St. Charles Streetcar Line

The St. Charles line starts uptown, at South Carrollton Avenue and South Claiborne Avenue.[2] It runs on South Carrollton Avenue through the Carrollton neighborhood towards the Mississippi River, then near the river levee turns on to St. Charles Avenue. It proceeds past entrances to Audubon Park, Tulane University and Loyola University New Orleans, continues through Uptown New Orleans including the Garden District, and ends at Canal Street in the New Orleans Central Business District at the edge of the French Quarter, a distance of 13.2 miles (21.2 km).[3] With the exception of Carondelet Street and the downtown portion of St. Charles where the line runs in the curbside lane, most of the line runs in the neutral ground (the median strip) with greenery between the tracks.

Planning for the line began in 1831, and work began as the New Orleans and Carrollton Rail Road in February 1833, the second railway in Greater New Orleans after the Pontchartrain Rail Road.[2] Passenger and freight services by steam locomotives began on September 26, 1835, originally without a dedicated right-of-way (it ran on public streets), although one was eventually established in the neutral ground (the median). Service began as a suburban railroad, since Carrollton was at that time a separate city, while areas along the route were still mostly undeveloped. Two locomotives New Orleans and Carrollton were supplied from England by B. Hick and Sons.[4][5]

As the area along the line became more urbanized, objections to the soot and noise produced by the locomotives increased, and transport was switched to cars that were powered by horses and mules.[2] For decades in the late 19th century, desire for a mode of transit more swift and powerful than horses but without the disruptive effects of locomotives resulted in a number of systems being tried out. Experimental systems included overhead cable propulsion (with a cable clamp patented by P.G.T. Beauregard in 1869 later being adapted for the San Francisco cable car system), and several innovative designs by Dr. Emile Lamm, including ammonia engines, a "Chloride of Calcium Engine", and most successfully Lamm Fireless Engine which not only propelled pairs of cars along the line in the 1880s but was adopted by the street railways of Paris.

While the city's first experiments with electric-powered cars were made in 1884 (in conjunction with the World Cotton Centennial World's Fair), electric streetcars were not considered sufficiently developed for widespread use until the following decade, and the line was electrified February 1, 1893.[2] At the same time, it was extended from the corner of St. Charles and Carrollton Avenues out Carrollton to a new car barn at Willow Street.[6]

A 400 Series streetcar operating on the St. Charles Avenue line, 1910s.

In 1900, the St. Charles and Tulane streetcar lines were extended on Carrollton Avenue and connected together, resulting in a two-way belt line. Cars signed St. Charles left Canal Street on Baronne Street to Howard Avenue to St. Charles Avenue, thence all the way to Carrollton and out that avenue, returning to the central business district on Tulane Avenue. Streetcars leaving Canal Street on Tulane Avenue were signed Tulane, operating out to Carrollton Avenue, then turning riverward to St. Charles Avenue, passing Lee Circle to Howard Avenue, and finally down Baronne (later Carondelet) to Canal Street.[6]

In 1922 the New Orleans & Carrollton Rail Road was merged into New Orleans Public Service Incorporated (NOPSI), which consolidated the city's various streetcar lines and electrical production.

900 Series streetcar running on the St. Charles line.

In 1950, plans were made to fill in the New Basin Canal, which the Belt Lines crossed on a bridge on Carrollton Avenue. The right of way was to be used for the Pontchartrain Expressway, and Carrollton Avenue traffic was to use an underpass. Rather than rebuild tracks in the underpass, the Tulane and St. Charles lines were separated, and Tulane Avenue was converted to a trolley coach line. During construction, the St. Charles line continued to operate (in both directions) all the way on Carrollton Avenue from St. Charles Avenue to the underpass construction site at Dixon Street. Once the underpass was completed, the St. Charles streetcar line was cut back to Claiborne Avenue, as it operates at present, and the Tulane trolley coach line took over the part of Carrollton Avenue between Tulane Avenue and Claiborne.[6]

Typical car stop signage along the line.

In 1972 automatic fareboxes were introduced, and the job of a separate conductor was eliminated from the streetcars. The line still has one of the Ford, Bacon & Davis 1894 vintage cars in running condition. Although it is not used for passenger service, it stays busy with work operations such as track sanding. The rest of the line's cars date from 1923–24.[2]

In 1973, preservationists successfully listed the St. Charles line on the National Register of Historic Places. But it is not possible to provide the historic cars with wheelchair access doors and lifts in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For this reason, it has been the only service in the system not to have wheelchair access.

In 1983, the RTA was created to oversee public transportation in New Orleans. It assumed the operations of city bus lines and the St. Charles line from NOPSI, which has since folded into Entergy.

In 2005, service along the route was suspended due to damage from Hurricane Katrina and the floods from levee breaches. The small section from Canal Street to Lee Circle was the first part restored. The section continuing up to Napoleon Avenue was re-opened for service on November 11, 2007, and on December 23, 2007 was extended up to Carrollton Avenue, near the line's original terminus in 1833. The restoration of the line on the remaining section along Carrollton Avenue to Claiborne Avenue took place on June 22, 2008.

The St. Charles line was listed by the National Park Service as a National Historic Landmark in 2014. This recognizes it as a place that possesses "exceptional value and quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States," quoting the announcement from the Department of the Interior.[7] It joins the San Francisco cable car system as one of only two moving streetcar National Historic Landmarks. (There are other moving landmarks, such as ships and trains.)

Following a lawsuit over access for wheelchair and other limited mobility patrons, RTA entered into a consent decree in 2017, agreeing to make six stops (each end, as well as Napoleon, Louisiana, Jackson, and a then-undetermined stop near Riverbend) ADA compliant. At least one wheelchair lift-equipped car was to be added to the line, but the historic Perley Thomas streetcars were not to be modified. [8][9]

In 2020, to comply with the 2017 consent decree, RTA renovated three streetcars that had been originally built for Riverfront service with wheelchair accessible features, bringing the St. Charles streetcar line into compliance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).[10] This included repainting these cars from Riverfront red to the iconic St. Charles line green. The cars carry a wheelchair icon on their ends and sides. RTA also rebuilt car stops at six major intersections to allow wheelchair access. Wheelchair accessible service on St.Charles began on December 1, 2020.[11][12]

The St. Charles Streetcar line operates frequent service 24 hours a day, with frequencies of every nine minutes in the daytime (after 7 a.m.), 18 minutes early morning (before 7 a.m.) and late night (10 p.m. to midnight), with 36 minute intervals in the night owl period (midnight to 6 a.m.).[13]

The principal equipment of the line consists of 35 streetcars built in 1923-24 by the Perley Thomas Car Co. They have been rebuilt several times during their long service life.[14]

From Canal Street to Uptown

Stop		Neighborhood(s)	Other streetcar lines	Notes
Canal and Carondelet Streets		Downtown, Central Business District, French Quarter		Transfer connection to Canal Streetcar Line. Eastern terminus of St. Charles Streetcar line. Carondelet continues as Bourbon Street into the French Quarter. Line has its own track in Canal Street neutral ground apart from the tracks for other lines.
By way of St. Charles Avenue (outbound) or Carondelet Street (inbound)
St. Charles and Common Street (outbound)		Downtown, Central Business District
St. Charles and Union Street (outbound) Carondelet and Gravier Street (inbound)		Downtown, Central Business District
Poydras Street		Downtown, Central Business District		Serves One Shell Square, the tallest building in New Orleans and the state of Louisiana.
Lafayette Street (outbound only)		Downtown, Central Business District		Serves Gallier Hall, Hale Boggs Federal Building and Lafayette Square.
Girod Street		Central Business District, Arts and Warehouse District
Julia Street		Arts and Warehouse District
St. Charles and St. Joseph Street (outbound) Howard Avenue and Carondelet Street (inbound)		Arts and Warehouse District
By way of St. Charles Avenue from Lee Circle to Carrollton Avenue
Lee Circle		Arts and Warehouse District		Stop is located south of Lee Circle where inbound and outbound tracks meet. Serves Civil War Museum, Contemporary Arts Museum, National World War II Museum and Ogden Museum of Southern Art.
Erato Street		Central City, Lower Garden District
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/Melpomene Street		Central City, Lower Garden District
Euterpe Street		Central City, Lower Garden District
Felicity Street		Central City, Lower Garden District
St. Andrew Street		Central City, Lower Garden District
Josephine Street		Central City, Lower Garden District
Jackson Avenue		Central City, Lower Garden District
First Street		Central City, Garden District
Third Street		Central City, Garden District
Washington Avenue		Central City, Garden District
Sixth Street		Central City, Garden District
Eighth Street		Central City, Garden District
Louisiana Avenue		Milan, Tuoro
Foucher Street		Milan, Touro
Peniston Street		Milan, Touro
Constantinople Street		Milan, Touro
Milan Street		Milan, Touro
Napoleon Avenue		Milan, Touro, Uptown
Jena Street		Uptown
Cadiz Street		Uptown
Bordeaux Street		Uptown
Robert Street		Uptown
Duffosat Street (inbound only)		Uptown
Valmont Street		Uptown
Jefferson Avenue		Audubon, Uptown
Joseph Street		Audubon
Nashville Avenue		Audubon
State Street		Audubon
Webster Street		Audubon
Calhoun Street		Audubon
Exposition Boulevard		Audubon
Tulane/Loyola		Audubon		Intersection of St. Charles and West Road. Serves Audubon Park, Tulane University and Loyola University.
Tulane University		Audubon		Intersection of St. Charles and Law Road. Serves Audubon Park and Tulane University.
Walnut Street		Audubon		Serves Audubon Park.
Broadway Street		Audubon
Lowerline Street		Audubon, Black Pearl, East Carrollton
Hilary Street		Black Pearl, East Carrollton
Burdette Street (inbound only)		Black Pearl, East Carrollton
Fern Street (outbound only)		Black Pearl, East Carrollton
By way of South Carrollton Avenue from St. Charles to South Claiborne Avenue
St. Charles Avenue		Black Pearl, East Carrollton, Leonidas		Car stop is located in the neutral ground of Carrollton right after the tracks turn northward through the St. Charles intersection near the riverbend of the Mississippi River.
Maple Street		East Carrollton, Leonidas
Freret Street		East Carrollton, Leonidas
Oak Street		East Carrollton, Leonidas		Serves Oak Street shopping district.
Willow Street		East Carrollton, Leonidas		Tracks diverge via Willow and Jeanette Streets to the Carrollton Station car barn.
Jeanette Street (inbound only)		East Carrollton, Leonidas
Birch Street (outbound only)		East Carrollton, Leonidas
Spruce Street		East Carrollton, Leonidas
Sycamore Street		Fontainebleau/Marlyville, Leonidas		Serves Palmer Park.
South Claiborne Avenue		Fontainebleau/Marlyville, Leonidas		Outbound terminus of line.

• History of New Orleans
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans Parish, Louisiana

• Media related to St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line at Wikimedia Commons
• St. Charles Streetcar line schedule