New Orleans Public Service, Inc. (NOPSI) began the push to discontinue the Canal Streetcar in 1960.
Canal Street buses
This 1959 photo of Canal Street confused me for a moment. My friend Keith Evans posted it in his Facebook group, “N.O.L.A. – New Orleans Long Ago,” with just the title, “1959.” I thought, no, there are buses in the neutral ground, and that would be post-1964. I said as much in the group. Pop replied that he dated the image by the ad for the movie, “Ben Hur,” which came out in 1959.
So, I looked at that neutral ground a bit closer. It’s so clean! When buses ran in the “Canal Street Zone,” the roadway was streaked with rubber from tires and oil that leaked from the buses. The area in this photo is spotless! So, it’s just too clean to be normal.
Closing the streetcar line
By 1951, NOPSI discontinued streetcar service on all but the St. Charles and Canal lines. They stopped “belt service” on St. Charles and Tulane. Tulane switched to trolley bus service. Instead of running the belt, St. Charles terminated at S. Claiborne and Carrollton Avenues, as it does to this day. That meant the Canal streetcars were next up on the chopping block.
It wasn’t hard to convince Canal riders to switch to buses. If you lived in Lakeview and commuted into the CBD, you rode a bus to Canal Street and City Park Avenue. From there, the streetcar took you down Canal. NOPSI’s strategy was to operate two bus lines from the lakefront into town. One would use West End and Pontchartrain Boulevards, the other Canal Boulevard. Instead of turning around at City Park Avenue, however, they would continue down Canal Street. This offered riders a direct ride to work during the week, shopping on Saturday. No transfer!
Not only would buses make it an easier trip, they were air-conditioned. That was a big deal for men wearing coat and tie and women wearing stockings to work. Rainy day? You were safe until you got to Baronne or Carondelet Street.
Canal Street zone
With no streetcars in the CBD, buses would travel in the Canal neutral ground. After Claiborne Avenue, they would move into the regular auto traffic lanes. This meant commuters avoided cars while downtown. NOPSI airbrushed the streetcars out of several photos from 1959-1960, inserting buses in their place. I have a couple of these images in my book, New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line. This one was new to me.
Red streetcars
Streetcar service on Canal Street returned in 2004. The 2000-series Von Dullen cars featured a smoother ride and…wait for it…air conditioning! Riders coming in from Lakeview have to transfer from the bus, like they did prior to 1964, but hey, streetcars are always more fun.
Recording and PDF of the talk, “The Royal Blue Line” by Edward.
‘The Royal Blue Line” on Napoleon Avenue
Thanks to everyone who came out Tuesday to hear the talk on the Napoleon Streetcar at the Jefferson Parish Library’s East Bank Regional Branch. PDF of the presentation and the recording of the talk are included here.
Streetcars ran on Napoleon Avenue from 1850 to 1953. The New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad (NO&CRR) operated the “Carrollton” line, later the “St. Charles” line, beginning in 1831. They began with steam train service, which morphed into mule-drawn streetcars in 1845. In 1850, NO&CRR extended their operations with a branch line on Napoleon Avenue. Starting at St. Charles Avenue, the line ran down Napoleon, to Tchoupitoulas Street. Turntables on either end turned the streetcars around.
Electrification
The Napoleon Branch line electrified in 1893, along with the main Carrollton line. Napoleon was arguably the first electric streetcar line in the city. NO&CRR installed their power station for the line in a building at Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas. That building still stands, across the street from Tipitina’s. So, to power the St. Charles line, the company ran wires up Napoleon Avenue. That means the electric cars operated on the branch first!
Once the lines operated with electric cars, the company extended the Napoleon Branch to Canal Street.
Royal Blue
In 1903, a new player entered the streetcar game in New Orleans. The Orleans and Jefferson Railway announced the creation of the “Royal Blue Line,” operating from St. Charles and Napoleon, up to Metairie Road. They extended the line out Metairie Road to the 17th Street Canal, at the parish line. In 1915, the line, now operated by New Orleans Railway and Light Company (NORwy&Lt) opened the “Shrewsbury Extension” of the Royal Blue Line. The line ran all the way out to Severn Avenue and Airline Highway. In 1934, New Orleans Public Service, Incorporated (NOPSI) converted the Metairie Road segment to bus service.
In 1953, NOPSI converted the remaining Napoleon line to bus service. New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) operates the line as Route 9, Broad/Napoleon.
The Gentilly streetcar connected Franklin Avenue with downtown.
Gentilly Streetcar Unpack
NOPSI 884, operating on the Gentilly line, makes its one-block appearance on Canal Street as it turns for the outbound run on the Gentilly line. The line provided street rail connection to Gentilly via Franklin Avenue. Streetcars never ran on Elysian Fields because of the Pontchartrain Railroad. Even after 1931, when the Pontchartrain RR closed, the Louisville & Nashville RR continued to use the tracks from Elysian Fields and the River to Florida Avenue to go east out of town. In fact, Amtrak plans to use those tracks for its new Mardi Gras route.
As WWII approached, NOPSI inroduced teh Bomber Base bus route, running from Franklin and Gentilly to the lakefront, to connect the Consolidated-Vultee plant, Camp Leroy Johnson, and the Army Air Corps base. In July 1948, NOPSI discontinued the Gentilly line and Bomber Base bus line, merging both into the Franklin Avenue bus line.
Click the link and you can hear a five-minute preview if you’re not a Premium Member.
The Gentilly Line
Outbound
From Canal and Borubon, right on Bourbon
Down Borubon to Pauger, then Dauphene
Turn lakebound on Almonester
Almonaster merged into Franklin (it’s all Franklin Avenue now)
Up Franklin to Dreux Avenue
Inbound
Franklin and Dreux to Royal Street
Turn on Royal (same route from here as Desire)
Royal to Canal Street
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The Dauphine streetcar line later changed its name to St. Claude.
Dauphine Streetcar Line
The New Orleans City Railroad Company (NOCRR) opened the Canal and Esplanade streetcar lines in April of 1861. They expanded streetcar service to the “down river” side of Canal Street. By July of 1861, the company inaugurated the Dauphine line. The line originally bore the name “Rampart and Dauphine.” They shortened the name to make maps and route signs clearer.
The original route
Robinson Atlas, 1883
Outbound
Start at the Clay Statue (Canal/Royal/St. Charles)
Outbound on Canal Street to N. Rampart
Turn on N. Rampart to Esplanade.
Right-turn on Esplanade, then left on Dauphine
Continue outbound on Dauphine to Poland Avenue
Left-turn on Poland, up to the car barn at N. Rampart.
Inbound
Robinson Atlas, 1883
Departs the car barn at N. Rampart Street and Poland Avenue.
Inbound N. Rampart directly to Canal Street
Left-turn on Canal Street to turntable at the Clay Statue..
NOCRR electrified Dauphine in December, 1894. This shifted how streetcars behaved at either terminus. Mule-driven cars required a loop around the block or a turntable to change directions. (Turntables: think the San Francisco cable cars. Position the streetcar on a turntable. Instead of pushing the car to move the turntable, the operator walked the mule just off the turntable.) Electric streetcars use the poles on the roof to change directions. In 1898, the line used the newly-constructed loop around Liberty Place at the head of Canal Street. Streetcars circled the cop-killer monument. So, when Dauphine electrified, the streetcars made a left-turn on Rampart, headed to the river on Canal. They looped around and returned to Rampart, where the streetcars made a right-turn for the outbound run.
While the Dauphine line serviced the French Quarter, it didn’t travel its namesake street until after it crossed Esplanade Avenue. So, in terms of the Quarter, the line offered an alternative to Quarter residents who lived above Bourbon Street.
Out to the sugar refinery
The New Orleans Railway & Light Company (NORwy&Lt) operated transit in the city from 1905 until NOPSI took over in 1922. In 1910, they extended the Dauphine line down to the American Sugar Refinery in St. Bernard Parish. Opening of the Industrial Canal altered the route in 1922. The line used the bridge at St. Claude, then turned towards N. Peters to the refinery.
Equipment
NOCRR operated Stephenson “bobtail” cars on the Dauphine streetcar line before electrification. The first electrics on the line were 1894 Brills. “Palace” double-trucks upgraded the line by 1915. The photo shows NORwy&Lt 025, a Palace car, operating outbound on the line.
Name change
NOPSI changed the name of the line to St. Claude in 1926. Since the Industrial Canal pulled the route away from Dauphine Street, this change better reflected its path.
Four Ways to Support NOLA History Guy
Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
In Podcast 50 we discuss the other double-truck streetcars that ran in New Orleans.
Brill semi-convertible streetcar, 1916
“Other” Double-Truck Streetcars
Part 4 of our 4-part series on early electric streetcars in New Orleans presents the other double-truck models. This includes the Pullman Company, “1899” Americans, Brill Semi-convertibles, Barney & Smith, and Morris cars.
The St. Charles Street Railroad Company purchased Pullman double-trucks. They operated them on the Clio line, when that line crossed Canal. The line originated at the St. Charles Hotel and ran to the Pontchartrain Railroad terminal on Elysian Fields Avenue. Note this company is not the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad Company that ran the Carrollton/St. Charles line.
“1899” Americans
The “1899” streetcars by American Car Company were operated by the New Orleans City Railroad Comany (NOCRR – second incarnation).
Blueprints
Brill Semi-Convertibles
Morris Cars, named for Master Mechanic E. J. Morris at the Canal Shops.
Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
City Park Line connected Mid-City and the French Quarter.
NOTE: article updated slightly on 1-March-2025.
Trackless Trolley on the City Park Line, 1964s (courtesy NOPL)
City Park Line
The Orleans Railroad Company opened the City Park line on July 1, 1898. It connected the French Quarter with Mid-City, mostly via Dumaine Street. Orleans RR merged into New Orleans Railway and Light in 1910, along with the other streetcar companies. NORwy&Lt combined the French Market line with City Park (both ex-Orleans RR). The rollboards said “French Market-City Park” in 1921. While the route didn’t change, the line’s name returned to just City Park at that time.
The Route
The original route, 1898:
Outbound
Start at Canal Street and Exchange Place
Up Canal to Dauphine Street
Turn on Dauphine to Dumaine
Left on Dumaine, then up Dumaine to City Park Avenue
Inbound
Down Dumaine to N. Rendon
N. Rendon to Ursulines
Ursulines to Burgundy
Turn onto Canal at Burgundy
Terminate at Canal and Exchange
In 1910, the route expanded. Instead of turning on Burgundy, City Park continued down Ursulines to Decatur. So, it then continued to Canal, via Decatur and N. Peters. In 1932, NOPSI re-routed City Park, turning the line on Royal to terminate on Canal. This route remained until the line was discontinued in the 1970s.
Streetcars on City Park
Orleans Railroad ran Ford, Bacon, and Davis (FB&D) single-trucks on City Park. Their cars bore a red-and-cream livery. New Orleans Railwayy and Light Company (NORwy&Lt) replaced the single-trucks with double-truck “Palace” cars in the mid-1910s. NOPSI later replaced the Palaces with 800/900s.
The red livery used by Orleans RR and New Orleans City Railroad are the heritage behind the “red ladies” of the modern Riverfront and Canal Street lines. The red-and-cream also evolved into the darker, maroon and cream used by NOPSI on the older White and GM buses, as well as the trolley buses (see photo at the top).
Buses and Trackless Trolleys
NOPSI discontinued streetcar operation on City Park in 1941. They switched to buses. City Park was one of the last lines switched before WWII. The War Department turned down other conversions. Buses required gasoline and rubber. Both of those were needed for the war effort.
In 1949, NOPSI replaced buses on City Park with trackless trolleys. They never removed the overhead wires on the route. Trackless Trolleys ran on City Park until 1964. So, buses returned to the line then. NOPSI discontinued the City Park line completely in the 1970s.
Downtown Backatown
The City Park line serviced the “Downtown Backatown” neighborhoods. Like the Desire line, the name indicated the termination point. The streetcars ran on Dumaine Street, through Treme, into Mid-City. Since the line went to Canal Street, City Park carried commuters into work. The line serviced the Quarter as well, particularly Burgundy Street. Armstrong Park blocked the Dumaine portion of the route. I remember seeing the City Park buses at the route’s terminating point as I rode past Dumaine Street on the Esplanade line.
The Photo
When Aaron Handy III shared this photo in a Facebook group, the City Park rollboard brought back memories of riding home from Brother Martin in the 1970s. While I never rode the line, I was fascinated that there were streetcars going all the way out to the park, in-between Canal Street and Esplanade. This photo looks to be part of the Dorothy Violet Gulledge collection at the New Orleans Public Libaray.
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