JEFFERSON, La. — The Louisiana Steam Train Association, owner and operator of Southern Pacific 2-8-2 No. 745, must relocate from its long-time home because of an upcoming construction project, and is seeking support for that significant and expensive effort.
The Association has been formally notified by Ochsner Medical Center that it needs to vacate the yard in Jefferson, its home in 1984, to accommodate the construction. The move will include relocating the 2-8-2, currently out of service for its FRA 1,472-day boiler inspection, and other pieces of rail equipment preserved by the association.
The need to move had been anticipated, but the notification still came sooner than expected.
“We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Ochsner organization and its staff for their generosity over the years,” LASTA said in a news release.
The organization moved into the then-vacant yard through the cooperation of A&P and Sears, which then owned warehouses at the site. There, it restored the locomotive built by Southern Pacific at its New Orleans shops in 1921. Ochsner’s acquisition of the property in 2003 and subsequent expansion of its facilities led the Association to relocate within the yard space and, eventually, to the current move.
The association unveiled plans in 2022 to move No. 745 to the Garyville Timbermill Museum in Garyville, La. Since that museum is currently rebuilding from hurricane damage, it will not be available for the upcoming move, requiring the association to relocate to a temporary storage site still to be confirmed. These efforts will affect the organization’s Santa Train excursions, the locomotive restoration, and other events. A public meeting at the museum is scheduled for Aug. 12 to unveil the ongoing joint venture between the museum and association.
Additional information, including ways to support the association, is available at the Louisiana Steam Train Association website.
This organization needs all the support and contributions possible from anyone interested in the preservation of rail history. This article is important to the history of railroads in the state of Louisiana along with preservation of our nations heritage, period. Louisiana has many wonderful sites to experience and enjoy and the relocation of this piece of SP history is an immediate concern. I would like seeing this collection moved to north Louisiana because it would be an exciting place to see this organization grow and create a permanent home for this priceless collection of our heritage. Also, it could offer a safer place for the storage of this rescued equipment from Mother Nature’s hurricanes and salt water exposure. Please take this opportunity and help us to preserve an important fact of American history and our great heritage.