Sometime back in the 1970s my grandfather, Big Daddy, took us to see the Illinois Central #333 which was, and remains, parked in Baton Rough Louisiana near the old state capitol and the USS Kidd Veterans Memorial. The Illinois Central Railroad was a major passenger and freight rail connection between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana.
IC #333 Today
Panoramio user has posted images of the engine from a few years ago, and while it looks to be well kept, maybe even restored in the photo above from the late 1970’s, time seems to have taken it’s toll.
Here’s another image from Patrick Ferguson from RR Picture Archives showing IC #333 plus the coal car from the side.
IC #333 with rail cars
This Illinois Central depot at Baton Rouge was completed in 1926, and in 1928 it was being used by 22 trains a day: 14 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley (IC), six Gulf Coast Lines (MP) and two Texas & New Orleans (SP) trains. Passenger service on the Espee ended around 1931 and on the IC in 1950, but MP trains ran until 1967. The building was subsequently acquired by the City of Baton Rouge and leased to the Louisiana Arts and Science Center (now the Louisiana Art and Science Museum).
In 1975-76 LASC set up a display train next to the station consisting of IC 0-6-0 333, IC RPO car 95, Southern Railway coach 1064, IC dining car 4112 and IC office car 4. The locomotive and diner were owned by the museum; while the RPO, coach and office car were leased from the Southeast Louisiana Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Over time, the train fell into disrepair; and in 2000 the museum decided to get rid of it. In late 2006 the three NRHS cars were moved to Hammond, Louisiana and diner went to the Monticello Railroad Museum in Illinois. The 0-6-0 is suppose to go to Tioga, Louisiana; but as of early 2010 it hadn’t been moved. [RR Picture Archives]
More photos of IC #333 here at RR Picture Archives.
Illinois Central Engine #333 was a coal fired steam locomotive. More on how that works tomorrow.
-Mike
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