[ LASTA HOME ] [ ABOUT LASTA] [ EVENTS] [ GALLERY ]
[ LINKS] [ MEMBERSHIP ] [ MEDIA ] [ STORE ] [ VOLUNTEER ]

Contact Us

The History of Engine 745

In 1919 the dough boys came home from the "war to end all wars." They swelled the work force of America. Here in New Orleans, the Southern Pacific (SP) found that its massive Algiers Shops had an over abundant supply of workers. It employed almost 5,000 skilled laborers, who could repair and rebuild freight and passenger cars, and keep the SP steam locomotive fleet in running order, there was just not enough work to go around. Today corporate America might solve the problem by "right-sizing" the company. But this was 1919, and the Algiers Shops were one BIG family. Work would be found.

The Southern Pacific owned and operated numerous class Mk-5 locomotives. These 2-8-2 locos were built to the Harriman standard, so that full, half, and near sisters of these SP Lines locomotives could be found on rival Union Pacific and the Illinois Central railroads (both roads were at onetime part of the Harriman empire.) Various nicknames have been ascribed to these locomotives, the most widely accepted name being "Mikados", as some of the first locos of this wheel arrangement were sent to Japan. (Note: during WW II, patriotic railroaders renamed these locos "MacArthurs", for obvious reasons.)  Locomotives always needed repairs, so the Southern Pacific worked up a large order of spare parts from the original builder, the famous Baldwin Locomotive Works.

In came the parts...boilers, fireboxes, driving wheels, pony trucks, tubes, flues... all the parts needed to keep the SP fleet of Mk-5's running.....except.... the SP had no intention of repairing locomotives. The SP consigned most of the parts to New Orleans, and a smaller order to the SP shop at Houston, Texas, ostensibly for repairs. The two shops put their boiler makers to work. Over the next two years, the two shops turned out move than a dozen   "built in Algiers " ( or Houston) Mk-5 steam locomotives. For two years, Algiers was in the steam motive power manufacturing business.

The "Mikes" , as they were called, were classic standard motive power. Designed primarily for freight service, the engines served as power for extra passenger and military moves. A quick look under the cab' s foot plate reveals an extra steam line connection for providing steam to passenger cars. Mikes were working class engines, able to handle main and branch line freight with equal skill. They did not strike the mystic chords of Big Boys, Challengers, Daylights, Southern Ps Pacifics, NYC Hudsons and Mohawks. Their world was the fifty car manifest freight train, the troop train extra to an Army base, and the cross town transfer.

Of the mikes built in Algiers, they received road numbers 738-750. One of Dixon' s books has a "builder' s photo" of a long string of newly built mikes at the Algiers Shops. As part of the SP' s Texas and New Orleans subsidiary ( a direct descendant of Morgan' s Texas & Louisiana, and itself a post War Between the States orphan of the original New Orleans, Opelousas & Great Western), the mikes found most of their working lives east of El Paso and west of the Sabine. Because of Texas railroad law requirements, the distinctive Vanderbilt tenders were recipients of a "dog house", a small metal out-house looking shed built atop the tender, to provide a station for the head end brakeman.

Copyright 2008 Louisiana Steam Train Association, New Orleans
Updated: July 13, 2008
The Louisiana Steam Train Association (LASTA) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation.