The St. Charles Avenue Bus:
Buses have been pressed into service at various times during the history of the St. Charles Streetcar line, usually when there has been a wreck on the line, or when major repairs disrupt streetcar service. Hurricane Katrina damaged enough of the catenary wires and poles on St. Charles that the 900-series Perley Thomas streetcars have to stay in the barn for now. The old green streetcars weathered the storm just fine, but the massive damage to the city done by the storms means that restoring streetcar service is not a very high priority for either RTA or city government.
So, we've got bus service on the St. Charles Line for the forseeable future. This is a shot of the only bus running on the line last week, at the end of the line at S. Carrollton and Claiborne Avenues.
Here's the bus making the turn through Lee Circle, on an outbound run to Palmer Park.
Another shot of the St. Charles bus at Palmer Park.
I'd rather see streetcars, of course, but I'm glad there's bus service on the line. Thank you for posting the pictures, Ed.