Feature Photo: November 2007 Archives

Perley A. Thomas streetcar 932 (left), outbound towards the cemeteries, is about to pass 952 (right), which is inbound to the French Market terminal at Esplanade and the river, on a sunny afternoon at Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue.

Operations on Canal are a bit different with the 900s running rather than the Von Dullens. Here, inside the the "Canal Zone," which extends from the river to Claiborne Ave., riders board as they do on the 2000s, on the street side. Outside the Canal Zone, however, riders used the inside doors of the Von Dullens. Those doors aren't automatic on the 900s, so riders have to walk around to the street side to board. On N. Carrollton Avenue, the streetcars run in the inside auto lane, because the neutral ground is narrow. Having riders exit on the street side would be incredibly dangerous, since this would put them out in the middle of traffic. To avoid this, the operator stops the car at the stop and manually opens the inside rear door, and riders disembark onto the neutral ground.

On the Riverfront segment of the line, the raised platforms at each stop work great for the Von Dullens and the 400-series cars, but the 900s don't line up properly. To embark and disembark passengers along the river, the operator must pull up a couple of yards in front of the stations so passengers can board from the ground level.

Handicap access is, of course, not possible on the 900s, but will return to the Canal and Riverfront lines when the red ladies are re-built.

Yes, I know it's not a streetcar, but at least it's electric! This 1949 photo shows New Orleans City Councilman Walter Duffroc posing as a trolley bus goes by on the St. Claude line. The St. Claude streetcar was converted to bus service in 1948. In 1949, the buses were replaced by trolley coaches. The streetcars replaced were the Perley A. Thomas 1000-series, the last evolution of Mr. Thomas' arched-roof cars.

We had a request from a reader about streetcar operations below the Industrial Canal. I didn't have any photos of streetcars crossing the Industrial Canal, but then I remembered this trolley bus photo. Trolley buses ran in the city from 1929 to 1967.

Perley A. Thomas streetcar 932, outbound on N. Carrollton, heading to Beauregard Circle. We've had some gorgeous afternoons this Autumn, perfect days for hopping on a streetcar and going out to City Park.

Note that the rollsign on 932 is empty. The rollsigns for the operating 900-series streetcars are as they were when they were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. That means they only have "St. Charles" and "Special," since all the other streetcar lines had been discontinued at that time.

The arch-roof architecture of the 900s dates to 1915, when the 400-series cars designed for Southern Car Company by Mr. Thomas hit the streets of New Orleans. This distinctive design continues to this day, with not only the 900-series but also the 400-series Riverfront and 2000-series Von Dullens.