nopsi

Perley A. Thomas streetcar number 939, operated by New Orleans Public Service, Incorporated, on the West End line, 1946.

It's hot in New Orleans in the summer. Visit here for a day and a half in June/July/August and you figure that out pretty quickly. Back before the days of near-universal air conditioning in homes and offices, folks needed an escape from the heat. One of the things families would do was to head out to West End for a day trip. The New Orleans & City RR Company began running steam train service down Canal Street to West End in the 1870s, along with their mule-car service to the cemeteries. It was all streetcars after electrification in 1895, but the idea was still the same: escape to the lakefront!

It's 1946 in this photo. NOPSI operated the Perley Thomas 800- and 900-series streetcars exclusively by now and was actively discontinuing electric transit service in favor of buses. You can see the motorman-conductor team as they pose for the picture. The requirement by the city that NOPSI use two-man crews hastened the demise of street railways in the city.

Still, it looks like a lovely (albeit hot) day in New Orleans. A trip to the lakefront to catch the breeze at West End Park is something I could use right now.