NEW ORLEANS – After several years on hiatus due to major levee reconstruction on The Fly at Audubon Park, Southern Pacific Steam Locomotive #745 returns with the 2016 Steam Train Festival. The historic engine and her exhibit train will be parked on the rails at “The Fly” for all to see Saturday, October 15, and Sunday, October 16, 2016, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., both days.
SP 745 is a nearly 100-year-old steam engine built in Algiers in 1921 and is the only surviving Louisiana built steam locomotive. It was displayed in Audubon Park from 1956 to 1984, but was pulled out of the park to make room for the expansion of Audubon Zoo.
As SP 745 returns to Audubon Park, visitors will be able to view this monstrous mechanical marvel and climb aboard to blow her whistle and see how a real steam engine operates. Steam Fest is a rare chance to experience a unique and significant piece of New Orleans and Louisiana railroad history up close and personal.
There will also be a special exhibit of the many historical monuments of New Orleans and their creators from before the Civil War to the present, and displays on the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad from the Louisiana Steam Train Association (LASTA), which maintains and operates SP 745.
And for the first time at Steam Fest, those who attend will be able to take a ride on a vintage “Speeder.” It’s a small self-propelled railcar that railroads once used for track inspections and maintenance. There will also be a special appearance by the Garden Railroad from City Park.
Hazel and the Delta Ramblers will provide musical entertainment along with Bob and The Thunder, River Rats and Jenn Howard and Band, and, for the kids, there will be a bounce house and rock wall climbing.
Food, drinks and railroad related gifts will also be available.
