In 1956 Steam Locomotive 745 was placed on display in New Orleans' Audubon Park and 21 years later it was removed from the park by members of the Old Kenner Railway Association. Southern Pacific Mk-5 class 2-8-2 745 the Harriman Standard Mikado had been built in New Orleans, at the Espee's Algiers Shops, in February 1921 and was put in on the Southern Pacific line hauling freight around Louisiana to Texas. It was donated to the City of New Orleans in May 1956.  Over the years the Louisiana Rail Road Museum worked to  prevent the locomotive from rusting away after many attempts at rising money to resort the locomotive they where unable to get the money needed to rebuild 745.  Then in  2002 the Louisiana Steam Train Association, got the funding needed to rebuild the Locomotive. 

On December 13, 2004, in New Orleans on the Kansas City Southern Line,745 underwent several break-in runs.
745 and a Southern Railway caboose  were moved from the train yard on Jefferson Hwy  to the KCS yard on Saturday, December 11, 2004. The Locomotive was under steam, but it was actually moved by New Orleans Public Belt SW1500 151. The move began around 12:15 and ended a little over an hour later when the 745 was spotted on the short Y track, next to the KCS engine terminal.
LASTA was going to run a 60-mile round trip to Reserve, Louisiana every day from Monday through Friday, and then returning the loco to the Jefferson Highway yard the next Saturday. This would have put 300 miles on the 745, and given a good indication of the locomotive's condition. While the schedule didn't go according to plan, it was still a successful week for both LASTA and the 745.
Sunday was a day of rest for the 745; however, the caboose received some paint detail work. It was lettered LASTA, numbered LSTX 1, and its hand rails were painted yellow. By the end of the week, the caboose would also gain the name Ray Duplechain. Ray is a LASTA member, and former Espee and NOPB official. The car was named after him in recognition of his efforts in working with the railroads the 745 would run on.
Monday was to be the 745's first road trip, but this was prevented by an administrative matter with the Canadian National. KCS trains operate over 6.4 miles of CN track just west of the New Orleans yard, between N.O.T. Junction and Frellsen Junction, and the CN had not completed its approval of the 745's operation on its property. By the time this matter was resolved, it was too late for a trip to Reserve. Since the 745 couldn't make a road trip, the KCS let the loco run back and forth on a yard track. The 745 backed off of the short Y at 1:25 P.M., made one trip through the yard, and then went back to the short Y. The crew had quickly discovered a couple of firebox problems. One of these allowed hot gasses to escape from the front of the firebox, and another had to do with the fuel oil burner. Later that afternoon  members of the 745 crew went to Belle Chasse to examine the firebox on New Orleans & Gulf Coast (ex-SP) 2-6-0 1744 and see how its was configured.
At 4:30AM on Tuesday Richard Jacobs and Mike Hankin started the modification on the fire box and damper control baffle. The work was completed at 10:00AM Tuesday. At 3:45 PM, the 745 began four back-and-forth runs on the short Y. These moves showed that the firebox repairs had been successful, so the locomotive moved into the yard and ran there for about an hour.
745's first road trip finally took place on Wednesday. The crew was ready to go at 7:00 AM and had their job briefing at 8:00 AM; but the train didn't get out of the yard until 11:50 AM. The delay was caused by freight traffic through East Bridge Junction. At the west end of the KCS yard, the 745 met KCS train SHCX, which was also pulled by locomotive 745, but this one was a KCS SD60! The trip to Reserve was uneventful. However a hard acceleration caused water and some trash to get sucked into the dyno and it took several minutes to get it cleared out. The electrical problem developed on the way back to New Orleans and the train got in at 6:00 P.M. On Thursday track work on the CN kept 745 in the yard so the time was spent making some burner adjustments, and installing a radio in the 745's cab. On Thursday evening the fuel bunker was topped off. For these trips, the locomotive burned used motor oil!
The second road trip was on Friday. The day began with a run around the Y, and the train departed around 8:45 AM. The trip went well and at one point the 745's speed reached 45 M.P.H. The train returned to New Orleans around 4:00 PM. The last day of the 745's first outing was Saturday December 18, 2004. The activity began at 9:10 A.M. when the train headed off of the short Y. It then backed up under its own power all the way to the NOPB connection at Lambert Junction. NOPB MP1500D 1504 coupled on and pulled the train back to Eagle Street, to clear a signal circuit; then the 745 pulled the caboose and the diesel to the LASTA yard. The trip ended around 10:20 a.m.
After its arrival at the LASTA yard the 745 received some Christmas decorations, in preparation for the organization's Christmas party/open house that afternoon. During its break-in runs, the 745 had two whistles: an Espee 5-chime and a Virginian 3-chime off of an MB class Mikado. At the Christmas party a BNSF conductor Leo Pursick gave LASTA a 6-chime whistle off of an Espee cab-forward, and it was installed on the loco in place of the Virginian 3-chime. For several hours, the 745 and the caboose provided short rides for members and visitors at LASTA's yard. Both of the whistles were put to good use, much to the entertainment of patients and staff at the hospital across the street! After the party, the crew killed the 745's fire and gagged its stack. LASTA will make some modifications and adjustments, and hopes to make some additional runs next February.
LASTA did not have a steam-qualified crew to operate the 745 on common carrier trackage, so it brought in two experienced steam men: David Bartee ( fireman ) from Seymour, Tennessee and Bill Johnson ( engineer ) from Lexington, Kentucky.  The 745's return to service this week was the result of hard work by scores of people and several organizations over three decades. These activities began well before the loco's removal from Audubon Park in October 1982. Nevertheless, all of this effort would have been for naught were it not for the cooperation of the Kansas City Southern Railway. At a time when most major railroads scorn the operation of privately-owned steam locomotives, the KCS allowed LASTA to operate the 745 over its main line, and to do so without the protection of a diesel. KCS manager of operating practices Ted Wax oversaw the operation of the locomotive on his railroad. Ted was born and raised in Gonzales, Louisiana. He works out of Baton Rouge, and his territory is from New Orleans to Shreveport.
The entire week was blessed with clear, cold, dry weather which resulted in some wonderful displays of steam and smoke. The 745 only accumulated 120 road miles, but these demonstrated that the locomotive's restoration was fundamentally sound. The week's operation was also a valuable learning experience for LASTA. And best of all, 745's outing was a wonderful Christmas present for the railfans of southeast Louisiana! For information on 745's future activities, visit the LASTA web site at