by Lewis DohertyThis year’s Louisiana SteamTrain Association [LASTA]Christmas party with its ac-companying invitation mail-ing, event announcementson radio and in The Advocatewas well attended. Approxi-mately 350 people attendedthe December 12th openhouse event at LASTA’s yard.Many more who were un-

able to attend learned about orreacquainted themselves withLASTA through the invita-tional mailings and the generalmedia including after eventcoverage on WWL .A promised, Santa and his

elves rolled into the yard on agondola car pushed bySP745 to the excitement ofthe children.The arrivals from the North

Pole moved from the one cartrain into the parked Jeffersoncar where Santa held court lis-tening to children describingtheir wishes for presents. Apacked queue of youngstersand their parents extendingfrom Santa’s thrown located at

the porch end of Jefferson,through the interior of theeighty-five foot bar/lounge carand well out on to the ground.

With Santa and the elvesin Jefferson and out of thegondola car, adults andteenagers began taking ridesin the gondola car powered bySP745. And when the chil-dren completed their audiencewith Santa, they and their par-ents also enjoyed rides in thegondola car.The weather was near per-

fect, not rainy and cold butwindy. Some of the wind wasprovided by an Acadian Am-bulance helicopter whichlanded on the helipad next toour yard adding to the fun forthe crowd. The wash fromhelicopter made it necessaryfor party participants to holddown the large event tent, sothat it also didn’t take to flight.

LASTA’s gift shop solditems with LASTA’s name anddesigns to help spread theword about the organizationand generate funds for itswork. Food and soft drinks

were also available for thecrowd. New membershipswere taken at the gate andthe 2016 LASTA Calendaras well as recent 745 Jour-nalswere displayed there also.General media invitations

included an article invitingpeople to attend the Christ-mas party with the photo ofSanta and his elves on thefront of SP745 in The Advo-cate. Hazel Schlueter ofHazel and the Delta Ram-blersmentioned the party onher radio show. WWL’s newscast covered

the event, a copy of whichcan be found on WWL staffmember Kirk Jacob’sYouTube site entitled “745Steam Train on WWL-TV.”This news report then also

lead to further coverage byWWL through its Action Re-port the video located onWWL’s YouTube site enti-tled “Action Report: Vol-unteers Seeking MuseumSite for Historic Steam En-gine.”

745Journal

Louisiana Steam Train AssociationP.O.Box 1084 Metairie, LA 70004

lasta.org (504) 897-2464

Above: On the front of a gondola car pushed by SP745, Santa and his elves arrive to a hugecrowd at LASTA’s yard. Photo: Jim “Bigfoot” Bellmyer

Christmas Party 2015

Winter 2016

745 Club Members

Patti AbbottMatt AndersonMatt Barrebruce A.Bruce A. BrownDavid BrownJ. Roger Brown Jr.Glenn CarlSteven A DeloneyRay & Marie DuplechainEllsworth CorporationEd G. & Marti ErneweinLeon Ford IVGary FoxE. J. Friedrichs Jr.James GuilbeauCharles HeimerdingerDavid Honold L.E.Richard JacobsBarry J. KeeganPhilip LaRosaRichard & Patricia LaufferGerry LynchWayne & Charlene MinnickBill MorrisPhilip MoseleyAllan NationJohn PriceThe Roome FamilyLouis R Saillard IvBrian SchenkKarl SmithRichard SpencerDavid & Anissa SpraulJonathan SturgesNolan P. & Deanna Zeringue

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Page 2 Winter 2016

Louisiana Steam Train Association 745 Journal

Above: While the members of the crowd waited for theirturn to ride the train, they were provided with music fromthe Blue Grass band Hazel and the Delta Ramblersshownhere consisting of Larry Schlueter on bass fiddle, Scott Kro-pog on guitar, Russ Vandyke on banjo and Hazel Schlueteron mandolin. Later in the day, Jason Mercado entertainedthe crowd with singing and guitar.

Below: They were also provided with a view of an upcom-ing rebuild, the Bisso locomotive, and a placard de-scribing it. Photos: Jim “Bigfoot” Bellmyer

Board Meeting:February 25th

Steam UpFebruary 28th

Drop by the yard on Saturdays

to visit or help.

LASTA’s youngestvolunteer, JacobStryon, andLASTA’s founder,Bruce Brown, areseen at the ChristmasParty with AllenMaleig following.Jacob purchased

components of anAMTRAK conduc-tor’s uniform andmanaged the load-ing of the passen-gers into thegondola car.Bruce dressed in the traditional steam locomotive crewdress of overalls. Photo: Jim “Bigfoot” Bellmyer

by Bruce Brown, Member-ship Director

Santa sent word of howvery pleased he was withLASTA's Christmas party!Though he admitted beingtired from all the “beautifulchildren” on his knee, helooks forward to next year'svisit at our rail yard. We arealready planning for it!Please note the new addi-

tion to the 745 Journal. Allof the 745 Club memberswill be permanently listed onour front page. We are sograteful for their support. Inturn, they receive lifetimeLASTA membership with allthe benefits of regular mem-bership. They also have theopportunity to throttle SP745 under steam in our yard(under supervision). Sinceour 2016 membership drive,LASTA is happy to an-nounce two new 745 Clubmembers: Edwin J. Friedrichs,Jr. and Richard & PatriciaLauffer. WELCOME!Also please note on your

LASTA Calendar thatSTEAM UP is Sunday, Feb-ruary 28. All LASTA mem-bers are invited to come tothe yard and watch SP 745steam up and even help inthe process – a “hands on”

experience (all under super-vision of course). Oncesteamed up, the 745 willmove up and down the track.As mentioned above, 745Club members may engineerthis wonderful machine! Ifyou are a 745 Club memberand wish to throttle, pleaselet us know so we can planaccordingly.Steam-Up days are de-

signed to be both fun and ed-ucational. LASTA willsupply free hot dogs andlemonade but donations aremost welcomed.Finally most of you statedthat you would prefer the745 Journal be sent bypostal mail. Since the U. S.Post Office requires a mini-mum of 200 letters for amailing to qualify for its non-profit bulk mail rates, thosewho designated e-mail serv-ice were also included in thismailing to make that mini-mum number which savedLASTA big on postage. E -mail recipients will still re-ceive the quick, color e-mailversion in addition to theprinted version. In closing, again we are

grateful for all your supportand encouragement. Hope tosee you at STEAM UP!

Founder’s Column

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745 Journal Louisiana Steam Train Association

Winter 2016 Page 3

Above Left: Santa with one of the numerous children in the Jefferson car.

Above Right: Among the numerous tasks that had to be accomplished before the Christmas party included installingSP745’swhistle. Because steam locomotive whistles are a prime target for railway collectors, thieves target them. Althoughthe yard is secured, no chances are taken, and any items that are valuable and removable are locked away. Here RitchieJacobs (holding wrench), Nathan Hull (sitting on top) and Jacob Stryon (standing on catwalk) are seen reinstalling thewhistle while Ron Goldman sits in the fireman’s seat. Then after the party it was removed.

Main Photograph Below: Kirk Jacob, seen in a 745 cap at the head of the crowd of eager passengers at the loading point,kept them from getting too close to the tracks.

Inset Photo Below: One of many gondola car loads of passengers. Although many people stood, this particular passengerfriendly gondola car has seats. Photos: Jim “Bigfoot” Bellmyer

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Louisiana Steam Train Association 745 Journal

Page 4 Winter 2016

The Porter Locomotive Goes to a New Home

In-Kind Donationsby Lewis Doherty

The Porter double-expan-sion compressed air locomo-tive was moved fromLASTA’s yard to its newhome at the Age of SteamRoundhouse at SugarCreek, Ohio.Not only does this free upspace in the yard, consider-

ing LASTA’s current projectsand plans to undertake theBisso locomotive rebuild,the Age of Steam Round-house is better able thanLASTA to rebuild, main-tain and display the engine.

Bruce Brown and Ritchie Jacobs attach straps to thePorter to lift it with the Orton railroad crane andplace it on a trailer to head to its new home.Left photo: J. Roger Brown Right photo: Ritchie Jacobs

The Train to Adventure

Photo: Jim “Bigfoot” Bellmyer

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by Lewis Doherty

The Blue Water Rubber& Gasket Company, whichhas provided LASTA within-kind donations of gasketsand hoses, most recently do-nated a new four inch waterfeed line for SP745’s tender.

Many thanks for its contin-ued support of LASTA’s efforts.Those who are willing to

donate and may have materi-als, tools and equipmentwhich LASTA might need,please let us know.