Floor tongue & grooved yellow pine. Headlining 3/16" Agasote — joints covered w/light cherry moulding. Due to extreme heat in N. O. interior finish dark cherry throughout & headlining painted light green. Seats standard Hale & Kilborn no. 300 type, wooden cushions & backs. Consolidated push button system for signaling stops. Pantasote side curtains. Double fare International registers. Interior lights 4 circuits of 5 lights each.
Acceleration & braking 1.5 m.p.h.p.s. Cars have 2 GE 201-1 mot. 55-65 hp., gear ratio is 15-71. “General features” of cars' design ordered by committee: B. F. Wood, VP of UG&EE Corp.; L. C. Datz of same; J. S. Pevear, Pres. of N. O. Ry. & Lt. Co.; M. S. Sloan, GM of same; Bronson A. Smith, engr. for UG&EE Corp. BLT Southern Car Co. of High Point, NC. Perley A. Thomas, engr.
| SERVICE RECORD | ||||
| The N. O. newspapers sharply reduced reporting
streetcar incidents beginning in late teens, and by the middle of the 1920s
would report hardly a dozen car numbers per year, even less later.
The reduction of ST cars operating and the consolidation & conversion
of routes increased by the early 30s also meant fewer car reportings.
When the palace cars and semi-convertibles ceased running at the end of 1934
(abandonment of Canal & Esplanade Belts, conversion of N. Claiborne &
Louisiana Lines) all routes in the city operated exclusively by the
Perley A. Thomas designed cars, the 400s, 800s, 900s and 1000s (243 cars,
14 routes: 1 - Canal & Cemeteries, 2 - City Park, 3 - Desire, 4 - Freret,
5 - Gentilly, 6 - Jackson, 7 - Laurel, 8 - Magazine, 9 - Napoleon,
10 - St. Charles Belt, 11 - St. Claude, 12 - South Claiborne, 13 - Tulane Belt,
14 - West End).
During the 4'8½" gauge days, the 400s occasionally saw service on Jackson-North Claiborne, but mainly ran on the Belts. One P of a 400 on Jackson in ERJ. One account in newspaper (428). | ||||
| 402 | At Carr. Sta. 7/3/20, SC 3/14/21 | 421 | SC 1/8/21 | |
| 403 | TU 1/14/21 | 424 | TU 7/5/20 | |
| 404 | TU 12/1/18 | 427 | TU 5/7/18 | |
| 408 | TU 10/28/20 | 428 | SC 7/17/20, JA 10/10/23 | |
| 409 | SC 9/22/18 | 433 | SC 11/14/15 | |
| 412 | SC 8/8/16 | 435 | TU 4/28/17 | |
| 413 | TU 1/10/19 | 436 | TU 2/20/20 | |
| 416 | TU 7/9/22 | 438 | SC 5/28/18 | |
| 417 | SC 1/19/17 | 441 | SC 2/12/21 | |
| 418 | TU 5/12/18 | 448 | TU 2/13/23 | |
| 420 | TU 9/17/20 | |||
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The St. Charles Belt cars, such as 407 and 417 seen here, approached Canal Street from Tulane Avenue, originally on S. Rampart Street, but beginning March 6, 1947, via S. Liberty Street. They proceeded toward the river on the outer track, passing the point shown in these two pictures (University Place), to Baronne Street, beginning their upbound runs on Baronne to Howard Ave. to St. Charles Ave. The date is June 10, 1947. — Collection of George Friedman |
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St. Charles Belt car 424 is seen here on June 10, 1947 looking in toward the river as it crosses University Place heading for its turn at Baronne St. — Collection of George Friedman |
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Tulane Belt cars approached Canal Street on Carondelet, where they had a track switch and curve to connect to the inner track. They used the inner track to operate to the loop at the foot of Canal, then came back out Canal Street to Loyola (now Saratoga) Street, which they followed to Tulane Ave. Here in an undated photo is Tulane car 411 at St. Charles Street, just one block from turning off of Carondelet. Note the frosted glass car number panel in the first window behind the front door. — Collection of George Friedman |
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A passenger exits the rear door of Tulane car 420 under the careful gaze of the conductor, who is grasping the bell cord ready to signal his motorman as soon as the passenger has safely alighted, June 10, 1947. The car is on the inner track, riverbound at Magazine St. The car in front of 420 is probably an 800-class car on the Cemeteries or West End line. Note how the rear doors are folding doors, but the front doors are sliding doors, on the 400-class cars. The Weil Bros. Co., seen at the right at the corner of Canal and Magazine, was a manufacturer of hats and a wholesaler of hats and dresses. |
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Tulane car 430 has rounded the loop at the foot of Canal Street, and lined up behind other Tulane Belt cars awaiting departure time to head out Canal Street to Loyola, June 10, 1947. In the second picture, looking in the opposite direction, Tulane car 422 is doing the same. The crews could take a break here before starting their next outbound runs. — Collection of George Friedman |
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Car 435, at the foot of Canal Street awaiting its next outbound run to Tulane Avenue, is sporting a rooftop color scheme that was used for a few years in the late 1930s. The base color of the roof was white or aluminum, or possibly cream, which would have cut down on the heat in the car during the summer. The black stripe, which ran all the way back to the trolley pole base, would camouflage the residue from sparks inevitably spun off of the trolley wheel, which otherwise would have stained the light colored roof. |
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The neutral ground on Tulane Ave. was none too wide for the car line. Here are two June 10, 1947 views of Tulane Ave., near Broad St. The building at the left in the second picture is the Criminal Courts Building. Car 431 is on the St. Charles Belt, heading inbound on Tulane Ave. toward Canal Street, while 441 is outbound from Canal Street toward Carrollton Ave. — Collection of George Friedman |
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| DTAR | 800-831 | 34'2" OB 46'6" OA 11'43 1/8" HT |
76-E2 | Brill | ON 21510 | 13 May 1922 | 32 cars | ||||||
| DTAR | 832-851 | 34'2" OB 46'6" OA 11'43 1/8" HT |
76-E2 | Perley A. Thomas Car Works | ON 119 | 1922 | 20 cars | ||||||
| DTAR | 852-894 | 34'2" OB 46'6" OA 11'43 1/8" HT |
76-E2 | Brill | ON 21510 | 13 May 1922 | 43 cars | ||||||
| DTAR | 895-899 | 34'2" OB 46'6" OA 11'43 1/8" HT |
76-E2 | Perley A. Thomas Car Works | ON 119 | 1922 | 5 cars (Total: 100 cars) | ||||||
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| Brill photos for 21510: Nos. 8096, 8004 P - N. Other
nos. 8012, 8095, 8097, X1622 (“X file” photos for publicity).
Scale drawing S p. 155, many P in S — pp. 150, 151-156 best selection.
Engr. drawing X section steel underframe plan
for 900s (same dim. as 800s) S p. 154. All details motors, controls,
air systems S p. 155. Note error in seating plan in scale drawing:
LGT seat too long, takes up space for TV seat.
“To buy 100 new cars” (TP 4/14/22 p. 15). “Contracts awarded...25 to Thomas, 75 to Brill” (TP 5/27/22 p. 5). “First of new cars...two arrive...probably to be put onto belts” (P #801 TP 9/14/22 p. 3). “Four more arrive” (TP 9/27/22). “Larger streetcars will replace `singles' on Jackson-Claiborne, Carondelet and Prytania...35 new cars will replace 52 `singles'” (TP 10/3/22 p. 6). P - TP 10/15/22 p. 8 magazine section. “Nineteen new cars more...20 to start on Carondelet” (TP 12/3/22 p. 19 & also see TP 12/16/22 p. 2). “Fire at Perley Thomas Car Works delay deliveries” (TP 12/6/22). Twelve 800s replace 13 “singles” on S. Claiborne. Plan for cars first to serve Jackson-Claiborne, then Carondelet, then South Claiborne (TP 1/9/23 p. 5). “First of new type streetcars here from Perley A. Thomas...three yesterday, five expected each week. 15 for Jackson-(N) Claiborne, 10 perhaps on Peters Ave.” (TP 5/9/23 p. 4). “Only 18 of 800s still to arrive...82 in service.” (TP 6/12/23 p. 1). NOTE Brill & American Car Co. P & records at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. Wire safety screens used on 800s on St. Charles-Tulane Belts ca. 1949-1952. First screens large, almost covered lower sash, used short time (one P in TP 5/25/86 F section, p. 12, car 862). Shorter screens P abound, #800 P - S p. 153. Windshield wipers used on a few, ca. 1947 — #800 P S p. 153. During WW II fully LGT seating tried on a few 800s and at least one 900. Public hated the change, so cars returned to TV seating. Interior P - TP 3/31/42. Capacity incr. 16%. Cars ran on Magazine Line. Circa 1956, some 800s received concrete floor walkways. |
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Here is a 900-series car with all longitudinal seating in an apparently posed photo in 1942. — New Orleans Times-Picayune |
Text copyright © 2008 Louis C. Hennick. Pictures copyright © 2009, 2010 by the persons credited. Picture captions copyright © 2009, 2010, 2016 H. George Friedman, Jr. All rights reserved.
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