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Engineer’s Journal – April 4, 2005

We had to work through a little bug in getting our track bulletins, but CJ Smith was right on top of it and was able to pick them up from the short line’s office. They took us for a tour of their caboose which was a beautifully worked-over ex-SP caboose. The interior was very plush with air conditioning and captain’s chairs and a small kitchen. It also had a generator set under it.

When we got to the train, Deana Mae and her mother had come to tour the train so I got another nice hug from her. Another family had their little 15-month son, Akel Youman with them and we became buddies too. I had a little last-minute scramble before departure to fill the lubricator which had gotten missed and replace a brake shoe on one of the cars. We pulled around the wye, onto the siding and pulled all the way to the west end of the siding to clear the short line for some work they had to do.

We waited almost an hour to let a westbound Amtrak Sunset Limited overtake us and then we were cleared to take the main. The Sunset Limited picked up it’s speed to 70 mph and we already had a clear indication on the block when we got to the next signal. Paul Rouchard, our pilot, blew the whistle all the way which really gave me a break. We pulled into the station at Lafayette and I did a quick inspection of the engine and everything was fine. After the inspection, we pulled to the west end of the yard and started to back into the roundhouse lead.

We did a quick test of the rods by locking down the brake, opening the throttle a little, then moving the reverser while David and Bill Morris watched the rods. The engineer’s side rod at the crosshead pin showed a little movement. We then backed the train down into the lead and tied down the train. I went to work and checked both rods and tightened the engineer’s side one flat. We visited with a lot of folks, including two older SP retirees who had been active during the steam days during the time that 745 was still active.

A bunch of us went to Prejean’s restaurant which had a Cajun band playing and great food. We stayed the night in the same Holiday Inn where Jane and I stayed during the 1991 AACA Founder’s Tour.

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Engineer’s Journal – April 3, 2005

Today was another beautiful day with perfect weather. We had a pretty good crowd of people but had a little snafu when the crew closed the exhibition train at 11 am and started packing up the ramps and the local papers had said that the train would be open until 2 pm. We had to explain about the rigid scheduling and that we had to be ready for our 1 pm departure time. One of the visitors was a fellow who worked with a high-pressure lubrication company and saw the crew struggling with the Alemite gun. He borrowed my caliper and measured the button head fittings on the rods which are an extra-large size-specific to SP locomotives.

We backed out of the stub track on time, pulled to the siding and waited the mandatory 5 minutes before pulling out onto the main. Immediately after getting back on the main, we crossed over the Atchafalaya River on a huge lift span bridge. This is the same bridge that is pictured in the “Homeward Bound” prints that show 745 exiting the bridge eastbound. We later ran over another drawbridge and immediately past that took siding at Baldwin, LA which was our “flag stop”. The ramp was set up to allow visitors from the local Indian tribe who had donated to the train to visit. While the train was parked, UP ran a westbound freight around us and a little later an eastbound Amtrak Sunset Limited passed by.

I was on the opposite side of the train helping to keep the public off of the mainline while the trains passed by. A little 6-year-old girl, Deana Mae, had visited me in the cab about an hour before. She came up with a big grin and gave me a vanilla Moon Pie and a Pepsi. She was a real cutie.

We then ran mostly on advanced approach and approach signals as we were following the westbound freight that had passed us earlier, but we were able to maintain our 40 mph maximum allowable speed most of the way. We had an unfortunate incident around mp 116 when someone threw a large rock or brick and broke a window in the side of the Jefferson car. Barry immediately called a friend of his who has a glass company and they’re bringing several panes to the train in a day or two.

The town of New Iberia put us up in the New Iberia Inn. We were given a suite in which Ray Duplechain, Willy Meyers, David Bartee and I stayed. David Bartee accused Ray and me of having a snoring competition but we feel that it was a false accusation since neither one of us heard anything. We arrived at the depot in New Iberia on time and backed into the wye and onto L&D RR’s track which junctions there. We backed the train into a side track and tied it down for the evening. The guy who had met us in Morgan City showed up with an associate and they brought several high-pressure lubrication systems with them and had even custom machined a head for one of them to fit our extra-large buttons. It’s really been heartwarming to see how much folks have responded to and support the LASTA efforts with the train. Some other folks showed up with a couple of bags of crayfish and an LP boiling pot and the crew had a crawfish boil next to the train.

I wanted to see if the restaurant in a little inn in St. Martinville was still open where Jane and I had had a nice meal in 1991 and Ray Duplechain and I drove the 10 miles over to St. Martinville. The inn, which is next to Longfellow’s Evangeline Oak, was still there but looked like the restaurant was closed. There was a phone on the front and I called the number by the phone. The lady said that she had closed the restaurant several years before. She recommended a restaurant called “Possum’s” and we had a good meal there.

By 745, ago

Engineer’s Journal – April 2, 2005

745 and crew headed westbound over the former SP mainline to Morgan City, Louisiana, on the first leg of her trans-Louisiana trip. It is more than appropriate that her first stop was in the city where she was born and that the city was named for the president of the SPRR predecessor, Morgan’s Louisiana & Texas.
We had a good day today with the SP 745. We left New Orleans 2 minutes behind time and headed for the Huey Long Bridge. It was quite a rush taking the train over such a huge (and high!) structure. The engine is really running well and she seemed to be genuinely happy to be back on her home district rails today for the first time in half a century.
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Engineer’s Journal – April 1, 2005

Amtrak pulled us from the terminal, through the KCSinterchange and actually spotted us in the KCS yard. The move was accompanied by two Amtrak Special Agents from the terminal to the KCS interchange. The KCS yard job then picked us up and was able to place the entire train in the short leg of the wye. I tightened the front main rod pin on the engineer’s side and one of the side rod pins on the fireman’s side.

By 745, ago

Engineer’s Journal – March 31, 2005

Thursday, March 31 – Today was a relatively easy day. We ran errands in the morning picking up some more equipment and provisions and then went down to the train about noon.

The public was still coming and another 600 folks toured through the train. This evening, Jon Stern, the videographer, had a party in the Jefferson Car for all the actors who helped make the 6 videos that are playing in the theater cars.

By Bill Johnson, ago

Engineer’s Journal – March 30, 2005

Wednesday, March 30, 2005 – David, Bill Morris and I had to be at the station for TV interviews with CBS affiliate channel 4. Later in the day, I did an interview with Louisiana Public Broadcasting who has been documenting a lot of the work with 745.

 

One of the visitors to the train was an old gentleman who was a switchman on the job hauled 745 dead in tow over the Huey Long bridge in 1956 when she was placed in the park. They took pictures of him and me together since I was going to be one of the crew to take her back over the bridge under steam.

Lee Gautreaux showed up with a guitar so we picked on the platform for a little while. Some of the LASTA gang jokingly put a plastic bin in front of us and threw some pocket change in it. Some of the public walked by and threw dollar bills in so we raised about $6.50 Tonight we drove to Ray and Marie Duplechain’s and had a wonderful dinner and visit.

 

  • New Orleans
  • New Orleans
  • New Orleans
By Bill Johnson, ago

Engineer’s Journal – March 29, 2005

Tuesday, March 29 – Today we finished building steam and the rest of the LASTA crew put the finishing touches on the train. We met the New Orleans Public Belt RR at 15:00 and they towed us to the Kansas City Southern interchange at Lambert Junction. Ted Wax piloted us on KCS. We stopped for the signal at the interlocking with the old IC line and Amtrak’s Sunset Limited crossed in front of us with three private cars on the rear.

We then got the signal and we continued the move to the south interchange with Amtrak. Amtrak locomotive 508 picked us up and took us the rest of the way to the New Orleans Public Terminal where we were spotted head in against the bumper block.

By Bill Johnson, ago

Engineer’s Journal – March 28, 2005

Monday, March 28, 2005 – Fireman David Bartee flew from Knoxville and I flew from Lexington and we met at our connection in Memphis. Our Memphis – New Orleans flight was canceled due to mechanical problems so we had to rent a car and finish the trip.

We had Keith Bonnette and Bill Morris go ahead and start firing the engine while we were on the road. When we arrived at the LASTA yard 745 was just beginning to build a little bit of heat. David took her to about 50 pounds and then shut her down for the night.

By Bill Johnson, ago

March 2005 Test Run

SP 745 and her four Louisiana Bicentennial Train passenger cars successfully completed round trips between Metairie and Reserve, Louisiana, on Kansas City Southern line on March 4 and 5. Along the right of way, thousands of Louisiana residents and hundreds of rail fans were treated to the sights and sounds of the New Orleans built steam locomotive and her historic consist.

On March 6, Huge crowds of families visited SP 745 upon her return. “Dr. Diesel” himself, Mike Palmieri, was observed hamming it up with Skip Waters of Dallas, Texas, as folks came from all over to celebrate SP 745’s return. Engineer Bill Johnson performed at the jamboree with Cajun folk singer Papillion as music takes a blue grass turn. Bill is primo banjo picker for the Backroom Bluegrass Band, creators of “Ghosts Along the Line, Ballard of Ol’745”.

 

By 745, ago

December 2004 – Test Run!

On the road, SP-745 pounding the high iron, with the Ray Deplechain, caboose. Engineer Bill Johnson, Fireman David Bartee were assisted by LASTA hoggers in training – Bill Morris and Keith Bonnette.  Aboard the caboose were a highly motivated and trained crew of LASTA volunteers, who became the first riders behind 745 in fifty years.

 

By 745, ago

January 2004 – Hydro Test

A “day to remember”, January 21, 2004 – SP 745 successfully passed a hydrostatic test. This was witnessed and documented by the Federal Railroad Administration. With the completion of the test, Greg Dodd’s steam team kicked into overdrive. A contract crew came out the next week and installed the blanket of insulation around the boiler barrel and the back head of the firebox.

Work also continued on the other equipment. What started out as two ex-Auto Trains (ex-RF&P baggage cars) are well on their way into becoming theater cars. When completed, each car will have three separate and divided galleries, each supporting its own audio visual equipment as well as separate exhibits depicting the Louisiana Territory at the time of the Louisiana Purchase. LASTA volunteers have put in hundreds of man-hours into the massive remodeling project. Each theater can comfortably accommodate 25 standing adults.

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August 2003 – The Big Plan?

On August 7, LASTA President Bruce Brown met with representatives of Louisiana railroads who were involved in the planning of the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Train; scheduled to run November and December 2003.

The meeting was hosted by former Louisiana Lt. Governor & retired KCSRR Vice President Jimmy Fitzmorris. In attendance were representative of Union Pacific Railroad, Kansas City Southern Railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Canadian National (IC) Railroad, and Louisiana & Delta Railroad.

The meeting confirmed the cooperation of the railroads involved and it was decided that the steam train will operate over the lines of BNSF, KCS, and CN railways, with the UPRR providing trackage links as necessary.

 

By 745, ago

January 2003 – 745 Party!

LASTA threw a little party in January to celebrate the remounting of 745 on her wheels. A fine time was had by all. Fried fish and hot dogs greeted the many members of LASTA and their invited guests who came out to witness the lifting of 745 and putting her massive drivers under the boiler.

In addition to the usual suspects, news coverage was quite good. Both the print and TV media were represented at the yard, with a nice spread in the Metro edition of the Times Picayune, and extensive coverage that night on TV.

Greg Dodd has been in town for about six weeks to work on 745. Talk about tireless, you could drive out to the yard and there was Greg under the big red tarp working away.

 
 

By 745, ago

LASTA History – 2001 BBQ

LASTA’s first “rebuild barbeque” was held in the yard on November 17. The new generator car was prepared for Greg and the crew to use during longer stays here.

It will also serve as the crew car for the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Train. The car will sleep eight people and have a shower, toilet, and kitchen. It will also house a generator that will power the other four exhibit coaches.

 

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LASTA History – 2001

Our major accomplishment has been maintaining sanity during the ordeal of bidding proposal preparation due to LASTA’s lack of experience in the regulation-filled minefield of state and federal bureaucracy, and the DOTD’s inexperience with a steam engine restoration. Nationwide, we were the first steam engine to be restored with federal ISTEA funds and the obstacles were almost insurmountable. Finally, on July 25, the bid to complete Phase I was awarded to Greg Dodd, the master steam mechanic of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in Dillsboro, North Carolina.

Greg had the bid just for one day since it was declared invalid the following day because the bid bond check was not received. Greg was ready to quit, but under Bruce’s spell, he finally agreed to resubmit his bid. To complicate matters even more, another “interested” individual showed up at the site to view the project. This individual admitted he knew little about steam engines, but wanted to make “a lot of money” since he had given up his share of one of the state’s gaming casinos. He said he was going to hire some “good people” to fix 745. He arranged for some consultants to come by and look the job over but they never showed up! This same individual, on the day the bid was due, missed the deadline by ten minutes! Greg was again the only bidder. Bruce had a lot of scotch that night to celebrate life’s absurdities. But the drink was too soon!

The next day, the bid was again declared invalid since the bid bond check was again missing. Before planning to jump off the Crescent City Connection, Bruce wanted to at least explain to Greg why he didn’t get the bid again. When told, Greg screamed very loudly that he did put the check in the envelope with the bid. On the way to the bridge, Bruce called the DOTD and told them what Greg had screamed. They checked the envelope and found the check! They stated that they had never seen a bid without a check stapled to it and thus assumed that the check was not there. Thank God the envelope was saved! Bruce immediately turned from the bridge. but again it was much too early to celebrate.

After a bid is accepted, a certain amount of time is permitted to obtain a performance bond before the bid is declared invalid. LASTA, Greg, Jefferson Parish, and countless insurance agencies tried to obtain the required bond. LASTA was finally told that it would be easier to get the required bond to build another Taj Mahal than to restore a steam engine. Finally, at the eleventh hour, Bobby Palmer, a friend of Bruce, was able to get the required performance bond. Greg still maintains that the actual rebuild of 745 will be much easier than obtaining the “Notice to Proceed”.

” As you may know by now, my crew and I came to your lovely town on October 26, 2001, and started tearing 745 down on October 29, 2001. The 745 cooperated very well. So far it is going to be a good rebuild. I have seen both better and worse rebuilds. We are looking forward to returning in January to get the boiler ready for sandblasting and do form #4 surveys. Until then I really would like to thank everyone for all the help and support.” 
—Greg Dodd – October 2001

By 745, ago

LASTA Histroy – 2000

Our project was required by ISTEA regulations to have a governmental sponsor. Because we never received any serious interest from the Morial administration (City of New Orleans, Mayor 1994-2002 ), we approached the Regional Planning Commission to act as our sponsor.

The RPC staff was very helpful but had their own set of guidelines to be met before they could meet our request. After months of answering their questions and concerns, the 745 restoration project was presented to the full commission and was adopted by the full membership.

Victory was only momentary, as we were soon informed that the Regional Planning Commission was not a suitable governmental sponsor since it had no power to raise money from taxes.

By 745, ago

LASTA History – 1999

After the Public Belt Railroad Commission’s denial of LASTA’s use of their track, one of the Commission members suggested that we investigate Norfolk Southern‘s short line to Braithwaite, LA. We explored this idea and found much enthusiasm from people in the area, especially State Senator Lynn Dean. Our train’s run could originate at Jackson Barracks, stop at the Chalmette Battlefield, and proceed to St. Bernard State Park, where riders could disembark and have a picnic in beautiful surroundings before the train’s return (the entire trip would encompass 15 miles).

In the process of this planning, we got to meet and befriend David Fowler, then superintendent of Norfolk Southern in New Orleans. While Norfolk Southern has a “no steam” policy, Mr. Fowler and LASTA spent hours considering the possibility of LASTA leasing the short line. Another business plan was originated by Lisa Amoss and a student from the Tulane University Freeman School of Business which indicated the feasibility of such a weekend run.

This whole venture had to be discarded due to a new plant opening in Braithwaite which required rail service from Norfolk Southern on the short line. In spite of Mr. Fowler’s urging us not to give up, LASTA was particularly down and out during this time. It seemed that another noble effort to revitalize the “745” was going to be overcome by insurmountable obstacles. Then the miracle of St. Michael’s!!!!

LASTA approached Sister Lillian, one of the nuns who devoted their lives to building and sustaining St. Michael’s Special School. We described our dream to her and then told of all the setbacks along the way. She gently suggested that we go to the chapel and prayed with us for the answer to our stalemate. As we were leaving, she said that God’s will would be done and gave us some Lourdes water.

Two weeks later, LASTA was notified by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development that its application for the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) was not only found to be eligible but approved in its first phase. Sister Lillian has since passed on, but we know that we continue to have a saint in heaven praying for us. St. Michael’s School will always be one of our beneficiaries in our future charity runs for kids. At first, we were so excited we had no idea of the tunnel of madness we were entering – joyous nightmares!!

Everyone at DOTD was very pleasant and well-meaning, but they all sang (as in the chorus in a Greek tragedy) the same song: “This has never been done before. No steam engine has ever been restored with enhancement funds. We are familiar with roads, bridges, old railroad depots, bike paths, etc., but not steam engines.” They loved the proposal and LASTA was fortunate when George Gele was appointed as our project coordinator. George is a man with the wisdom and patience of the ancient pyramids. He convinced us not to jump in the River Styx when obstacles were placed in our path.

Our first hurdle was, in retrospect, the easiest. LASTA’s project description had to be mailed to all state and federal officials and agencies to invite them to voice concerns about the project’s environmental impact. We received not a single objection. God bless. The second hurdle was more complicated and absorbed our time and energy for the remainder of 1999 and 2000.

 

By 745, ago

SP 745 National Historic Register

On September 14, 745 was placed on the National Historic Register and therefore eligible for various funding sources.

Established by Congress in 1966, the National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of significant historic properties. Each state has a historic preservation office which is responsible for nominating buildings, sites, districts, etc. to the Register. In Louisiana, this program is administered by the Division of Historic Preservation, which is part of the Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

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LASTA History – 1998

LASTA began negotiations with the NOPB to obtain permission to run 745 between the French Quarter and Audubon Park. Our presentation to the eighteen-member Belt Commission was very well received, and a seven-member subcommittee was appointed to investigate the idea further. LASTA worked with Mr. Duplechain and this subcommittee over several months and were able to provide reassurance about, among other matters, liability, alternate plans in case of breakdowns, and examples of cordial relations between tourist and host railroads in other cities across the country. The final decision of the subcommittee was made in the summer of 1998.

They expressed interest in the project; however, they cited increased freight business in the city as a paramount cause for not granting us track rights. They correctly pointed out that the feasibility study’s estimate of revenue was based on six runs a weekend and that we would be in serious financial difficulty if they were forced to deny runs because of freight obligations.

 

 

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