Picture 8-1.

This view looks north (by the compass) from a point a little north of Carrollton Avenue.  The New Basin Canal is at the far right, with a railroad bridge across it.  The road between the canal and the Royal Blue streetcar right-of-way was originally called the Shell Road, and was later called Pontchartrain Blvd.  Crossing arms can be seen at the point that the railroad crosses the canal, the roadway, and the streetcar line.  There is a line of trees in the distance, which was between the roadway and the streetcar line.  Beyond the curve seen here, the canal, the road, and the streetcar line ran straight all the way to Metairie Road, just over a mile away.  Note the pole in the foreground with a sign “Cars do not stop here.”

The railroad line was built by the Louisiana Railway & Navigation Co. in 1907.  That road was absorbed into the Louisiana & Arkansas Ry. in 1929, and the L&A was merged into the Kansas City Southern in 1950, which dates this picture to 1929 at the earliest.  This streetcar trackage was abandoned July 5, 1937.  Today, the overpass connecting Tulane Ave. and Airline Highway occupies part of this view. — Collection of Maunsel White

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