Four 900-series Perley A. Thomas streetcars at the French Market terminal. Prior to the storm, the French Market was the downriver terminus for the Riverfront and Canal lines. Since the storm severely damaged all but one of the "red ladies," the 400- and 2000-series red-painted streetcars that operated on Riverfront and Canal, the vintage 900-series streetcars have been operating a hybrid line that includes Canal Street in the CBD and the Riverfront line.
The green-painted Perley Thomas streetcars will likely work the hybrid line for as much as two years, while the "red ladies" are being repaired. Their regular home, the St. Charles line, won't be back operational until October of this year. Fortunately for the city, RTA had already started a renovation project on St. Charles to repair and upgrade the overhead wiring and other components of the electrical system. Instead of the original renovation specs, however, the crews jumped in and began an all-out repair effort.
The 900-series are still configured as they were after the major renovation/rebuild they received in the 1980s. Prior to that, the streetcars were a hodgepodge of designs ranging from close to factory original to experiements with PCC windows and other parts. When RTA took over transit operations in the mid-1980s, the crew at Carrollton Station was given money to renovate the entire fleet and restore them to their style from the 1930s-1940s.
