NOLA History: The “Green Streetcars” of St. Charles Avenue

The fall and spring are the best times to ride the streetcars on the St. Charles Avenue line. The weather is usually sunny and not so hot, so it’s fun to put up the windows and take in the sights and sounds of Uptown New Orleans. The “green” streetcars that run on the St. Charles line have been in operation there (and in other parts of the city) since 1923, but the design so associated with New Orleans dates back further than the still-operational 900-series.

The arched-roof, “semi-convertible” streetcars were designed by Mr. Perley A. Thomas. Thomas was a Canadian-born entrepreneur who became the chief engineer of the Southern Car Company in High Point, NC. In 1915, the New Orleans Railway and Light Company (NORL) accepted Southern’s bid for streetcars to replace some of the wooden, Brill-manufactured double-truck streetcars that were beginning to show their age. Thomas’ streetcars became the 400-series, and were immediately put to work on the busy St. Charles and Tulane “belt” lines. The 400s were a big hit, because they were comfortable and well-ventilated. The windows opened high and weren’t blocked by a grill or screen, so air flowed well from the roof vents back through the windows. This was the main reason the design was so well-accepted by NORL as well as the ridership.

Southern Car Company folded in 1916, so Thomas took his designs and formed the Perley A. Thomas Car Works in High Point. In 1921, New Orleans Public Service, Inc (NOPSI), the successor to NORL, decided to standardize on Thomas’ design, placing a large order that was delivered over 1923 and into 1924. In order to meet deadlines, Thomas farmed out some of the order to Brill, but all the streetcars were his design.

The 800-series were the first to roll on the streets of New Orleans, as they began to replace the rest of the earlier single- and double-truck cars. by the 1930s, the last of the double-truck “Palace” streetcars from the American Car Company of St. Louis, MO, were retired, and the arched-roof streetcars ran anywhere from the N. Rampart line in Treme (above) to Uptown. By the time the Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) design went into service in multiple US cities in 1936, the Perley Thomas cars were so well-entrenched in New Orleans that the ubiquitous, streamline-design of the PCCs never came to the Crescent City. The 400s were retired in the mid-1930s, leaving the 800s and 900s to roll all over the city until the post-WWII period.

Since the City of New Orleans would not permit NOPSI to operate streetcars in a “single-man” configuration, the company began to phase out streetcars in favor of buses (which could have just a driver instead of a motorman and conductor) after WWII. By 1948, the only two lines remaining were Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue. The Canal line lasted until May of 1964, when it was discontinued. All of the 800-series cars, as well as all but 35 of the 900-series, were either sold to museums and out-of-state businesses or destroyed. The remaining 900s ran exclusively on the St. Charles line. In 1971, local preservation groups acquired a protected status for the 900s when the St. Charles line was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

When operation of public transit in the city passed from NOPSI to the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) in 1984, the new agency began to work on proposals for expanding street railway lines. The Riverfront line opened in 1988, using three 900-series streetcars recovered from other parts of the country, along with two Australian-built, center-door streetcars to accommodate wheelchair riders. When Riverfront was expanded to two-track operation in 1997, these cars were retired and the new 400-series arched-roof streetcars began operation. You can see one of those cars, 461, running down St. Charles to downtown in the photo at top. The 400-series have modern propulsion systems and wheelchair lifts to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but otherwise are true to Perley Thomas’ original design.

The 900s were well-protected from Hurricane Katrina, buttoned up in their barn on Willow Street. NORTA was faced with a dilemma in the wake of the storm, however. The 900s survived just fine, but all but one of the “red” streetcars were severely damaged from flood waters in Mid-City. Once the water drained on Canal Street, the line was in good shape, but had no rolling stock. The St. Charles line had streetcars, but 60% of the overhead wiring was blown down. NORTA decided to bring the 900s to Canal in December of 2005, and for the first time in over 40 years, a “green streetcar” ran full revenue runs from the river to the cemeteries.

The 2000-series streetcars took three to five feet of water in the storm, flooding the sophisticated electronics in the propulsion systems of the cars. NORTA did more than just replace the 2000s, incorporating a number of re-designs into the propulsion during the re-build. These re-designs extended their out-of-service period, but the tried-and-true 900s rose to the occasion, making the statement to the world that New Orleans was rebuilding and coming back strong. NORTA obtained a waiver to allow the NRHC-protected streetcars to run off of the St. Charles line during this period.

Repairs to the track and overhead wiring on St. Charles Avenue, as well as major upgrades to the infrastructure providing the 600VDC electricity to the streetcars, were completed by the fall of 2007. Shortly after 5:00am on December 11, 2007, NORTA 921 rolled out of the streetcar barn on Canal Street and switched tracks to St. Charles. A few minutes later, it parked at Napoleon Avenue, completing the first run of 900s on their home line since the storm. Full service to S. Carrollton and S. Claiborne Avenues resumed about a month later.

In May of 2008, the 2000-series “Red Ladies” returned to Canal Street, and all three of New Orleans’ streetcar lines resumed their pre-storm operations. At the beginning of this year, NORTA changed the route of the Canal line so it ends at the foot of Canal Street, rather than running all the way to the French Market Terminal. Riverfront is now a “commuter” line, offering the connecting service to the Old US Mint.

And, most importantly for visitors, the “Green Ladies” are back in full swing on St. Charles. Sit back on the front porch of a hotel, pub, or patio along St. Charles and enjoy that unique clickity-clack sound as a 900 goes by, then get on board for a ride down to the French Quarter.

Edward Branley is the author of New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line, and Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, both books in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series.  He’s @YatPundit on Twitter.

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