Feature Photo: June 2004 Archives

Canal Street Operations

The Canal Street line has never been the be-all and end-all of streetcar operations on the main street of New Orleans. Even during the heyday of the four-track operations on Canal, the Canal line shared the two main tracks with the West End line. The transit system of the city is all about getting to the “Canal Street Zone,” that section of Canal from Rampart to the river.

Now that there are three operational streetcar lines in New Orleans, Canal Street has returned to its role as hub and connector. Here we see original Perley Thomas car 953, having just made the turn from Carondelet Street onto Canal. 953 is traveling the one-block length of the outside riverbound track, and will turn onto St. Charles Avenue for the outbound leg of her run on that line. Behind 953, Riverfront car 458 is making the same turn from Carondelet. Unlike 953, however, 458 will switch to the inside riverbound track just before the outside track turns back to St. Charles. Once on the inside track, 458 will then make her way to the foot of Canal, where she’ll turn onto the Riverfront track and run down to the French Market Terminal.

At this point, on the St. Charles line, 458’s operator isn’t allowed to pick up or discharge passengers. Because the St. Charles line is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the only cars that can operate “revenue runs” on St. Charles are the original green Perley Thomas cars. When a Riverfront or Von Dullen car has to go up to Carrollton Station for maintenance, they have to make the run up St. Charles empty.

Liberty Place

Since we did an “Along the Line” segment on the Liberty Monument in CanalStreetCar.com weekly two weeks ago, we’ve received a number of requests for a photo of the Liberty Monument. Rather than simply saying “go buy the book,” (which still is a good idea, mind you), here’s a photo of the Liberty Place.

The engineering firm of Ford, Bacon and Davis re-designed the terminal trackage at the foot of Canal in 1908. Since the turnaround track is in this photo, it dates from 1910-1915. There are three streetcars near the monument. On the left is a single-truck Ford, Bacon Davis car, entering the loop. Just behind it, on the outside riverbound track, is a Brill single-truck car. You can tell the difference between these two cars from the size of the celestory or upper monitor deck on each. The Ford, Bacon, Davis cars have a wide monitor deck and the Brills a much smaller one. On the right-hand side of the monument is another FBD car that has completed the turnaround and is heading lakebound on the outside track. Since the Canal line was running double-truck cars at this time, these cars are running on either the Coliseum or Dauphine lines.

There are several Canal line cars in the background of the photo, on the trackage in front of the Custom House.

Switching Back

There are times when streetcars are unable to complete their full run on the line. The reasons for this are numerous: An accident further along the line, a special event like a Carnival parade, or possibly a construction project.

Unlike buses, streetcars can’t just go around an obstruction on the line. They have to stop and wait until the obstruction is cleared. To make sure that obstructions don’t create chaos, a number of crossovers are built into the tracks. On May 29th, the Canal line was blocked from Baronne to Carondelet for the grand opening ceremonies. The riverbound Von Dullen cars had to stop at Liberty Street, unload their passengers. The operators then moved the cars down Canal past the crossing and change the car’s direction by switching the trolley pole on top that contacts the overhead wire. Once the car is operating lakebound the operator then “switches back” through the crossing to the lakebound track.

When riding the St. Charles line, it’s easy to tell where the crossing tracks are, because there is a distinct sound when the streetcar moves over the crossing. If you stand at St. Charles and Josephine streets, for example, you’ll hear it. The Canal line, with its concrete roadbead under the grass and topsoil, is a different story. The streetcars simply glide through the crossings.

The War Effort

A Perley Thomas car is painted red, white, and blue over its standard green livery as part of an ad campaign to sell US War Bonds and Stamps. The car is operating on the Canal line, outside the CBD. Given the lady’s hat and that the gentlemen are in shirtsleeves, the photo was shot in the spring or summer. Unlike the modern Canal line, the stops for the original line were on the curb side of the streetcar, rather than inside the neutral ground. The photo is courtesy the New Orleans Public Library, and can be found in Ed’s book, New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line.

Streetcars have long been a good investment for advertisers, so for NOPSI to give up ad revenue to support the war was a financial sacrifice as well as an act of patriotism. The transit system was one of the many areas where folks on the homefront were making serious contributions to the war effort. With items such as gasoline and tires rationed, riding the streetcar to and from work and shopping made even more sense than usual.

On this, the 60th anniversery of the invasion of Europe (D-Day), CanalStreetCar.com would like to take this opportunity to thank both the veterans who risked (and sacrificed) their lives during World War II, as well as those back home who did whatever they could to fight tyranny.