| New Orleans Streetcars | |
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Streetcar in the background on St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District with Mardi Gras beads on a crepe myrtle tree. |
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| Info | |
| Locale | New Orleans, LA |
| Transit type | Streetcar |
| Number of lines | 3 |
| Daily ridership | 17,600[1] |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | January 1835 |
| Operator(s) | New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) Pennsylvania trolley gauge |
| Minimum radius of curvature | 28 ft (8.534 m) in yard, 50 ft (15.240 m) elsewhere[2] |
| 900 Series | |
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900 Series car. Return of streetcars after Katrina: Vintage St. Charles line car on the Canal Street route, December, 2005 |
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| Manufacturer | Perley A. Thomas Car Works, High Point NC |
| Constructed | 1923-1924 |
| Entered service | 1923-present |
| Number built | 73; 35 in current operation |
| Capacity | 52 |
| Specifications | |
| Gauge | 5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) |
| 457-463 Series - Perley A. Thomas Car Works 900 Series Replicas | |
|---|---|
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457-463 Series car. Built to re-equip the Riverfront Line when it was regauged in 1997. |
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| Manufacturer | New Orleans Regional Transit Authority |
| Constructed | 1997 |
| Entered service | 1997-present |
| Number built | 7 |
| Capacity | 52 |
| Specifications | |
| Gauge | 5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) |
| 2000 series - Perley A. Thomas Car Works 900 Series Replicas | |
|---|---|
2000 series car - Perley Thomas Replica - pre-Katrina view, near the foot of Canal Street |
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| Manufacturer | New Orleans Regional Transit Authority |
| Constructed | 1999, 2002-2003 |
| Entered service | 1999-present |
| Number built | 24 |
| Capacity | 52 |
| Specifications | |
| Gauge | 5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) |
Streetcars in New Orleans have been an integral part of the city's public transportation network since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of New Orleans' streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world, according to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Today, the streetcars are operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA).
There are currently three operating streetcar lines in New Orleans: The St. Charles Avenue Line, the Riverfront Line, and the Canal Street Line. The St. Charles Avenue Line is the only line that has operated continuously throughout New Orleans' streetcar history (though service was interrupted after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and resumed only in part in December 2006, as noted below). All other lines were replaced by bus service in the period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s; preservationists were unable to save the streetcars on Canal Street, but were able to convince the city government to protect the St. Charles Avenue Line by granting it historic landmark status. In the later 20th century, trends began to favor rail transit again. A short Riverfront Line started service in 1988, and service returned to Canal Street in 2004, 40 years after it had been shut down.
The wide destruction wrought on the city by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent floods from the levee breaches in August 2005 knocked all three lines out of operation and damaged many of the streetcars. Service on a portion of the Canal Street line was restored in December of that year, with the remainder of the line and the Riverfront line returning to service in early 2006. On December 23, 2007, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) extended service from Napoleon Avenue to the end of historic St. Charles Avenue (the “Riverbend”). On June 22, 2008 service was restored to the end of the line at South Carrollton Avenue & South Claiborne Avenue.
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The standard fare for all three lines is $1.25, with discounts for senior citizens. Passengers with disabilities and passengers two and under are admitted free. Transfers to other routes are available for $0.25.
The Saint Charles Avenue Line starts uptown, at South Carrollton Avenue and South Claiborne Avenue.[3] It runs on South Carrollton Avenue through the Carrollton neighborhood towards the Mississippi River, then near the river levee turns on to Saint Charles Avenue. It proceeds past entrances to Audubon Park, Tulane University and Loyola University New Orleans, continues through Uptown New Orleans including the Garden District, and ends at Canal Street in the New Orleans Central Business District at the edge of the French Quarter, a distance of about seven and a half miles. Officially the St. Charles Avenue Line is designated as Route 12.
Planning for the line began in 1831, and work began as the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad in February 1833, the second railway in Greater New Orleans after the Pontchartrain Rail Road.[3] Service began on September 26, 1835, originally without a dedicated right-of-way (it ran on public streets) although one was eventually established in the neutral ground (the median). Passenger and freight cars were hauled by steam locomotive.
As the area along the line became more urbanized, objections to the soot and noise produced by the locomotive increased, and transport was switched to cars that were powered by horses and mules.[3] For decades in the late 19th century, desire for a mode of transit more swift and powerful than horses but without the disruptive effects of locomotives resulted in a number of systems being tried out. Experimental systems included overhead cables propulsion (with a cable clamp patented by P.G.T. Beauregard in 1869 later being adapted for the San Francisco cable car system), and several innovative designs by Dr. Emile Lamm, including ammonia engines, a "Chlorine of Calcium Engine", and most successfully the Lamm Fireless Engine which not only propelled pairs of cars along the line in the 1880s but was adopted by the street railways of Paris.
While the city's first experiments with electric powered cars were made in 1884 (in conjunction with the World Cotton Centennial World's Fair), electric streetcars were not considered sufficiently perfected for widespread use until the following decade, and the line was electrified February 1, 1893.[3] At the same time, it was extended from the corner of St. Charles and Carrollton Avenues out Carrollton to a new car barn at Willow Street.[4]
In 1900, the St. Charles and Tulane streetcar lines were extended on Carrollton Avenue and connected together, resulting in a two-way belt line. Cars signed St. Charles left Canal Street on Baronne Street to Howard Avenue to St. Charles Avenue, thence all the way to Carrollton and out that avenue, returning to the central business district on Tulane Avenue. Streetcars leaving Canal Street on Tulane Avenue were signed Tulane, operating out to Carrollton Avenue, then turning riverward to St. Charles Avenue, passing Lee Circle to Howard Avenue, and finally down Baronne (later Carondelet) to Canal Street.[4]
In 1922 the New Orleans & Carrollton Rail Road was merged into New Orleans Public Service Incorporated (NOPSI), which consolidated the city's various streetcar lines and electrical production.
In 1950, plans were made to fill in the New Basin Canal, which the Belt Lines crossed on a bridge on Carrollton Avenue. The right of way was to be used for an expressway, and Carrollton Avenue traffic was to use an underpass. Rather than rebuild tracks in the underpass, the Tulane and St. Charles lines were separated, and Tulane Avenue was converted to a trolley coach line. During construction, the St. Charles line continued to operate (in both directions) all the way on Carrollton Avenue from St. Charles Avenue to the underpass construction site at Dixon Street. Once the underpass was completed, the St. Charles streetcar line was cut back to Claiborne Avenue, as it operates at present, and the Tulane trolley coach line took over the part of Carrollton Avenue between Tulane Avenue and Claiborne.[4]
In 1972 automatic fareboxes were introduced, and the job of a separate conductor was eliminated from streetcars. The line still has one of the Ford, Bacon & Davis 1894 vintage cars in running condition. Although it is not used for passenger service, it stays busy with work operations like track sanding. The rest of the line's cars date from 1923-24.[3]
In 2005, service along the route was suspended due to damage from Hurricane Katrina and the floods from the levee breaches. The small section from Canal Street to Lee Circle was the first part restored. The section continuing up to Napoleon Avenue was re-opened for service on November 11, 2007, and on December 23, 2007 was extended up to Carrollton Avenue, near the line's original terminus in 1833. The restoration of the line on the remaining section along Carrollton Avenue to Claiborne Avenue took place on June 22, 2008.
The Canal Street Line traces its origins to the old New Orleans City RR Co., founded to provide horse-drawn streetcar service throughout the city. This system's first lines opened in June, 1861, running on Esplanade, Magazine, Prytania, and Canal Streets. The original car barn for the Canal Line, which served it until the end in 1964, was established at White Street. The line ran on its namesake street from St. Charles Street to the car barn; it was extended in August all the way to the end of the street at the Cemeteries.[4][5]
The City RR came under the control of the New Orleans Traction Co. in 1892 as the system was prepared for electrification. A large order for new electric streetcars was placed with the Brill Co. of Philadelphia. The Canal Line was the first New Orleans Traction line to be electrified, beginning electric service on July 28, 1894. It was followed very quickly by Esplanade and the rest of the company's horsecar lines. The line was extended slightly in the central business district to terminate at the foot of Canal Street, not far from the Mississippi River.[4]
In 1901, the streetcar company slightly extended the Canal and Esplanade Lines so that their outer ends met at City Park Ave., and connected them together in a Belt Line. Canal cars left the central business district on Canal Street, operated to City Park Ave., turned down that street to Esplanade Ave., and returned on Esplanade to Rampart and thus back to Canal Street. Cars marked Esplanade left the central business district via Rampart Street down to Esplanade, then operated out Esplanade to City Park Ave. to Canal, and returned on Canal Street. This Belt Line arrangement lasted until December 27, 1934, when Esplanade Ave. was converted to buses, and Canal resumed running only on Canal Street, end-to-end.[4]
From 1934 to 1950, there were two lines running on Canal Street. Cars marked West End operated from the foot of Canal to the outer end of the street at the cemeteries, then turned left onto City Park Ave. (Metairie Road) to the New Basin Canal, and then out the east bank of that canal to the West End amusement area at Lake Pontchartrain. Cars marked Cemeteries followed the same route, but turned back at the cemeteries immediately after turning off of Metairie Road. West End made only limited stops along Canal Street from Claiborne Ave. to City Park Ave. The West End line was converted to buses in 1950, after which the surviving Cemeteries cars were once again signed Canal. In 1951, the outer terminus of the Canal Line was moved to the end of Canal Street, and tracks on City Park Ave. (Metairie Road) were removed.[4]
In 1964, the streetcar company (known since 1922 as New Orleans Public Service Incorporated, or NOPSI) proposed to convert the Canal Line to buses. The line was to be combined with the West End and Canal Blvd. bus lines, so that patrons could have a one-seat ride all the way from the central business district to Lake Ponchartrain. There was tremendous controversy over the proposal, but it was carried, and the Canal Streetcar was discontinued, over the protests of preservationists. The last day was May 30, 1964, with the final run (NOPSI car 972, carrying banners which read "See Me On St. Charles") leaving Canal Line tracks at about 5:00 a.m. May 31. All the streetcars, except for 35 reserved for the St. Charles Line, were scrapped or donated to museums across the country, and all track and overhead wire was removed.[4]
By the 1990s, interest in streetcars was rekindled, not only in New Orleans, but in many cities around the country. Plans for the restoration of the Canal Line were announced in 2000, and tracks were rebuilt from the foot of Canal Street out to the cemeteries. There was even a branch line created on N. Carrollton Ave., which had never before had streetcar service. Finally, the Canal streetcar line reopened April 18, 2004, almost 40 years after its close.
The Canal Street Streetcar, in its reconception, now includes two lines.[5] The main line, named "Canal - Cemeteries" after the original "Cemeteries" line (and currently designated as Route 47), travels a direct route from the foot of Canal St. at the Mississippi River to its head 3 miles (4.8 km) inland. For much of its history, this area constituted the northern (lakeside) boundary of the city, which explains the density of cemeteries, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish, in this area. The other, named "Canal - City Park/Museum" (or sometimes just "City Park", and designated as Route 48), begins at the French Market at the foot of Esplanade and Elysian Fields Avenues, sharing trackage with the Riverfront Line before turning onto Canal Street for most of its length. It diverges from the main trackage at Carrollton Avenue, where it turns on to N. Carrollton Avenue, ending at Beauregard Circle, at Esplanade Avenue and Bayou St. John, near the entrance of the New Orleans Museum of Art and within easy walking distance of the New Orleans Fairgrounds, site of the yearly Jazz and Heritage Festival. The Canal Cemeteries and City Park branches were originally designated as Routes 42 and 45, respectively, until January 2009, when the route numbers were changed to 47 and 48.
The Riverfront Line was built along a section of the city's Mississippi River banks, in an area with many amenities catering to tourists. It opened August 14, 1988, the first new streetcar route to be unveiled in New Orleans in 62 years. The line is the city's shortest, running 2 miles (3.2 km) from Thalia Street at the upper end of the New Orleans Convention Center to the downriver (far) end of the French Quarter at the foot of Esplanade Avenue. Unlike the other two lines, it travels on an exclusive right of way, along the river levee beside New Orleans Belt Railway tracks. Officially, the Riverfront Line is designated Route 2.
Two retired Perley Thomas streetcars, formerly running along the Canal line until the 1960s, were repurchased and refurbished, along with two W2-type streetcars originally from Melbourne, Australia. It was the city's first streetcar line to offer handicapped access, using the Melbourne cars; the historic landmark status of the Saint Charles route prevented the modification of the cars on that line.
The original line was single-track, 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge), with one passing siding. But the line proved to be so popular that this was inadequate, so in 1990, it was temporarily closed and a second track was added. At the same time, another repurchased Perley Thomas streetcar and another ex-Melbourne streetcar were added to the fleet.
By 1997, RTA felt the need for additional wheelchair access on the Riverfront line. It was decided to build new streetcars, which would be replicas of the venerable Perley Thomas cars, but would have more modern trucks and controls. The first such car used the body shell of another repurchased Perley Thomas streetcar, with a wheelchair access door cut into its side. Six additional replica car bodies were built from scratch in the venerable Carrollton Shops. After some experimentation with second hand PCC trucks and controls salvaged from retired Philadelphia streetcars, all seven new cars were equipped with trucks and controls from the Czech builder ČKD Tatra.
At the same time, it was decided to regauge the Riverfront line to broad gauge (5 ft 2 1⁄2 in/1,588 mm) to conform to the St. Charles track gauge, and to build a connecting track on Canal Street from St. Charles to Riverfront. This would make it much easier to service Riverfront cars at Carrollton Station, and they could even be housed at Carrollton rather than out in the open at the ends of the Riverfront line.
The last day of standard gauge operation of Riverfront was September 6, 1997, after which the line was again temporarily closed and the track gauge changed. The three Perley Thomas cars and the three ex-Melbourne cars were retired at this time. The ex-Melbourne cars were sold to the Memphis Area Transit Authority, for use on that city's Main Street Trolley line. One of the Perley Thomas cars was sent to the San Francisco Municipal Railway, and the other two were stored at Carrollton Station. The Riverfront line reopened with the new cars running on the wide gauge track in December 1997.
In 1902, there was protest when the Louisiana legislature mandated that public transportation must enforce racial segregation. At first this was objected to by both white and black riders as an inconvenience, and by the streetcar companies on grounds of both added expense and the difficulties of determining the racial background of some New Orleanians.
In 1929, there was a widespread strike by transit workers demanding better pay which was widely supported by much of the public. Sandwiches on baguettes were given to the "poor boys" on strike, said to be the origin of the local name of "po' boy" sandwiches. The same year, the last of the 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) tracks were converted to 5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) (Pennsylvania trolley gauge) to match the rest of the streetcar lines.
After World War II, as with much of the United States, many streetcar lines were replaced with buses, either internal combustion (gasoline/diesel) or electric (trolley bus).
The area through which the St. Charles Avenue Line traveled fared comparatively well in Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact on New Orleans at the end of August 2005, with moderate flooding only of the two ends of the line at Claiborne Avenue and at Canal Street. However, wind damage and falling trees took out many sections of trolley wire along St. Charles Avenue, and vehicles parked on the neutral ground over the inactive tracks degraded parts of the right-of-way. At the start of October 2005, as this part of town started being repopulated, bus service began running on the St. Charles line.
The section running from Canal Street to Lee Circle via Carondelet Street and St. Charles Street in the Central Business District was restored December 19, 2006 at 10:30am Central time. Service from Lee Circle to Napoleon Avenue in Uptown New Orleans was restored November 10, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. NORTA restored streetcar service on the remainder of St. Charles Ave. on December 23, 2007. Service along the remainder of the line on Carrollton Ave. to Claiborne Avenue resumed June 22, 2008.[6][7][8][9] The time was needed to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and to perform other maintenance and upgrades to the lines that had been scheduled before the hurricane. Leaving the line shut down and the electrical system unpowered allowed the upgrades to be performed more safely and easily.
Perhaps more serious was the effect on the system's rolling stock. The vintage green streetcars rode out the storm in the sealed barn in a portion of Old Carrollton that didn't flood, and were undamaged. However, the newer red cars were in a different barn that unfortunately did flood, and all of them were rendered inoperable; early estimates were that each car would cost between $800,000 and $1,000,000 to restore. In December 2006, NORTA received a $46 million grant to help pay for the car restoration efforts. The first restored cars were to be placed in service early in 2009.[10]
Service on the Canal Street Line was restored in December 2005, with several historic St. Charles line green cars transferred to serve there while the flood-damaged red cars were being repaired. The eventual reopening of all lines was made a major priority for the city as it rebuilds.
Brookville Equipment Corporation[11] located in Pennsylvania was awarded the contract to provide the components to rebuild 31 New Orleans’ streetcars to help the city bring its transportation infrastructure closer to full capacity. The streetcars were submerged in over five feet of water while parked in their car barn, and all electrical components affected by the flooding had to be replaced. Brookville Equipment’s engineering and drafting departments immediately began work on this three-year project to return these New Orleans icons to service. Painting, body work, and final assembly of the restored streetcars was carried out by NORTA craftsmen at Carrollton Station Shops. As of March 2009, sufficient red cars had been repaired to take over all service on the Canal Street and Riverfront lines. As of June 2009, the last three Canal Street cars were scheduled for repair. The seven Riverfront cars were worked on next; they began to return to service in early 2010.
In the mid 19th to early 20th century, the city had dozens of lines, including:[4]
The St. Charles Avenue Line has traditionally used streetcars of the type that were common all over the United States in the early parts of the 20th century. Most of the streetcars running on this line are Perley Thomas cars dating from the 1920s. The one exception is an 1890s vintage streetcar that is still in running condition; it is used for maintenance and special purposes. Unlike most North American cities with streetcar systems, New Orleans never adopted PCC cars in the 1930s or 1940s, and never traded in older streetcars for modern light rail vehicles in the later 20th century.
In the Carrollton neighborhood, the RTA has a streetcar barn, called Carrollton Station, where the streetcars of the city's lines are stored and maintained. The block wide complex consists of two buildings: older carbarn at Dante and Jeannette Streets and a newer barn at Willow and Dublin Streets. The shop there has become adept at duplicating any part needed for the vintage cars.
With the addition of the two new lines, more vehicles were needed for the system. The RTA's shops built two groups of modern cars as near duplicates of the older cars in appearance. One group of seven cars was built for the Riverfront line in 1997, and another group for the restored Canal Street line in 1999 (one car) and 2002-2003 (23 cars). These new cars can be distinguished from the older vehicles by their bright red color; unlike the older cars, they are ADA-compliant, and the Canal Street cars are air conditioned.
Before Hurricane Katrina, the historic cars ran exclusively on the St. Charles Avenue Line, and the newer cars on the other two lines. However, in the wake of hurricane damage to the St. Charles line tracks and overhead wires, and to almost all of the new red cars, the older cars were run on Canal Street and Riverfront until the new cars could be repaired. Using whatever worked wherever it could be run continued for several years. By 2010 enough restored streetcars were back in service to again confine the historic Pearly Thomas cars to the St. Charles line.
For a description of current and planned expansion of the New Orleans streetcar system, see New Orleans Regional Transit Authority.
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