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.
clicky image for a larger versionPerley 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.
Two Ford, Bacon & Davis streetcars pass each other on S. Carrollton Avenue at Willow Street in 1901. This car is still configured as it was delivered: open vestibule, Lord Baltimore truck. Car #197 is one of the 70 FB&D cars built by the American Car Company.
The New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad Company (NO&CRR) built two new facilities upon electrification in 1893. One was a power station at Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas (later to be come the NOPSI Training Facility), and the barn and shops of Carrollton station, at Dublin and Willow Streets. Carrollton Station was one block into the neighborhood from the location of this photo.
At this time, a small stand had been constructed at Carrollton and Willow. Car 197 is blocking the view of the stand in this photo, but you can see it in a sequence of photos on the NOSRA website.
Von Dullen car 2021, fresh out of the paint shop, sits next to Perley A. Thomas car 903, which is up on the rack in the shop.
There are two components to Carrollton Station. The larger building is the streetcar barn, where the 900s operating on the St. Charles line have been stored and serviced for decades. The barn is open on either side--streetcars enter the barn from the rear, on Jeanette Street, and exit onto Willow Street. Next to the barn are two buildings that are accessible only from Jeanette St., and these are the shop areas. The purpose of the shops for years was to fabricate parts for the 1923-vintage green streetcars. The shops were heavily renovated in the 1990s, as their role changed from just parts and repair to being a full-blown streetcar fabrication facility. Both the 400-series Riverfront and 2000-series Von Dullens were built at Carrollton.
This photo shows the routine work done on the Perley Thomas cars as well as the progress being made on getting the 2000s back out on the street. All the red Von Dullen cars are being stripped, then re-painted, then wrapped in plastic until the re-design and re-build of their propulsion systems is complete.
