Streetcars: December 2007 Archives

Von Dullen 2001, the CKD/Tatra test car, and 963, all on Canal Street at Christmastime.

The prototype Von Dullen car, 2001, on the street in December, 2000. NORTA was evaluating PCC-style trucks from CKD/Tatra, and the Czech company sent over a streetcar to test. Earl Hampton caught 2001 and the CKD car on Canal Street and got this photo right as 963 is beginning an outbound run on the St. Charles line.

Merry Christmas!

We're not all the way to this point yet, but it's the ultimate goal of rebuilding the St. Charles line--the terminal at S. Carrollton and S. Claiborne Avenues. This 1958 photo, from the collection of Mr. Irwin From, shows Perley A. Thomas streetcars 967 and 908 at the end of the line, ready to begin the inbound run, and 927 is approaching the terminal, concluding her outbound run.

When belt service on St. Charles and Tulane was discontinued, the St. Charles line took on its present configuration, which is point-to-loop. Streetcars start out here, at Carrollton and Claiborne and go down Carrollton to St. Charles. They turn at the "Riverbend" onto St. Charles and head down to Lee Circle. Further down from Lee Circle, St. Charles is one-way going outbound, so the streetcar goes around Robert Edward and then one block up Howard Avenue, turning right onto Carondelet. The line continues inbound to Canal on Carondelet, which is "Stop #1." From here, a new run begins, looping round one block on Canal St., turning onto St. Charles Avenue, running up St. Charles to Carrollton, then Carrollton back to Claiborne.

Yesterday was a red-letter day for NORTA and the St. Charles line. The hard work of Mr. Wil Mullet and his crews in the rail department, along with NORTA management's ability to re-hire a number of the streetcar operators displaced by the storm paid off. The St. Charles line has extended operations to the Riverbend district, so the line now runs the entire length of the city's most famous avenue.

That leaves just one section of the line left to complete, S. Carrollton Avenue to the terminal. The overhead wire is almost complete, but this segment won't go back operational until the spring. NORTA and Entergy are doing upgrades to the power substation at Willow and Dublin, next to Carrollton Station. Once those electrical upgrades are complete, the St. Charles, Riverfront, and Canal lines will once again be fully up and running.

This photo, from 1958, shows the old wooden light poles supporting the overhead wire for the streetcars. You can also see the trolley buses on the Tulane line on the street. After the storm, a trolley bus manufacturer offered to work with NORTA to replace some of the diesel buses with electric ones, but the proposal hasn't gone any further. I don't know what the circumstances are on that, though. My guess is that, like many other people working to bring New Orleans back, NORTA staff just haven't had the time to work on such things. Many city services, from transit to housing to the libraries, have lost employees because they were unable to return. In some cases, older folks took one look at the mess they came back to, became overwhelmed, and retired right then and there. That leaves those working to keep things running even more overwhelmed, to the point where ideas and suggestions that make sense to armchair quarterbacks in other parts of the country end up on the shelf for a while.

We at NOSRA and CanalStreetCar (dot com) would like to express our appreciation to the Commissioners, management, and staff of NORTA, and wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Perley A. Thomas streetcar 922, departing Beauregard Terminal.

New Orleans streetcars in operation today are "double-ended" cars. When they reach the end of the line and are ready to go back, the front becomes the back and vice-versa. At the end of the line, like Beauregard Circle near City Park in this photo, the operator will pull the streetcar into the terminal, stop it, and then change the trolley pole from which the streetcar gets power. The one in what was the rear of the car coming into the terminal is pulled down so it doesn't make contact with the electrical wire overhead. The pole at what was the front of the streetcar is released, so it makes contact with the wire. The poles are wired to the motors on the streetcar such that the motor will turn one way or the other depending on which pole is active. When the switch is made, the streetcar is powered back on, and the operator will leave at the scheduled departure time.

Beauregard Circle is where City Park Avenue, Wisner Blvd., and Esplanade Avenue come together. The circle also feeds into City Park, to the New Orleans Museum of Art. The streetcar terminal at this location was constructed in 2002-2003. In the early part of the 20th century, streetcars ran on the short stretch of City Park Avenue seen above, when the Canal and Esplanade lines ran as belt service.

Riding the streetcar to Beauregard Terminal is one of the best ways to get from downtown to City Park to see the lights of "Celebration in the Oaks," or in the spring, to get over to the Fair Grounds racetrack for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.