Pictures 20 through 27 and 27.5.

Moving the “new” Riverfront cars from Carrollton Station to the line was not simple, for several reasons.  First, there was no track connection between Riverfront and the rest of the streetcar trackage, and second, no connection was practicable because of the six inch difference in track gauge.  So not only did the streetcars have to be moved, but they had to change trucks to ones equipped with standard gauge wheelsets.  Fortunately, when they were built, the axles and trucks were designed so that changing between standard gauge and wide gauge was relatively easy.

These pictures show the moving and regauging process as it was carried out for car 450.  Very early one morning, about August 1 (two weeks before opening day), the car was towed down to Canal Street by a St. Charles car, over the St. Charles line, using of course wide gauge trucks (probably with the motors already disconnected).  The top picture shows the car's arrival at Canal and St. Charles Streets.  There it was lifted off the tracks, trucks and all (second picture), and loaded onto a flatbed trailer truck, which took it to the foot of Canal Street and the Riverfront tracks (third picture).  There, it was maneuvered into position over the tracks (fourth and fifth pictures).  It was then lifted off the trailer, leaving the wide gauge trucks behind (sixth and seventh pictures), and lowered onto its standard gauge trucks, which had already been positioned on the Riverfront track to receive the car body (eighth picture).  Finally, the car was moved into the little nearby two-track yard (“Canal Yard”), which is seen in the bottom picture after both cars 450 and 451 had been brought down.  Note the simple inspection pit in front of car 450, at the right. — Photos by Earl Hampton, except sixth picture

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