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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.
Posted by YatPundit at February 5, 2007 07:57 PM
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