As the steam engine pulled behind the Levee Street Depot, an observer could’ve thought he was in Vicksburg, circa 1930.

But the multimedia presentations inside the train’s cars would’ve quickly brought him back to 2005.

The Louisiana Bicentennial Train arrived in Vicksburg Tuesday night for a day-long stay. This morning, 500 to 600 school children will tour the train’s exhibits on the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The train will leave Vicksburg at 3 this afternoon.

Pulling the train is a restored 1921 steam engine borrowed from Audubon Park in New Orleans.

“This is a maiden voyage for this Louisiana-made steam engine,” said Bruce Brown, president of the Louisiana Steam Train Association, which raised funds for the $1.5 million restoration. The engine was built at the Southern Pacific rail yards in Algiers.

The train left New Orleans on March 29. Vicksburg is its first stop in Mississippi. The train will make stops in Pearl and McComb, before returning to Louisiana and finishing the trip May 5.

About 100 people greeted the train as it slowed to a stop near Levee Street.

Trains have enticed people since they were invented, Brown said.

“It’s a very complex machine. I think people respect any machine that requires a communal effort. Of course, the railroad (companies) realized that, which is why you don’t see (steam engines) anymore. It’s not cost-efficient,” Brown said.

As an example, Brown said it takes seven to eight hours for the steam engine to warm up.

“A diesel engine takes 5 minutes,” he said.

Slow startup time notwithstanding, the engine is one of the most powerful ever built. In its former life, it pulled freight on the New Orleans-to-Houston route. It is capable of traveling at 95 mph, even while carrying freight. On the tour, it doesn’t go above 50 mph.

“At 50, we have to hold it back. It wants to go faster,” Mike Hankins said.

Hankins, jokingly called “Hobo,” is one of the 13 volunteers who help run the train.

“They call me (Hobo) because I stay dirty all the time,” Hankins said.

Hankins keeps the engine greased in addition to monitoring the train’s electronics.

Two professional staff members are also on the crew, though, “It’s mostly volunteer labor. That’s the only way we can afford to do it,” Brown said.

Brown, a retired marriage and family counselor, said trains offer a unique satisfaction.

“When you do something like (counseling) you don’t see results immediately. With this, I saw results immediately,” Brown said.