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.
