Podcast 47 is the first of a four-part series on early New Orleans street railways. We’re talking about streetcars that pre-date our iconic arch roof streetcars from 1923, and the red streetcars from 2004. Beginning with the origins of public transit with omnibuses to steam railroad lines, to mule-drawn streetcars, we present getting around before electrification.
The New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad (NO&CRR) launched the first street rail line, from Baronne Street to Carrollton in 1835. This was a steam-powered line. This 1830s illustration of the Carrollton Hotel shows the steam locomotive for the Carrollton line on the left.
As Uptown expanded, residents complained about the smoke and noise of the train. NO&CRR switched from steam railroad operations to mule-drawn streetcars in the 1840s. They used Stephenson Co. “bobtail” streetcars pulled by mules.
Downtown Bobtails
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The New Orleans City Railrod Company (NOCRR) inaugurated the Canal and Esplanade lines in 1861. While trying other streetcar models, they quickly settled on the Stephenson bobtails as well.
Facilities
After switching from steam power to mule power, NO&CRR built a barn at St. Charles and Napoleon Avenues. This is the layout of that corner, via the Robinson Atlas of 1883.
Esplanade streetcar approaching the Esplanade barn, 1864
Esplanade Station, 1883
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The first Super Bowl held in New Orleans was Chiefs-Vikings.
Super Bowl IV, 1970
The Kansas City Chiefs came to New Orleans on January 11, 1970, as the champions of the American Football League, to play the National Football League champion Minnesota Vikings.
Maison Blanche Department Stores welcomed fans of both teams with a full-page ad in the Times-Picayune newspaper on Saturday, January 10, 1970: “To all you super-people…a super-welcome to New Orleans’ super-department store…” MB’s stores in 1970 were 901 Canal Street (since 1897), Clearview Shopping Center, Gentilly Woods, Airline, and Westside. The Carrollton store migrated to Airline by now, and Airline wouldn’t be long for the world with Clearview opening in 1969. The second “branch” store, on Frenchmen and Gentilly, migrated to Gentilly Woods Shopping Center. That store would in turn close in 1974, with the opening of The Plaza at Lake Forest shopping mall. Like the other large department stores, MB put out huge displays of New Orleans souvenirs and other local merchandise, tempting visitors to bring home a memory.
MB in the 70s
The store’s logo and branding reflects the late-1960s change to a modern, sans serif typeface. The all-lowercase format remained until the store’s acquisition by Dillard’s in the 1990s. The tagline, “Greatest Store South” continued on from the early 1900s.
Super Bowl IV was the first championship held in New Orleans. The first game was held in Pasadena, California, at the Rose Bowl. The second and third matches were held in Miami, in the Orange Bowl. Fourth was sweet, as the NFL chose the Sugar Bowl. New Orleanians never really called the stadium the “Sugar Bowl.” While the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl are the names of the stadiums, The massive stadium in Uptown New Orleans was Tulane Stadium. It was theirs, after all. New Orleans fit the desires of the NFL, chief of which was someplace relatively warm and snow-free. There was always the chance of rain at Tulane Stadium, of course. That’s why the league insisted that New Orleans build a covered stadium when they awarded the city a franchise. That led to the construction of Da Dome, now branded as Caeser’s Superdome.
Several ads in the Times-Picayune enticing the reader to get started on the spring planting! Guillot’s off S. Carrollton, Perino’s off Causeway, and Arnber off Clearview. They’re all on the same page of the Times-Picayune on 3-March-1962.
Guillot Camellia Gardens
Guillot’s recognized Election Day in this ad. City elections took place this day. The big races were on the Democratic side, runoffs that, for all intents and purposed, determined who would hold office for the next four years. While Guillot’s encouraged everyone to vote, they still pitched getting the spring garden work going.
Guillot Camellia Gardens operated at 8301 Olive Street, just behind the old Cloverleaf/Sealtest Dairy on S. Carrollton and Olive. The dairy closed in the 1980s. The US Postal Service acquired the land. They preserved the front of the old dairy building, So, now the neighborhood post office stands there. Schmelly’s Dirt Garden occupies the location now. It’s a compost/garden soil vendor.
Arnber
In 1962, the corner of Veterans Highway (the change from “highway” to “boulevard” would come years later) and Lime Street was the Arnber Seed and Garden Center. As real estate in Broadmoor and Mid-City grew in value, businesses like nurserys and garden centers migrated out to the suburbs. The cheaper rents in Metairie improved profit margins. Arnber’s promoted azaleas, shade trees, fruit trees, and roses in their 3-March ad. The location, 4640 Veterans is now Leslie’s Pool Supplies.
Perino’s
Perino’s started up at S. Claiborne and S. Carrollton Avenues, across from the streetcar terminal. By 1962, the business had moved to to Metairie. It’s Still There More at 3100 Veterans, just off of Causeway. There wasn’t much around the corner in 1962. Lakeside Shopping Center was growing out and the House of Lee restaurant was directly across from Perino’s. Now, of course, they’re surrounded by all sorts of businesses.
Continuing the New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad Story
I spoke to the Friends of the Cabildo Tour Guides at their monthly meeting this past Monday. They had me in to discuss the origins of the NO&CRR (New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad), which evolved into the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line. I’ll be presenting the talk via blog posts here. We discussed the origins of the line, now we move to the transition to mules from steam power.
Mules NO&CRR
While steam power made sense to the management of the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad, residents along the Carrollton Line (which later became the St. Charles Avenue Line) grew unhappy. Steam trains are noisy and smokey. As New Orleans annexed what is now the Garden District, more people built fine houses close to the line.City officials pressured the railroad to abandon steam engines. Mules NO&CRR began in the 1840s.
Mules on the line
Naiads and Napoleon, 1860. Lilienthal photo, halfway point for Mules NO&CRR
Theodore Lilienthal photo of Naiads and Napoleon Avenues, 1860. The railroad built their facilities for the Carrollton line here. The intersection was more-or-less half-way between the CBD and the city of Carrollton.
St. Charles and Napoleon Avenues in 1948. Compare the difference with 1860.
Section from the Robinson Atlas, 1883, showing streetcar tracks around St. Charles and Napoleon Avenues. The half-way facilities for the railroad expanded over the twenty years since the Lilienthal photo. The black dot on St. Charles is a turntable. If you’ve been to San Francisco, you’ve seen this type of turntable. Here, the driver leads the mule out of the barn, placing the car on the turntable. He then walked the mule around, lining up with the track on the street, and off they went.
The building on the right housed the streetcars and the mules. Superior Seafood and Fat Harry’s stand there now. The buildings on the left (lake) side of St. Charles are now the Lower School for the Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Downtown on the line
The corner of St. Charles and Canal Streets in 1850. Notice there are NO streetcar tracks! That’s because the Carrollton line continued to use Baronne Street. While the steam trains terminated at Poydras and Baronne, the streetcars went all the way to Canal Street. The drivers turned around on a turntable on Baronne.
So, there were no streetcars yet on either St. Charles or Canal. The Canal line opened in 1861. The lighter-colored building in the background of this illustration is the first incarnation of the St. Charles Hotel. This building burned down in 1851. The second incarnation opened in 1853.
This 1856 map shows downtown New Orleans (CBD) in 1856. The streetcars came down Naiads to Tivoli Circle. Like the modern line, they curved around to Delord Street, now Howard Avenue. Unlike the modern line, the Carrollton line went up to Baronne, then turned right. Baronne Street had two tracks with a turntable to change direction.
The streetcars
The railroad purchased and operated “Bob-Tail” streetcars from the Stephenson Car Company, from the 1850s until the line electrified in 1893. The driver attached the mule to the right side of the car in this photograph. The single-truck design made for a less-than-smooth ride. Still, the cars were as good as it got for the time.
While the bob-tails did most of the work on the line, the railroad experimented with alternatives. After the Southern Rebellion, PGT Beauregard returned to New Orleans. The railroad employed him as president in the 1870s. Being an engineer, Beauregard entertained a number of different ideas for streetcars. This car used canisters of ammonia gas to propel the car. This drawing is by Alfred Waud. It includes a small drawing of a white woman, and another of a black woman, along with Gus.
The Lamm Thermo-Specific locomotive operated on the line in 1874. The engine’s “fireless” design enabled quiet operation. So, the engine carried a large bottle/canister containing compressed air, steam. The engineer released the steam and the engine moved forward. The Lamm engines pulled 1-2 bobtail cars. The railroad discontinued operations of the Lamms, because of having tor re-charge the canisters.
There’s always activity at the Claiborne Terminal.
Claiborne Terminal 1978
It was hectic at the end of the St. Charles line on 18-August-1978. Michael Palmieri captured this shot of three vintage-1923 arch roof streetcars, (l-r) NOPSI 914, 923, 962. NOPSI 923 blocks the other two streetcars. On the left, 914 can’t move forward, and 962 can’t enter the terminal. All three streetcars survived the 1964 massacre, when the Canal line transitioned to bus service. NOPSI kept 35 of the Perley Thomas streetcars for St. Charles. The route of the St. Charles line runs from this terminal, at S. Claiborne and S. Carrollton Avenue, inbound down S. Carrollton, turning onto St. Charles, where the line runs into downtown.
Here’s Mike’s caption for the photo from Facebook:
We’re not sure what misfortune has befallen New Orleans Public Service car 923, but the big truck parked on the other end of the car and the large contingent of sidewalk supervisors indicate that something is amiss. We’re standing on South Carrollton Avenue facing the outer end of the line at South Claiborne Avenue. The car on the right has changed direction, and is ready to head back to Canal Street. The inbound car in the background is the 914. Plum Street is behind us and Willow Street is right on the other side of the 914.
Since this mishap happened on S. Carrollton, it was easy for supervisors from the Rail Department to come up to Claiborne Terminal from Carrollton Station.
Resuming service
As Mike mentions, there’s a truck behind 923. The sequence to get the line back moving would be, send 962 inbound. The streetcar is on the outbound track, but the operator will switch to inbound at S. Carrollton and Willow, by the streetcar barn.
With 962 out of the way, that big truck can push 923 forward through the crossover, onto the inbound track. If the problem was with 923 itself, the truck could push the streetcar to the switch at S. Carrollton and Jeanette Street, and into the barn. Assuming the track and overhead are OK, NOPSI 914 can then leave Claiborne Terminal and head inbound, following 962.
One of the 1923-vintage arch roof streetcars, NOPSI 968 traveling along S. Claiborne Avenue. The streetcar approaches the end of the line
on October 30, 1949. The Claiborne line ran from downtown/CBD out to S. Carrollton Avenue. Photograph by William T. Harry.
South Claiborne Line
New Orleans Railway and Light Company (NORy<) opened the South Claiborne line on 22-February-1915. The original route wound its way uptown, but ran all the way on S. Claiborne after 1916:
Start – Canal and St. Charles
Up St. Charles to Howard
Turn from Howard to S. Rampart, then Clio, then S. Claiborne
Out S. Claiborne to S. Carrollton
Return the same basic route, going on Erato instead of Clio.
S. Claiborne ran this route from 1916 until it was converted to buses on 5-January-1953. Note that the Claiborne (North) line operated on the “downtown” side of Canal, separate from this line.
The Streetcars
S. Claiborne originally operated Ford, Bacon, and Davis streetcars. The FB&D engineering firm designed these streetcars specifically for New Orleans. NOPSI upgraded the line with the 1923 arch roofs. The arch roofs ran on S. Claiborne until it switched to buses.
Neutral Ground operation
While neutral ground operation was common in New Orleans, the S. Claiborne line did it with style. The wide neutral ground on this avenue offered a wonderful view of Uptown/Backatown. As you can see in this photo, the inbound track isn’t visible. It’s out of frame on the right. S. Claiborne and S. Carrollton Avenues serves uptown as a major terminal. The St. Charles line terminates here, as do a number of bus lines, including S. Claiborne.
NOPSI 968
This streetcar operates on the St. Charles line to this day. It was one of the 35 900-series arch roofs retained by NOPSI when they converted the Canal line to bus service in 1964.
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