A Streetcar Named St. Charles

We've been keeping up with the rebuilding of life in New Orleans, and IT contributor Katie Howell sends along another sign of hope for the city.

Good news for public transportation proponents, historical preservationists, and those waxing nostalgic. The familiar “clang clang” of the world’s oldest surviving urban rail line has returned to New Orleans’ St. Charles Avenue. Hurricane Katrina halted service of the city’s derelict public transportation system more than two years ago. Service quickly returned to the “new” Canal Street line (reopened in 2004 after a 40-year hiatus); the modern, tourist-centered Riverfront line; and the downtown portion of the St. Charles Avenue line. But damage to the tracks and catenaries on the rest of the St. Charles line kept the green, historic landmark-status streetcars from running the length of the oak-lined avenue through New Orleans’ famous Garden District until two weeks ago.

While the system isn’t completely back to pre-Katrina status, commuters, tourists, and “Nolaphiles” alike celebrated the partial return of the Big Easy’s crown jewel with parades, parties, and free rides. Five streetcars are currently running ten minutes apart along the three miles (4.8 kilometers) between St. Charles Avenue and Napoleon Avenue. While the full 6.5 mile route is still not open and the trains are running on a limited schedule, they do replace the erratic bus service that's been in place for the last two years. The city hopes to have the rest of the St. Charles line reopened by spring 2008.

The St. Charles Avenue line began operating in 1835 as mule-drawn streetcars, and the city’s entire streetcar system was electrified in 1893. The green streetcars in use today along St. Charles Avenue have been given historic landmark status and date from the 1920s. Modern, air-conditioned, red cars were in place them along the Canal Street and Riverfront lines before Katrina, but they were flooded in the aftermath of the storm, and currently, the historic St. Charles cars are running on all three lines. While the St. Charles line is the oldest surviving line in the world—despite its two-year, Katrina-induced break—it was not the first streetcar route in New Orleans. Two now-defunct lines pre-dated the St. Charles line, and dozens of other routes totaling 235 miles (378 kilometers) stretched between the city and suburbs from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th century—including the Tennessee Williams-immortalized Desire line.

Photo: NewOrleansOnline.com