The Saint Charles streetcar line is the oldest streetcar line in the world
still operating today. Save for an interruption by Hurricane Katrina
beginning August 29, 2005, it has operated continually since September 26, 1835.
Of course, over that long interval of time, it has evolved, from its beginning
as a suburban steam train connecting what was then a string of upriver
suburbs to New Orleans, then becoming a horsecar line, to its present state as
an electric streetcar line.
The present cars operating the line can be considered the fourth generation in a long
line of electric streetcars dating back to 1893. They were designed and
constructed in 1923 and 1924 by the Perley Thomas Car Co. of High Point, North
Carolina, a company which is still in business today building school buses under
the name Thomas Built Buses. The cars have been extensively rebuilt
several times in the excellent shops at Carrollton Station. They are seen
in this article in their next-to-last state, having been rebuilt once more since
these pictures were taken.
We present here a series of photos in the author's collection, most taken by one photographer on
Wednesday and Thursday, May 23 and 24, 1979. (Exceptions are noted.
Unfortunately, most of the photographers' names are unknown.)
Our trip begins at the uptown terminal of the line at
the intersection of S. Carrollton and S. Claiborne Avenues, and proceeds
down the line on Carrollton and St. Charles Avenues to Lee Circle, around the
loop via Howard Avenue, Carondelet Street, Canal Street, and St. Charles
Street, ending at Lee Circle.
Carrollton & Claiborne |
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Picture 1. At the terminal, there are double crossovers in a scissors
arrangement, so that an incoming streetcar can switch to either of the two
tracks. This view looks toward S. Claiborne Avenue at cars 905 and
972. Both have reversed ends, a matter of putting up one trolley pole
and pulling down the one at the other end, with the motorman then reversing
the backs of the passenger seats while moving to the new front end
of the car. They are ready to begin their next runs toward Canal
Street (downbound, or inbound, depending on your point of view).
Car 905, at our left, appears to be the next car scheduled to leave,
as the motorman is alert at the controls, and there are passengers aboard.
— October 16, 1979
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Picture 2. We are looking back down the line toward the River, in the opposite
direction from the preceding picture. Car 910 is on our left,
with another car to its right and a third awaiting its turn to enter
the terminal.
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Picture 3. Car 930 has just arrived in the right-hand terminal track
and unloaded its passengers. In a few moments, the motorman will pull
down the trolley pole seen here and raise the other one to reverse the
direction of the car. The signs on the front dash were added when the
cars were converted from two-man crews to one-man.
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Picture 3.2. The operator has changed ends of
car 923, and it is filling up as he boards passengers for the next
inbound/downbound trip. — October 12, 1979
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Picture 3.4. Car 933 is awaiting its turn to enter the
terminal tracks. It has already discharged its arriving passengers.
— April 15, 1977 — Charles Porter photo, Michael Strauch collection |
Picture 3.6. Car 972 is pulling out to begin its next
inbound (downbound) run to Canal Street. It is taking the
crossover from the terminal to the inbound track. — April 15, 1977
— Charles Porter photo, Michael Strauch collection |
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Picture 3.7. Car 930 is approaching the terminal, where it
will have to wait until one of the two cars in the terminal pulls out, so
that 930 can take its place. — April 1978 — Joseph Guarino
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Picture 3.8. Panola Street is only
three blocks from the terminal, so car 945 is in the home stretch to the end
of the line. A Tulane bus is just visible in the distance at its terminal.
— December 1975
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Carrollton Station and Connection at Jeanette and Willow Streets |
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Picture 4. Car 900 on Carrollton Ave. near Jeanette Street.
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Picture 5. Car 903 near Jeanette Street.
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Picture 5.3. Car 962 is inbound/downbound, at
Jeanette Street, passing the track connection which leads off to the left
to the Carrollton Station car barn. Note the dual gauge track at the
switch in the foreground. — April 4, 1977 — William J. Madden photo
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Picture 5.6. Car 923 is outbound, crossing Jeanette Street
near the Carrollton Station car barn. The track connection leads off to
the left. Note the sign hanging from the support arm for the overhead
trolley wire: “ELECTRIC SWITCH SLOW”. The back of a similar sign can just be
seen over the other track, across Jeanette Street.
— May 30, 1977
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Pictures 6 and 7. Outbound car 906 is at Jeanette Street, and is heading for the
car barn, Carrollton Station. Note the dual-gauge right rail of the
track at the rail crossings and track curves, and the back of the SLOW sign
above the trolley wire. We follow the car around
the curve into Jeanette Street....
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Pictures 8 and 9. ...into Jeanette Street and up Jeanette toward the car barn a block away.
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Picture 10. Cars 907, 914, 948, and 953 peek out of the doors of Carrollton Station
car barn on the Willow Street side. At the right we have a glimpse of a diesel
bus assigned to the Tulane line. We can see through the car barn at
left out to Jeanette Street. It is Sunday, so fewer cars are out on
the line than would be on a weekday. — June 18, 1978
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Picture 10.5. This photo was taken on a Monday, with more
cars out on the line and fewer in the station awaiting the call to service.
904, 906, and 933 are at the head of their tracks in this view from Willow
Street. — April 4, 1977 — William Madden photo
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Picture 11. Car 930 is inbound on
Carrollton Ave. between Jeanette and Willow Streets (Willow is ahead).
There is a pair of red brake lights on the dash of the streetcar at both
ends. These were experimental, and were not successful, so they were
not adopted for the car fleet. Eventually, they were painted over,
and were eliminated the next time the dash panel had to be replaced.
(For other views of them on this car, see Picture 3
and Picture 3.7, and for a view on car 923 after they
had been painted over, see Picture 65.5.)
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Picture 12. Car 911 is outbound on Carrollton near Willow Street.
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Picture 13. Outbound car 934 is at Willow Street. The tracks at the
right along Willow lead from the car barn to Carrollton Avenue.
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Riverbend — The Corner of Carrollton and St. Charles Avenues |
The New Orleans nickname “Crescent City” is based on the curve
in the Mississippi River near the original city. Actually, the River
makes several major curves as it passes the City. One of those curves
is near the intersection of S. Carrollton with St. Charles Avenue, so this
point has become known as Riverbend.
Over the years, the River has encroached on the City; St. Charles Avenue
in the early 19th century extended another block or so beyond Carrollton
Avenue. Today, there is only a remnant beyond this intersection. |
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Picture 23. Here is car 905 starting into the turn upbound from St. Charles into
Carrollton.
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Picture 24. The car has passed the photographer, who has turned around and
captured it again as it stops for passengers before proceeding out
Carrollton Avenue toward the Claiborne terminal.
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Pictures 25 and 26. Car 910 is downbound, taking the turn from Carrollton to
St. Charles Avenue on its way to Canal Street.
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Picture 27. Upbound car 915 has just completed the curve from St. Charles Avenue,
and is starting out Carrollton Avenue toward the Claiborne terminal.
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Picture 28. Downbound car 932 is just entering the curve to carry it from
Carrollton into St. Charles Avenue.
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Picture 29. Car 965 is downbound, turning from Carrollton into St. Charles.
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St. Charles Avenue |
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Picture 30. Car 922 passing Huso Street along St. Charles Avenue.
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Picture 31. Car 900 at Burdette Street.
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Picture 32. Car 907 has just passed Adams Street.
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Picture 33. Car 915 at Milaudon Street.
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Pictures 34 and 35. Uptown New Orleans developed in the 19th century as a series
of small suburbs, called faubourgs (from the French faux bourg, “false town”),
which were gradually absorbed into the City. Several of those faubourgs
included a pair of streets named Upperline and Lowerline, which marked their
up-river and down-river boundaries. Curiously enough, two
of those names have survived to the present day, but from two different
faubourgs. So today, Lowerline Street is upriver from Upperline
Street! Here we watch cars 922 (at left) and 934 pass Lowerline Street.
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Picture 36. Downbound car 969 on St. Charles approaches Broadway, with Dominican
College to our left.
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Picture 37. Upbound car 953 has just crossed Broadway. An old Katz &
Besthoff Drug Store is on the corner.
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Picture 38. Downbound car 954 approaches Broadway. Note the crossover in
both of these pictures.
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Picture 39. Car 914 stops for a passenger at Walnut Street.
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Pictures 40 and 40.5. Upbound car 932 at left,
and downbound car 900 at right, are passing the entrance to Audubon Place,
an early example of a gated community. — June 1978 (car 900)
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Pictures 41 and 42. The St. Charles line passes the outer edge of Audubon Park.
Downbound cars 904 (at left) and 914 pass the park entrance.
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Picture 43. Upbound car 905 is stopping for passengers at Tulane
University, with another car close behind.
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Picture 44. Car 914 is in front of Tulane University, with
the tower of Holy Name of Jesus Church at Loyola University in the background.
— December 24, 1976
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Pictures 45 and 46. Upbound car 904 at left is passing Tulane University,
and upbound car 907 is passing Loyola University next door.
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Picture 47. Car 933 is stopped for the red light and for passengers at Nashville.
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Picture 48. Car 969 at Nashville.
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Picture 49. Car 905 on St. Charles at Jefferson.
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Picture 50. Car 920 at Valmont.
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Picture 50.5. This is somewhere along St. Charles Avenue;
the cross street is unknown. This was a common sight along the car line,
as NOPSI track maintenance workers stand aside from their labors to let car 969 go past.
— July 15, 1976 — New Orleans Times-Picayune photo by Paul M. Lester
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Picture 51. Car 961 crossing Robert Street.
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Picture 52. Here is the surviving Upperline Street as car 904 crosses.
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Picture 53. Downbound car 900 (at left) approaches waiting passengers as upbound 915
crosses Bordeaux Street.
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Picture 54. Napoleon Avenue is a wide major street crossing St. Charles Avenue.
In steam and horsecar days, there were important shops for the cars here.
We watch car 903 crossing Napoleon upbound.
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Picture 55. Cars 904 (at left) and 900 prepare to pass as 900 crosses Delachaise Street.
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Picture 56. Car 904 and friend have just passed along St. Charles near Louisiana Avenue.
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Picture 57. Car 954 has just crossed Louisiana Avenue upbound. |
Picture 57.5. Car 915 is accelerating away from the Louisiana
Avenue stop, upbound. Notice in the left background the K&B
(Katz & Besthoff) drugstore, a long-time New Orleans establishment.
— April 15, 1977 — Charles Porter photo, Michael Strauch collection |
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Picture 58. Upbound car 922 has just passed Harmony Street.
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Picture 59. Car 933 passing Sixth Street. It seems odd to find a series of
numbered streets starting apparently in the middle of nowhere (First through
Ninth, but the street between Fourth and Sixth is named Washington). It makes
sense if you know that they were the streets of one of the old faubourgs.
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Picture 60. Car 903 crossing Josephine.
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Picture 61. Car 934 approaching St. Andrew Street.
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Picture 62. Car 900 upbound at Felicity Street.
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Picture 63. Car 920 at Terpsichore.
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Picture 64. Car 910 Crossing Thalia Street.
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Picture 65. Car 900 has just passed another car near Clio Street.
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Picture 65.5. Upbound cars 923 and
934 are just passing Erato Street, about two blocks from the approach ramps
to the Mississippi River Bridge, seen in the background. We have a good view of
the pair of experimental red brake lights on the dash of car 923, after they
had been painted over. (See Pictures 3,
3.7, and 11 for the unpainted
lights on car 930, taken about two years before this picture.) — September 17, 1981
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Picture 66. Car 922 is about to pass under the approach ramps to the Mississippi
River Bridge, today called the Crescent City Connection.
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Lee Circle to Howard Ave. to Carondelet |
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Picture 71. Car 920 has passed the light at St. Charles Street and is approaching
the switch that will take it toward Howard Avenue.
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Picture 72. Having entered the switch, 920 is starting into the curve to Howard Avenue.
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Picture 73. Car 915 on the curve leading from Lee Circle into Howard Avenue.
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Picture 73.5. Car 963 entering the Howard Avenue neutral ground. — March 21, 1978
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Picture 74. Car 907 on the Howard Avenue neutral ground heading for Carondelet Street.
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Pictures 75 and 76. Car 953 (left) and 904 (right) on the Howard Avenue neutral
ground approaching Carondelet Street, where they will turn right for the
trip to Canal Street.
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Picture 76.5. Car 971 is on Howard Avenue approaching
Carondelet Street, in the foreground, where it will board the waiting passengers, then await
the red light to stop automobile traffic on Howard before turning to its right (our left).
We are looking in the opposite direction from Pictures 75 and 76.
Note the unusual sign on the traffic light standard in the left foreground: “Left turn
on red or green permitted.” This applies to traffic in the right-hand roadway of
Howard Avenue, turning left into one-way Carondelet Street. — June 1976
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Canal Street |
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Picture 83. The stop on Carondelet at Canal Street is considered to be the number 1
stop on the St. Charles car line. Today, it looks different, since
the sidewalk has been enlarged to come all the way out to the streetcars,
eliminating any danger from automobiles such as the one parked here.
We see car 969 at this point just getting ready to pull into Canal Street
to begin its upbound run.
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Picture 84. Car 906 is taking the curve from Carondelet Street to the edge of the
Canal Street neutral ground, which it will follow for one block to
St. Charles Street.
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Picture 85. Car 911 has almost completed the turn onto Canal Street, heading to
St. Charles Street.
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Picture 86. This is the trailing end of car 914, as it completes the turn into
Canal Street approaching St. Charles Street. The curved seam in the
concrete pavement marks the spot where the crossover between the Canal and
St. Charles line tracks was removed in 1964.
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Picture 87. Car 932 on the Canal Street neutral ground
awaiting the traffic light to turn right into St. Charles Street.
Note the PS logo behind the number on the side of the car.
— May 30, 1977
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Picture 88. Car 972 is approaching St. Charles Street, where it will turn right
heading back to Lee Circle. At the right we see the Canal Street
busway which replaced the Canal Street car line in 1964, and was itself
replaced by the restored Canal streetcar line in 2004. The bus at the
left is probably on the CBD Shuttle run.
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Picture 89. Car 914 turns into St. Charles Street in front of waiting automobile
traffic. The heavy painted line in the street warns automobile drivers
not to encroach on the space required by the body overhang from the turning
streetcar.
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Up St. Charles Street |
In the 19th century, the name St. Charles Street extended only from
Canal Street to what was originally called Tivoli Circle. The avenue from
the Circle upriver was called Nayades. After the Civil War, the famous
statue of General Lee was erected at the Circle, and it was renamed for him.
And Nayades was renamed St. Charles Avenue. Today, the street sign at the
corner of Canal and St. Charles is marked “St. Charles Avenue”, but old timers
still call the segment between Canal Street and Lee Circle “St. Charles Street.” |
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Picture 90. Car 933 has just turned
up St. Charles Street from Canal Street, upbound. The car is passing
Kolb's, New Orleans' premier German Restaurant. Kolb's was founded
in 1899, and served the City's citizens and tourists until 1995.
Note the bus stop marked off in the street, and at upper left, a corner of
the bus stop sign for the St. Charles, Freret, and S. Claiborne lines.
— April 15, 1977 — Charles Porter photo
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Pictures 91 and 92. Upbound car 905 on St. Charles Street
is crossing Common Street, one block up from Canal Street. — September 15, 1981
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Picture 93. Car 904 crossing Poydras Street on its way to Lee Circle. — May 5, 1977
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Picture 94. Upbound car 954 on St. Charles Street crossing Julia Street.
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Picture 95. Car 933 boarding passengers at St. Joseph Street.
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© 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019 H. George Friedman, Jr. All rights reserved.
Permission is hereby given for the QUOTATION of SHORT excerpts,
as long as credit is given to H. George Friedman, Jr.