Baton Rouge station is a historic train station located at 100 South River Road in downtown

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

. It was built for the

Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (Y&MV) was incorporated in 1882 and was part of the Illinois Central Railroad system (IC). Construction began in Jackson, Mississippi, and continued to Yazoo City, Mississippi. The line was later expanded ...

which got absorbed by the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...

. The station was a stop on the Y&MV main line between

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

and

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. The building now houses the Louisiana Art and Science Museum. The two-story main block and the two one-story wings in

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

style stand directly across the Old State Capitol building. wit
three photos and a map
With . The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on May 19, 1994, as the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Co. Depot. IC333

IC-333, a 0-6-0 steam engine formerly owned by the Charles Black Sand & Gravel Company of Fluker, LA, is on display just outside the building. Several passenger cars previously on display have been removed. As of 2011, IC-333 and its tender have been removed from the site as well.

Passenger service

In 1949 passenger service consisted of the Illinois Central's ''Planter,'' an all-coach train from Memphis, Tennessee to New Orleans via

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...

(along the Yazoo ( main line, rather than the IC main line). The station hosted an additional two trains to and two trains from New Orleans. In the station's final years of use, it was not used by the Illinois Central but instead by the

Missouri Pacific The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

, the unnamed successor to the ''Houstonian'' night train on the

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

- New Orleans route. This was not the final train in the city; the

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and ...

continued the ''

Southern Belle Southern belle () is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. Characteristics The image of a Southern belle is often characterized by fashion elements such as a hoop skirt, a corset, pantalettes, a wi ...

'' until 1969 at that company's own station in Baton Rouge.

Louisiana Art and Science Museum

The museum contains many exhibits and galleries, as well as a planetarium. * An ancient Egyptian mummy from the Ptolemaic dynasty. * A gallery for the solar system, including displays on astronomy and meteors. In 2018, the museum was also loaned a ''

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one ...

'' skull from a private collection, nicknamed Jason. * Louisiana's

Apollo 11 lunar sample display The Apollo 11 lunar sample display is a commemorative podium style plaque display consisting of four dust particle specimens (dubbed " Moon rocks"), the recipient's flag and two small metal plates attached with descriptive messages. The Apollo 1 ...

in its stores.

Footnotes

External links

Louisiana Art and Science Museum
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Neoclassical architecture in Louisiana Former Illinois Central Railroad stations Museums in Baton Rouge, Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Railway stations in the United States opened in 1925 1925 establishments in Louisiana Former railway stations in Louisiana {{BatonRougeLA-struct-stub Louisiana_Art_and_Science_Museum

Passenger service

Louisiana Art and Science Museum

See also

Footnotes

External links