The Gates of Dixie

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Street Car Tour
 
A visit to the Big Easy must involve a ride on the world famous streetcars!  The St. Charles Ave line still runs (with the old, green streetcars); no air conditioning; noisy and loud--and feeling every bit of the historic relevance that they are.  The St. Charles Line eventually turns onto Carrollton Ave and finally comes to an end at Claiborne Ave.  
 
The Canal Street Line features newer, red streetcars that run much quieter and feature air conditioning.  When boarding the Canal Street line, take care in noticing which streetcar you are climbing aboard--some go to the cemeteries, and others go to the park and museums.  
 
Another short line is the Riverfront streetcar; it too is a newer vehicle colored red and air conditioned.  The line runs along the river for a little over a mile between  Esplanade Ave and Julia Street. 
 
The price for a streetcar ride is the same as a bus:  $1.25.  The RTA also features a day pass for $5 and a three-day pass for $12--good on both streetcars and the bus. 
 
For the Gates of Dixie streetcar tour, click on the green "Next Stop" tab below.
 
 
Below, tourists getting ready to board as a streetcar comes to a stop on St. Charles Ave.
 

 

Below is an ‘over-the-shoulder’ view of what a streetcar driver sees along St. Charles Ave.  The streetcars are operated by the city’s Regional Transit Agency (RTA), with the St. Charles line being over 150 years old.  Each street car comes complete with brass fittings and reversible mahogany seats.  The famous ‘Streetcar named Desire’ no longer exists and has been replaced by a bus (named ‘Desire’).

Here is a photo taken from the front to the rear of the streetcar.  At the rear of the streetcar is another set of controls.  When the streetcar reaches the end of the line, it switches tracks, and the far end that you see here then becomes the front.  The seats are flipped in the other direction so the passengers may once again face forward.

 

 

 
Here are the controls of the old green St. Charles streetcar.  The controls are duplicated at the other end when the street car runs its return route.  Information here was obtained from the operator.  The controls were described as follows:

1 - Throttle (called by the operator "points").  There are eight points, which are presumed to be throttle positions.  Its maximum speed is 26 miles per hour.

2. Forward, Neutral, Reverse lever

3. Door open / close

4. Brakes (it's the lever to the left of the air pressure dial).

There are also several controls not visible.  Two are for traffic bells (operated by foot) and there's another for dispensing of sand on the rails for extra traction if necessary.

 

Next Stop: St. Charles Avenue


 

 

 

 

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