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In the wake of the storm, all of the Von Dullen streetcars have been stripped and are getting new paint jobs. This was 2012's turn in the paint shop. Carrollton Station has a full paint shop, which is one of the reasons I'd love to get NORTA a PCC streetcar or two. PCC streetcars could easily be painted to meet the needs of movie production companies that come to town to film.

All of the Von Dullens now look great, and we're waiting for BMC to get the first of the new propulsion units and trucks down here.

The end of the St. Charles Ave. streetcar line, at S. Carrollton and S. Claiborne Avenues. This photo is from June, 2002.

Six more weeks to go, and the St. Charles line will be 100% operational. As of now, the line is only running the length of St. Charles, turning around at Riverbend. NORTA has announced that they expect to finish the upgrades and repairs to the line on S. Carrollton Ave. by May.

The intersection of S. Carrollton and S. Claiborne Avenues has been the location of the end of the St. Charles line since belt service was discontinued in 1951. It is a double-track terminal with a double-slip switch. Several bus lines terminate either in front of Palmer Park (like the bus on the left side of the photo), or on the neutral ground on S. Claiborne (to the right, just out of the photo). This intersection has long been a transit hub, dating back to 1915, when the Orleans-Kenner Railroad began operations.

The streetcars in the photo are Perley A. Thomas cars 940 and 961, both vintage 1923-24.

Liberty Place, August 25, 1963 (photographer unknown). A single Perley A. Thomas streetcar on the Canal line sits on the three-track layover, having just looped around the monument. This was the final step in the evolution of streetcar operations at the foot of Canal Street prior to the conversion of the Canal line to buses. The Liberty Monument was removed from the foot of Canal St. in the 1980s by the administration of Mayor Sydney Barthelemy, antcipating the development of a downtown casino. The three-track layover was re-constructed when the Riverfront line was expanded in 1997-98. Instead of the loop, however, the current configuartion in this area is a turn from the Canal tracks to Riverfront.

Prior to the erection of the Liberty Monument in 1891, the Canal trackage turned off onto N. Peters, S. Peters, Decatur, and Fulton Sts., with a simple semi-circle loop at the ferry landing. Because of of the construction of the monument and changes because of electrification, the city hired the engineering firm of Ford, Bacon & Davis to re-design the trackage from in front of the Custom House to the ferry landing. FB&D developed and constructed a huge terminal that was eight tracks wide at one point, all coming together to the loop you see in the photo above. As streetcar operations declined in the mid-20th century, the terminal tracks shrunk to the final three.

The Liberty Monument has been a sore subject in New Orleans for decades. The monument commerates the "Battle of Liberty Place," which occurred on September 14, 1874. Frustrated by the reconstruction government in New Orleans, The White League (a white supremacist organization similar to the Ku Klux Klan) attacked the police and supporters of the government in the French Quarter and at the foot of Canal. The Republican governor, William Pitt Kellogg, was forced to leave the city until he could marshal federal troops to return to the Quarter, push out the White League, and restore order. Kellogg was a career Republican politician from Vermont who was appointed by Lincoln to administer the Port of New Orleans after the war. When local (white) politicians took over control of city government in 1881, the locals named the area at the foot of Canal "Liberty Place." the obelisk followed in 1891.

Originally, the monument was a commemoration of the White League's victory, and the names of the members of the League killed during the battle were carved on the obelisk. A parade was held annually on September 14 that ended at Liberty Place. In 1934, two plaques were added to the monument, directly recognizing white supremacy in the city and state. It was these plaques that added insult to injury for black citizens of New Orleans. In 1974, Mayor Moon Landrieu (father of Senator Mary and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, and now an appellate court judge) ordered a brass plaque erected near the monument explaining that the "battle" was actually an insurrection led by white supremacists.

Mayor Ernest N. "Dutch" Morial tried to remove the obelisk outright in 1981, as part of the preparations for the 1984 World's Fair, but was blocked by the majority-white City Council. While the council would not let Morial remove the monument, they did authorize him to cover up the 1934 plaques. Even though the City Council agreed with Sydney Barthelemy in 1988 that the monument should go, allies of white supremacist and KKK leader David Duke sued City Hall in federal court. The racists argued that the city's action violated federal regulations concerning historic landmarks. Both sides worked out a consent decree, and Mayor Marc Morial (Dutch's son) took the Liberty Monument out of storage and returned it to a location near the Riverfront streetcar line, a block away from its original spot.

Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue, looking lakebound, early 1880s. The church spire in the background on the right is Christ Church Episcopal, at Canal and Dauphine (the current location of the Maison Blanche Building-Ritz Carlton Hotel). The photographer is standing on the northern side of the big monument to Henry Clay in the middle of the intersection.

In the middle of the photo you can see three Stephenson single-ended "bobtail" streetcars. These cars were mule-powered (horses can't work for extended periods in the New Orleans summer). When they reached St. Charles Ave., the operators would turn them around on the turntable visible in the foreground. The man in shirtsleeves is most likely a street railway. working out of the little kisos to the left, behind the street vendor. That kiosk is a "starter house," where the employee working there would assist the operator in getting the mule and streetcar turned around for the outbound leg of the trip.

Four-track operations had already begun on Canal by this time.  The two outside tracks were used by the streetcar lines coming to Canal Street from the Central Business District and Uptown (left side) and the French Quarter/Faubourg Marigny (right side). ; The center tracks were used by the Canal and West End lines.

Since the mule-powered streetcars are in the photo, and Christ Church is still located on Canal, this dates this photo to somewhere between 1880-1883.

PGT Beauregard was alive and well when this photo was shot, which is one of the reasons you don't see his statue on the City Park side of Bayou St. John. The bayou was still a navigable waterway at this time, a "back door" to the city. Fishing boats and others would come in from the Gulf of Mexico, into Lake Borgne, then Lake Pontchartrain, finally coming down Bayou St. John. That's why the bridge at the end of Esplanade Avenue was a drawbridge. Shrimp boats and oyster luggers would go out from the old turning basin near Congo Square, up the bayou to the lake, and return with their catches.

At this time, the New Orleans City RR Co. ran streetcar lines up to either side of the bridge. On the west bank of the Bayou (left in the photo), the Bayou Bridge & City Park line operated from the Half Way House to the bridge. On the eastern side, the Esplanade line ran the length of that beautiful street, turning into barn, looping around the block, along the bayou on Moss St., then re-joining the Esplanade tracks for the inbound run. The NOCRR had just begun streetcar operations four years earlier, in 1861. Even though the Civil War was raging in other parts of the country, New Orleans was an important port, and opportunities abounded for entrepeneurs. Because the city did not oppose the Union occupation after the naval battles were lost by the Confederacy, New Orleans was spared the fate of many other southern cities. Commerce and development continued throughout the war, in spite of the harsh rule of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, USA, whom the locals called "Beast."

This area was referred to as the "back of town" in those days. As the neighborhoods of Mid City and Faubourg St. John spread out this point at City Park, the term "back of town" came to refer more to the neighborhoods around S. Carrollton and Tulane Avenues.

The floats of Rex, turning from Royal Street in the French Quarter onto Canal Street, around 1896. The photo is undated, but the statue on the left narrows down the possible time frame from 1895 to 1901.

The statue is of statesman, US Senator, Speaker of the House, and Secretary of State, Henry Clay of Kentucky. Clay died in 1852, and a civic group began raising funds to erect a statue in his honor in downtown New Orleans. The base of the statue was huge. If you look at the photo, you'll see two mules in the bottom left corner. The base of the statue extended to where those mules are.

When the New Orleans City Railroad Company brought streetcar service to Canal Street in 1861, the Clay statue became a roundabout in the middle of the intersection of Canal and Royal (or Canal and St. Charles Avenue, as the street is called on the "American" side of Canal St.) The tracks around the statue became more and more complex as other operating companies added their tracks to Canal Street. Most of the lines were able to totally bypass Clay, though, since all they were interested in was to get to Canal, discharge passengers, pick up outbound riders, then head away from downtown. This only required being on Canal St. for a block or two.

Electrification changed the dynamics of streetcar tracks. Constructing the overhead wiring to keep the roundabout configuration of the track would have been too complicated, and a bit dangerous. The City Council decided that the elaborate base of the Clay statue should be cut down so electric streetcars could pass on either side. That's what you see in the photo. The motormen were still unhappy with the clearance they had with the statue, so the city moved it from the middle of Canal St. to Lafayette Square, between St. Charles Ave. and Camp St. Lafayette Square is directly across from what is now Gallier Hall, which was City Hall until the 1950s.

But let's get back to the parade! The only day parade at this time was Rex, King of Carnival, so this is a Fat Tuesday photo. The street in the background is Rue Royal. Parades started in the French Quarter, exited the Quarter onto Canal at Royal, then continued lakebound on Canal, usually to Rampart. They turned onto N. Rampart, then worked their way back into the Quarter, where they would end at the French Opera House. Parades continued to roll through the Quarter until the 1960s, when the city decided that crowds were getting just too big, and parades were a threat to fire protection in the area. The parades then moved to Uptown routes, so they entered Canal Street from essentially where those two mules on the left side of the photo are.

Notice how all the men are up front, crowding in to get a better view of the floats. The women who came out to the parade appear to be hanging in the back, a sign of the times.

The streetcar in the right foreground is a Brill single-truck model. The first electric streetcars had a single "truck" or set of wheels. As service expanded, the operating companies purchased larger, double-truck streetcars, and the single-truck cars were used on lighter-traffic lines and as service vehicles.

The small octaganol building in the right foreground is called a "starter's house." When using mule-powered streetcars, the operating companies put up these small buildings at the end of their lines and stationed an employee there to assist the streetcar operator with getting the car turned around on a turntable and started on their outbound trip. Since that starter's house is still there, that dates the photo even narrower, to 1895-1896.

UPDATE: Two weeks ago, we did a Feature Photo that showed a 400-series Perley A. Thomas streetcar on St. Charles Avenue during a Carnival parade. I wondered in the commentary why the floats were passing on both sides of the streetcar. An astute reader (I won't mention names since I didn't get permission) gave me the answer. In the 1920s-1930s, the "dens" (warehouses where the floats were constructed and stored) for many of the krewes were down by the river, at Jackson and Tchoupitoulas. They would parade up Jackson, then turn Uptown on St. Charles, go to Napoleon, where they'd turn around to head to Canal St. So, that photo was shot between Jackson and Napoleon.

Perley A. Thomas streetcar 904 passing the Pickwick Club, at the corner of Canal St. and St. Charles Avenue.

The Pickwick Club is an all-male, all-white lunch/social club. The club was originally affiliated with the Mistick Krewe of Comus, the oldest Carnival organization in the city. Comus has been around since 1857, when their two-float parade was the first of its kind in New Orleans. While the official connection between the club and Comus was broken in the 1880s, the membership of both organizations is reputed to be closely linked. Nobody knows for sure, however, because neither the Krewe nor the club make their membership public.

That lack of openness was the subject of a 1991 ordinance passed by the New Orleans City Council. That body decreed that, to get a permit to use public facilities like streets, an organization had to show it did not employ discriminatory practices in determining its membership. Rather than make its membership list public, Comus, along with two other Carnival organizations (Momus and Proteus) withdrew from the parade lineup. Proteus returned several years later, but Comus and Momus have steadfastly refused to comply, even though Comus won a lawsuit against the city, validating their right to freedom of assembly.

The Pickwick Club building is often confused with the Boston Club, which is actually down the street. While the Pickwick Club is closely aligned with Comus, the Boston Club is aligned with the School of Design, the organization which names Rex, King of Carnival, and parades on Mardi Gras morning. The Boston Club (which gets its name from the card game, not the city) is actually down the street. Prior to the 1991 blow-up, the Pickwick Club erected reviewing stands in front of the club on Canal St. Rex would roll down St. Charles and turn left onto Canal St., in front of the club. The king's float would stop there, and Rex would toast his queen, who watched the festivities of the day from that vantage point. Since the passage of the 1991 ordinance, however, the School of Design switched venues for their court, and now the toasts take place at the Intercontinental Hotel, at St. Charles and Poydras.

Every year, Haydel's Bakery on Jefferson Highway includes a special figurine with their king cakes. This is their rendition of a Perley A. Thomas streetcar, decked out for the ride of the Phunny Phorty Phellows. The original PPP would ride through the streets on Twelfth Night, announcing the start of the Carnival season. The tradition was brought back in the 1980s by a re-formed PPP. Instead of riding on horses, the modern PPP charter a couple of streetcars, ride, and party. NORTA rules don't allow alcohol on party cars anymore, but the PPP riders get their liquid fun in after the ride.

This year's ride of the PPP was the first since the storm, and the route was very unique. Starting at Beauregard Circle in Mid City, the PPP rode the Canal line down N. Carrollton, turned on Canal, going down to St. Charles. They switched to the St. Charles line, riding up to Napoleon, where the streetcars changed direction and returned back to Pierre Gustave Toutant's statue. Odds are, this won't ever happen again. By next Twelfth Night, the Von Dullens should be back in service on Canal and the 900s will return to operating exclusively on St. Charles. When that happens, a huge invisible barrier that is historic preservation will go up at Canal between Carondelet and St. Charles as the 900s return to operating exclusively uptown.

Don't get the impression that the PPP are a bunch of elitists who ride around on streetcars. They're a nice group of folks who take New Orleans seriously. Besides, anybody can charter a party car, for birthdays and other outings.

Of course, Twelfth Night isn't only about streetcars. It's King's Day, the Feast of the Epiphany. That means King Cakes. Every New Orleanian has their own favorite bakery and king cake. Haydel's is one of the biggest names in the ing cake business. The original "baby" in the king cake was porcelain, but the bakeries switched to plastic in the 1960s. About twenty years ago, Haydel's included a porcelain "Baby Charlotte" doll in their cakes, commerating the old way it was done. That doll was so popular that it's blossomed into a whole line of porcelain Mardi Gras characters that have included Rex's float, Pete Fountain, the St. Augustine band, and a carnival-decorated FEMA trailer. This year's figure is a coffee-and-beignets waiter like you'd see at CDM or MC, in white jacket and black bow tie.

Von Dullen 2001, the CKD/Tatra test car, and 963, all on Canal Street at Christmastime.

The prototype Von Dullen car, 2001, on the street in December, 2000. NORTA was evaluating PCC-style trucks from CKD/Tatra, and the Czech company sent over a streetcar to test. Earl Hampton caught 2001 and the CKD car on Canal Street and got this photo right as 963 is beginning an outbound run on the St. Charles line.

Merry Christmas!

Perley A. Thomas streetcar 922, departing Beauregard Terminal.

New Orleans streetcars in operation today are "double-ended" cars. When they reach the end of the line and are ready to go back, the front becomes the back and vice-versa. At the end of the line, like Beauregard Circle near City Park in this photo, the operator will pull the streetcar into the terminal, stop it, and then change the trolley pole from which the streetcar gets power. The one in what was the rear of the car coming into the terminal is pulled down so it doesn't make contact with the electrical wire overhead. The pole at what was the front of the streetcar is released, so it makes contact with the wire. The poles are wired to the motors on the streetcar such that the motor will turn one way or the other depending on which pole is active. When the switch is made, the streetcar is powered back on, and the operator will leave at the scheduled departure time.

Beauregard Circle is where City Park Avenue, Wisner Blvd., and Esplanade Avenue come together. The circle also feeds into City Park, to the New Orleans Museum of Art. The streetcar terminal at this location was constructed in 2002-2003. In the early part of the 20th century, streetcars ran on the short stretch of City Park Avenue seen above, when the Canal and Esplanade lines ran as belt service.

Riding the streetcar to Beauregard Terminal is one of the best ways to get from downtown to City Park to see the lights of "Celebration in the Oaks," or in the spring, to get over to the Fair Grounds racetrack for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.