison Railroad, where the original engine number was retained until the Colorado and Southern assumed operation of all Colorado-based Union Pacific narrow gauge lines. This included the Clear Creek branch. At this time, the C&S renumbered all of its narrow gauge engines and No. 263 became No.60.”

That’s my mother posed in the cab, the photo probably taken in the early 1940s by my dad before he departed for England with the Army Air Force. My mom stayed in Denver until he returned to the States after his tour of duty.

An intermediate stop in New Orleans, the Carrollton Station was located at Carrollton Avenue, just a very short block from Tulane Avenue. One could board or disembark from certain trains here if convenient, rather than go all the way downtown to the Union Passenger Terminal. As a kid, we sometimes road the rails from New Orleans to either Ponchatoula or Hammond to visit with family, then back a day or so later. And Carrollton Station is where we usually met the train as we lived just a few miles from here.

Here is a typical view of the station back in the early 1960s. I believe that before my time, there was actually a small depot building here in addition to a covered platform. When I made my visits, there was simply a small, narrow glassed in shelter in which people crowded on rainy days. The large Fontainebleau Motor Hotel was a fairly new landmark at this time, having been constructed on the site of the old Pelican Stadium baseball park.

Seen here is one of the Illinois Central’s beautiful chocolate and orange streamliners stopped to pick up passengers on the outbound portion of it’s journey. The train is heading west by northwest at this spot, and judging from the sun angle, this was likely late afternoon. Those bridges in the foreground take the tracks over Carrollton Avenue.

Steam locomotive #72 has quite a storied history behind it. A product of the American Locomotive Company in 1914, the 4-6-0 steamer saw it’s first service on the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad as their #72. The line eventually became controlled by the Gulf, Mobile & Northern, which later itself merged with the Mobile & Ohio Railroad to create the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio. She continued to serve as #72 during those years. When the GM&O began dieselizing, the locomotive was sold in 1946 to the Gaylord Container Company in Bogalusa, Louisiana. In 1960, she found her final duty at the Washington & Western, operating in gravel pit service for the Green Brothers at their pit near Franklinton, Louisiana.

Today she rests at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds in Franklinton, where she is displayed under a shed roof wearing her GM&N paint.

The photo below was captured by Rick Boutall probably in early 1964. I understand that she was retired from active service later that year.

Here are a couple more photos given to me by Rick Boutall back in the mid sixties. This Heisler was likely photographed in 1964 or 1965 (based on the “65” imprinted on the right edge of the photo borders), and the backs are stamped with Rick’s typical property stamp. She’s obviously “hot” as small wisps of steam can be seen around the steam chest.

But I needed help on these, as I had no other information about this locomotive. Well, the mystery was solved when friend David Price provided the answer. This is Chicago Mill and Lumber Company #5, and the location is Tallulah, Louisiana. Thanks, and a hat tip to David.

At one time the Louisville and Nashville Railroad operated a beautiful, but affordable passenger train between New Orleans and Cincinnati named the Humming Bird. This famous scene depicts the train as she is crossing the Biloxi Bay in Mississippi. Similar to the Illinois Central photo from a few posts ago, this image also was widespread, and in my view, became the “image” of the railroad.

The Westfield Sugar Plantation Railroad’s #1 was an 0-6-2T coal burning steamer. She was used during the fall sugar cane season on the Westfield plantation in Paincourtville, Louisiana. These images were captured by Rick Boutall on November 1, 1963 as she was chuffing around the fields.

The Westfield plantation was owned by Dugas & LeBlanc, Ltd. Their little steamer was built by Porter in 1897 as c/n 1791, and she boasted 7″x14″ cylinders, and 24″ drivers. She ran on 30″ gauge track, used link & pin couplers and had no brakes.

Note the brakeman riding on the footboard. Scenes like this were common among many of the sugar plantations in Louisiana many years ago.

Collection of Jack Shall

This is my favorite photograph depicting the Illinois Central Railroad.  I first saw this image on the cover of an I.C. annual report that was given me when I was a kid.  It’s since been featured in quite of a bit of the company’s literature.

The scene is somewhere south of Chicago, and one of their handsome chocolate and orange stream-liners is featured at left, along with two coal trains at right, with steam power no less!

In the late 1940s the Mississippian Railway purchased a pair of 2-8-0 locomotives from the Frisco Railway, #76 and #77.  These steamers served the Mississippian for twenty years, finally being retired in 1967.  Two brothers, James and Frank Carlisle  functioned as both conductors and engineers.  James was the engineer for the #76, with Frank serving as conductor on the days when the #76 drew the duty.  And Frank took the controls of #77, with James handling the paperwork and switching duties when she was called for the day.

In the late 80s (I believe 1987, give or take a year) a special excursion was organized on the Mississippian.  The #77 was borrowed from it’s current owner and returned to it’s Mississippi home rails.  Mr. James assumed the duties for his late brother as the engineer of #77 for the two day run.  With the locomotive repainted into it’s original Mississippian livery, she departed Amory on a bright Saturday morning for the journey up to Smithville.

Here the photographer has captured the train on the return leg of the journey as she crosses the new steel trestle across a part of the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway.

Today the #77 is still in operation.  She runs on the Alberta Prairie Railroad up in Alberta, Canada as their #41.