ABANDONED STREETCAR TRACKS:

Crossing Howard Avenue, where the tracks are used for emergency turnbacks of the St. Charles line, is a single track on Carondelet St. formerly used by the Freret and South Claiborne streetcars. This is an isolated piece of track because the rest of it was removed after the 1953 conversion of Claiborne. The rails of Howard have been modified to prevent a streetcar from crossing, an impossibility at this time. The photo, dated August 17, 1962, comes from a slide in my collection and was added 12/11/11.

For three blocks of Erato Street, between Annunciation and Camp, there were on Mardi Gras Day 1981 exposed streetcar tracks. This street carried the Annunciation line (opened in 1867 by Crescent City R.R. Co.) from 1890 to its consolidation in 1917 with the Laurel line (opened in 1913 by New Orleans Ry. & Light Co.), then the Laurel line until about 1930. New Orleans Public Service never covered over this trackage when I photographed it. In fact, Google Maps satellite views still show these three blocks of Erato containing the tracks as of October 2010. Two photos added 12/11/08.

CARROLLTON STATION:

The official NOPSI label for each of its operating car barns or bus garages was "station." Here is the Willow Street side of Carrollton Station on August 17, 1962. To the left of the barn is a sign with the classic Public Service paint swash or lightning bolt (your choice) that identifies the division. Behind the sign is Carrollton Shops, where streetcar rebuilding was performed. Inside the barn we see a Perley Thomas streetcar (possibly number 951) on the left side and several St. Louis trolley coaches for the Tulane line on the right. Twin wires come out from the barn into Willow. Photo comes from a slide in my collection and was added 12/11/11.

DUAL GAUGE STREETCAR TRACKS:

The St. Charles and Tulane Belt lines were originally standard gauge streetcar routes. NOPSI converted the belts to wide gauge in October 1929. Dual gauge rails remained until 1931 to carry the cars of the South Claiborne Shuttle line to storage at Carrollton Station. Remnants of these dual gauge rails remained on Jeannette Street leading into the barn and on Willow Street from Dublin St. to Carrollton Ave. until the 1990 rebuild of St. Charles trackage. The first two photos (Willow St. and Jeannette St. sides of the barn, respectively) come from slides in my collection taken August 17, 1962 and were added 12/11/11. The third and fourth photos (both Jeannette St. at Carrollton and at the barn, respectively) were taken by me in the early 1980s and were added 12/11/08.

THE STREETCAR STORE:

An early 1980s effort to promote the historic value of the trolley, The Streetcar Store was located in the first block of St. Charles off Canal. Potential riders could purchase a day pass that was honored for unlimited rides on the streetcar. The companion "Streetcar Guide to Uptown New Orleans" enumerated the car stops (which was added to the signage) and described the points of interest one could explore in the uptown neighborhoods. The Times-Picayune featured the store in a news article. This is the first instance I know of anyone getting the Public Service to join a cooperative effort concerning streetcars. Earl Hampton, Jr. will be working on a revised version of the guide for Pelican Press in the future. The picture of the store was taken by me from car 905 in August 1981. The picture of the sidewalk sign depicting the cover of the Streetcar Guide was taken by Robert Bullermann on September 15, 1981 and comes from a slide in my collection. First photo added 12/11/08 and second 12/11/11.