Operating Streetcars in New Orleans

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Operating Streetcars in New Orleans

• By Ashley Watts

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Kelvin L. Watts, Sr.

• Born February 22, 1959
• Place New Orleans, LA (in Hollygrove)
• Place of Employment Regional Transit Authority
  (RTA)
• Contribution to New Orleans Operating Streetcars
  in New Orleans from Feb. 9, 1990 until Katrina
  (Aug 2005)
• Relationship to Me My Father!!!

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Pictures!

• My mother and father. This is just to show what
  my father looked like back in the day. We are
  lucky we salvaged this!!!!!! These are the only
  two pictures of them we have left. Everything
  else is gone to Katrina.

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My dads old badge!!!!!!!

• This was his badge when he worked for RTA!!!!!!
  Operator 1809 was one of his nicknames.

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Well, I had been wanting to do this for some
time and things you really like to do or have
done, you are going to remember them.

• -Kelvin L. Watts, Sr. when asked about why he
  remembers the accurate date of beginning to
  operate the streetcars.

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A Little Streetcar History
Streetcar named Desire No. 952 in 1923
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A Little Streetcar History

• Planning for the streetcars began in 1831 under
  the New Orleans and Carrolton Railroad. Service
  began September 26, 1835 and they ran on public
  streets, not on the median as we see today. In
  1922, the New Orleans and Carrolton Railroad was
  sold to NOPSI. Many streetcars were made by the
  Pearly A. Thomas Company in 1923-1924. In 1972,
  the automatic fareboxes were introduced to the
  streetcars.

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A Little Streetcar History

• Regional Transit Authority (RTA) began to take
  over streetcar lines in 1989. Three streetcar
  lines are The St. Charles Line, which
  traditionally travels 13.2 miles, The Canal
  Street Line, which traditionally travels 5.2
  miles, and The Riverfront Line, which travels to
  the French Market and the Aquarium.

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Streetcar Routes Riverfront Line
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Streetcar Routes St. Charles Line
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Streetcar Routes Canal St. Line
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In case you didnt know

• Streetcars have reversible seats! You can fix
  them to face your friends while you ride!
• To stop the streetcar, just pull the wire hanger
  at the top and you can get off!

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In case you didnt know

• It only costs 1.25 for a ride and 5.00 for an
  all day pass! What a steal!
• The most popular place to catch the streetcar is
  Canal and Carondelet St. since its near the
  French Quarter!

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In case you didnt know

• The Saint Charles Ave. street railway is the
  oldest operating streetcar line in the world
  (1835).

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In case you didnt know

• You can have a private party on a streetcar! I
  remember attending one when I was a little girl!

A wedding party taking a streetcar ride! So cool!
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Being able to accommodate people with a smile
and make them happy, doing a job well done.

• -Kelvin L. Watts, Sr. when asked what
  were his fondest memories of operating the
  streetcars.

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A LITTLE LAGNIAPPE

• Check out this streetcar token. This was another
  way to pay for a ride instead of money.

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Because its like getting paid to have fun and
make people smile. I made a lot of friends out of
the riders and I had regular riders I would see
everyday..

• -Kelvin L. Watts, Sr. when asked why he wouldnt
  change that he operated the streetcars. He is
  very proud of having done this!

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Pictures

• Streetcar on Canal and Royal at night.

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Pictures