John Magill is historian and curator at The Historic New Orleans Collection. For this podcast, Magill draws upon his deep reservoir of knowledge to tell the story of the history of railroads in New Orleans. Magill points out that in the 19th century, railroads were the economic engine for the world's commerce. New Orleans had three short-run railroads and Magill describes each one in detail. "Our first railroad station was located at the Mississippi River and Elysian Fields,” he notes. There were plans to build a large railroad between New Orleans and Nashville, Tenn., that would run along Nashville Avenue, but the economic crash of 1837 halted those plans. Listen as Magill tells of a second large railroad that was planned in the 1850s between New Orleans and San Diego Bay and why that railroad was not built.
PODCAST: New Orleans' Railroad History
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