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December 29, 2005
FB&D #29 and PCCs in New Orleans
A shot from the mid-1990s, when RTA was evaluating the use of PCC trucks for the Riverfront line. You can see the PCCs next to and in front of Car #29, the last of the Ford, Bacon & Davis streetcars from 1895-1898. From Mark Kavanaugh of Kavanaugh Transit. Thanks for use of the photo, Mark!
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December 26, 2005
Streetcar Update
(from our weekly newsletter)
The 900s are running nicely on the Canal/Riverfront hybrid line, and RTA is moving forward on multiple fronts to repair the three streetcar lines. The feds have released $70 million to RTA, so work on Canal and Riverfront lines. In addition to repairing the 400- and 2000-series streetcars that were flooded while riding out the storm at Randolph, RTA needs to replace many of the rectifiers along the Canal line. These rectifiers are heavy electrical components that convert the AC power coming from Entergy power substations into the 600-vold DC power needed to operate the streetcars. With repairs to the streetcars estimated at close to $1 million per car, that $70 million is going to get used up fast.
The federal DoT is deferring RTAs matching contribution to that money for five years, and thats a good thing, since RTA ridership is only at 10%of where it was prior to the storm. RTA reports that the busiest lines since the storm are St. Charles (operating with buses), Magazine, Gen. deGaulle, Canal, and Tulane.The vintage 900-series streetcars wont roll on their home line on St. Charles Avenue until October of 2006 at the earliest. While the streetcars came through the storm fine, the lines overhead wiring as well as the electric substations that power the line received extensive damage. RTA already had $11 million in funds in the pipeline for repairs and upgrades to the St. Charles line, so that work will go forward in the first week of January.
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December 25, 2005
Feature Photo: Mr. Bingle
Jingle, Jangle Jingle,
Here comes Mr. Bingle...
Mr. Bingle is back on the Canal Line, well, sort of. The little snowman was the Christmas spokesman for the Maison Blanche department stores. For decades, moms would take their kids down to the Maison Blanche store on Canal and Dauphine Streets to see Mr. Bingle in the front window. In the late 1950s and early 60s, Mr. Bingle did TV commercials for the store on the before-school children's shows.
By the 1980s, Mr. Bingle was gone from both TV and the front window display on Canal Street. He was still the Christmas icon of the MB chain, and the store commissioned a giant Bingle that they hung on the front of the store. After Maison Blanche was acquired by Dillard's in the 1990s, that chain displayed the big Bingle on the side of their store at Lakeside Mall, but it just wasn't the same, and they eventually put the snowy guy into storage.
Dillard's brought the big Mr. Bingle out of storage last spring, this time to donate him to City Park. He was a bit worn out, but the park raised funds to restore him to make Mr. Bingle a part of the annual "Celebration in the Oaks" display. The storm wiped out a lot of the park's buildings, forcing the park to severely scale back the size of this year's display. "Celebration in the Oaks" usually has two components: one is a "driving tour" around the park where you drove around and viewed large light displays on the ground and in the trees. This component was cancelled this year because of the storm. The second segment, the "walking tour," went on as planned, with Mr. Bingle a part of it. The train garden is back operating as well, lit up for Christmas and sporting both classic green and 2000-series red model streetcars.
Mr. Bingle is a wonderful memory for many adults in the city, and an important symbol of our desire to bring our town back.
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December 23, 2005
Merry Christmas
Jingle, Jangle Jingle
Here comes Mister Bingle
With another message from Kris Kringle.
As we launch this Christmas season,
Maison Blanche brings Christmas pleasin.
Gifts galore for you and me.
Each of them from...MB!
Obviously this is an old photo. Mr. Bingle done quit at the Carlton Ritz because he can't reach da buffet. :-)
We're going to City Park tonight. I know that Dillard's donated the big Bingle to the park, but I don't know if he's up for this year. We'll see!
Posted by YatPundit at 07:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 22, 2005
Streetcars make the Irish Times...
We're getting international press:
Streetcars and desire return to battered New Orleans Denis Staunton in New OrleansThe streetcars have come back to New Orleans - just two, in fact - old green trams trundling down part of Canal Street. They don't really go anywhere and, with only a fifth of the population back in the city, the streetcar is not much use to anyone.
Mr. Staunton is not quite right here. The 900s are running on the Riverfront, and that's the big tourist line. He's thinking in terms of the streetcars supporting commuters. That's not happening yet, but tourism support is a better role for the streetcars at the moment.
One other innacuracy in his article:
Until this year, New Orleans was the most popular convention venue in the US, attracting thousands of visitors on expense accounts for a few days on the wild side. A librarians' conference is coming in May and New Orleans is grateful for the vote of confidence but nobody is banking on bumper bar receipts that week.
Obviously, this man has never gone drinkin' with librarians. *snark*
Posted by YatPundit at 07:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Canal Street, 1915
Another postcard that's really too small of a scan to be a "feature photo." This is Canal Street around 1915. The photographer is standing on Canal, in between St. Charles and Carondelet. You can see the "new" MB building in the background.
The streetcars are "Palace" cars of the New Orleans City Railroad Company. At this time, the NOCRR ran the "Palace" cars and the New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad Company was beginning to try out a new semi-convertible from the St. Louis Car Company, designed by Mr. Perley A. Thomas.
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December 18, 2005
Feature Photo: Service Returns
Perley A. Thomas streetcar #930 at Canal and Liberty last week, in the first test run of a streetcar since the storm. Decorated for the holiday season, 930 was pulled by a pickup truck from Carrollton Station on the St. Charles tracks to Canal Street. There the streetcar was powered up and initially ran to the three-track terminal at the foot of Canal. Satisfied that the overhead was working properly, RTA allowed the streetcar to continue up Canal Street to Liberty Street, where it switched back to the inbound track.
The testing went so well that RTA approved limited operations of six Perley Thomas streetcars on a hybrid line consisting of the Riverfront trackage and a portion of the Canal line. Regular streetcar service returned to New Orleans this morning (18-December) at 7am, when 930 left the French Market terminal for Canal Street.
The 900s will run on the hybrid line at least through March of 2006 for free.
One of New Orleans' most important icons is back. Things are improving.
Posted by YatPundit at 04:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 12, 2005
930 Test Today...
To address a couple of comments on today's test:
Question on how 930 got to Canal Street. I didn't see it, but WWL-TV's news report showed 930 being pulled by a white pickup truck onto Canal. I'm assuming that they pulled it all the way from the barn. That means they cleared the neutral ground enough to get down to the CBD. This makes more sense than trucking the streetcar. I remember Elmer saying that it cost $6K to truck 2013 from Carrollton Station to Randolph when they were doing the final check-out of the Canal barn in 2004.
Use of Car 29, the last Ford, Bacon & Davis single-truck streetcar. Car #29 is used as a sand car, maintenance car, and as a rail grinder. Given that Elmer and company spent the better part of last year re-building #29 after it suffered severe damage from an electrical controller fire, my guess is that they didn't want to risk something going wrong today. They have a lot more spare parts for the 900s should there have been a problem getting 930 down there.
Of course, I'd love to see #29 on Canal again. Hopefully soon.
Posted by YatPundit at 07:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
930 on Canal - Video
This is my first attempt at video with this little digital camera, so be gentle:
930 heading inbound towards the foot of canal
930 heading outbound from the foot of canal
Posted by YatPundit at 02:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Canal Street Line Test
RTA brought Perley Thomas streetcar #930 from Carrollton Station to Canal and St. Charles this morning to test the Canal trackage and wiring. I watched as they ran 930 from St. Charles to the foot of Canal, switched to the outbound track, then ran down to the crossover at Liberty. I had to get on with my day from there, but it appears that the test was a success, at least to that point.
930 waiting for the media event to be choreographed:
From the uptown side of the street:
more photos follow...
Operator's station:
trucks:
at the foot of Canal, switched to the outbound track:
Passing me by at the foot of Canal:
Approaching Dauphine on the outbound run:
At Liberty, preparing to switch back to the inbound track:
Posted by YatPundit at 02:41 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
December 11, 2005
Feature Photo - Streetcars in the Mall?
Perley A. Thomas streetcar #952 makes its way through the "storm city" display at Lakeside Mall in Metairie. The display, created by Mr. Frank Evans of Gretna, has been a component of the mall's holiday decorations for 13 years, but this year, he's added some post-Katrina touches, such as blue tarps on the roofs of the model homes. Mr. Evans' additions this year stirred some controversy up, causing the mall to take the display down temporarily. Within days, however, the display was back up and the trains and streetcars once again circled the center of the mall.
The streetcar is a LGB model of the 900-series streetcars that run on the city's St. Charles Line. These 80-year old streetcars were safe in their barn at Carrollton Station during the storm. Mr. Evans' LGB streetcars are the same models that run in City Park's "Train Garden."
Here are some more photos of the Lakeside Mall display:
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December 10, 2005
900s to Canal?
Reports are that RTA will bring one of the Perley Thomas 900s to Canal Street on Monday for testing. I'll see if we can get pictures of the move.
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December 07, 2005
DeVille's Congressional Testimony
RTA General Manager William DeVille testified before a House subcommittee for (among other things) Transit on 27-October-2005. His update on RTA's situation is a good one. The full text of his testimony is here.
This section caught my eye:
On a good note, there was little damage to the famous St. Charles Streetcar line other than to the overhead catenary system. Further good news is that FTA had already approved an extensive rehabilitation project for the St. Charles overhead electrical system and a contractor was preparing to get started when the storm hit. We are reevaluating the construction costs of the project and we are pushing to get the program underway as soon as possible while the system is closed. Construction on this project now should be far easier and may cost less than originally planned because there is no active service to work around. However, there is additional work required as the storm did more damage than the original work scope envisioned.
If a contractor was ready to get started on catenary work on St. Charles Avenue anyway, hopefully that will speed up a return of the 900s to the streets.
Posted by YatPundit at 03:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Original "Red Ladies"
There are a number of stories that circulate about why the Riverfront line's streetcars were painted red rather than the more-traditional green of the Perley A. Thomas streetcars. The Riverfront Line's development began in the mid-1980s, and it opened to the public on August 14, 1988. An ad-hoc organization called "Bring Our Streetcars Home" raised funds to re-acquire three Perley Thomas cars that left the city in 1964 for use on the new line. Additionally, RTA acquired three Melbourne W2 streetcars, so Riverfront could offer handicap accessibility.
Since the green color of the 900-series Perley Thomas streetcars on St. Charles Avenue was so well-known, RTA decided to paint the streetcars for Riverfront something different. One story goes that Carrollton Station Manager Elmer Von Dullen wanted to paint them blue, a tribute to the old Napoleon Ave. line, which was called the "Royal Blue Line." Some say that then-Mayor Sidney Barthelemy favored the red, and since he was mayor, he got his way. Whichever is true, the decision to go with red was made.
To justify the red color from a historic perspective, RTA always says that the old French Market line of the New Orleans City Railway Company was painted in red and yellow. This postcard from 1897 appears to bear this out, if the colors are accurate. Postcard manufacturers of this period would hand-tint black and white photos and them mass-print the colored photo.
The postcard depicts three green, single-truck, Ford, Bacon & Davis streetcars on the riverbound center track of Canal Street, the lead car having just crossed St. Charles Ave./Royal St. (The photographer is standing on Canal, in between St. Charles and Camp.) To the right are two red and gold streetcars of the New Orleans City Railway Company, on the outside lakebound track.
The gold dome in the background is the "old" Maison Blanche building, which was torn down in 1898 to make way for the "new" MB building, which is now the Ritz-Carlton hotel. There is a sign on the right-hand side that says "Maryland Club" that we can't place just yet.
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Old postcards...
Over time, I've acquired a number of JPG files that are scans of old postcards. Some of them are from eBay auctions, others from various locations. Most of them are of too low a resolution for us to use as the week's "feature photo," but it seems such a shame not to share them. To that end, we're starting today with sharing these files, starting with a postcard of Canal Street from 1897.
Posted by YatPundit at 02:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 05, 2005
Feature Photo - Southport Shuttle, 1929.
With Skoda Electric proposing to help the city's transit system and economy if RTA will consider using trolley buses, let's go back to the beginning of electric bus operations in New Orleans. One of the first "trackless trolleys" to run in New Orleans passes Mater Delorosa church on S. Carrollton Avenue in December of 1929. The line was the "Southport Shuttle," which ran from Oak Street, then turned onto S. Carrollton Avenue. Electric bus service was expanded in the 1940s, as New Orleans Public Service, Incorporated (NOPSI) phased out streetcar lines. The electric buses were a bit of a compromise, using the trolley wires from the streetcars, but with brand-new buses instead of the older streetcars.
The original electric buses were housed at Carrollton Station. When the bus system expanded, they were also stationed at Arabella Station on Magazine Street (this station is now the site of Uptown's Whole Foods Grocery store).
Posted by YatPundit at 12:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Letter from Skoda Electric to RTA...
via Alan Drake and his "Streetcars Desired Everywhere" group on Yahoo comes this "letter of interest" from Skoda Electric USA to RTA. Skoda proposes a partnership with RTA to provide the city with electric trolley buses. Here's the letter:
Mr. Reiss and Mr. Deville,
SKODA ELECTRIC USA is very interested in working with the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority and other interested parties to reintroduce Electric Trolley Buses to your transit system. This letter and its comments are offered as a statement of interest.
Hurricane Katrina caused major destruction to New Orleans infrastructure.. While this event has brought hardship to the citizens and commerce, it has also afforded New Orleans the opportunity to rethink many of the assumptions used to design the existing infrastructure and to improve the city as it is rebuilt.
One of these opportunities is public transportation. RTA was nearing a major bus fleet renewal before Katrina, which flooded half of the fleet. More streetcars arean obvious choice, but each line requires years of planning and building. Electric trolley buses and their infrastructure can be more quickly built and may recieve preferential funding from the FTA.
Skoda, the largest manufacturing company of transit equipment in the Czech Republic, proposes another direction for bus fleet renewal that compliments streetcars; electric trolley buses. Skoda has built 13,000 trolley buses already, a majority of the world fleet. Currently Skoda has approximately 440 trolleys running in the US in three cities, Dayton, Ohio, San Francisco, and Boston.
In broad outline, Skoda is interested in a three-prong deal.
One, RTA places a large order for electric trolley buses (each bus with an optional diesel backup). The larger the order, the more economical the purchase, of course. Skoda is sensitive to design needs and requirements of transit vehicles in the United States and is willing to work with New Orleans on a design which compliments the city.
Two, Skoda establishes a factory in Orleans Parish to assemble these trolley buses for New Orleans and other cities. The degree of local fabrication is a matter of discussion and further study. New Orleans RTA is unique among transit agencies in being the prime contractor for building the Riverfront and Canal streetcars. Skoda is very open to a similar arrangement and may prefer this option.
Three, Skoda will build the local infrastructure (DC rectifiers, overhead wires, and perhaps the electric trolley bus barn) on a turnkey basis for RTA. Skoda views the quality of the electric installation as essential to the proper operation of ETBs and wants to maintain control over this essential element. However, we recognize the expertise that RTA developed in redesigning the electricsupply for the St. Charles Streetcar Line and would like to make use of this local expertise and experience.
This proposal has several advantages for the future of the New Orleans region.
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