February 07, 2007
San Diego Trolley
one of the San Diego MTS LRVs on the Green Line approaching Old Town Station.
same train, waiting for scheduled departure into downtown San Diego.
A general view of Old Town Station
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February 05, 2007
Feature Photo: "Palace" car on Esplanade
One of a series of Charles Franck photos shot in 1921, showing Palace car 605 running down Esplanade Avenue, checking neutral ground clearances. The New Orleans Railway and Light Company (later NOPSI) usually hired Franck for legal-related photography, so these shots are most likely related to either a lawsuit or (my guess) a request to the City Council for permission to clear low-hanging branches that were interfering with the Esplanade Avenue ROW. Neutral ground operations were obviously preferred to running in the street alongside horse-carriage and automobile traffic, but this type of operation still had its complications, most notably the beautiful trees that grace many of our wide streets.
The note on this photo indicates that 605 is approaching St. Claude Avenue. Notice the very large "people catcher" (there weren't many cows in downtown New Orleans) on the Palace cars. The running board for this car says "West End."
The Palace streetcars were some of the most luxurious cars ever operated in New Orleans. They were much roomier than the Perley Thomas cars, which is why they continued to run on the Canal and West End lines until well into the 1930s.
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February 01, 2007
Train Thursday...
Seaboard System special train that came down for Super Bowl XX, the last time Da Bears were in the Super Bowl (and most New Orleanians actually cheered for them, too). The train is leaving the Union Passenger Terminal. That's the pylon scoreboard for Da Dome in the background.
The last car of the train is called a "theater" car. It's an variation on the classic "observation" car, in that the entire rear is a window.
Photo by John Sita.
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