New Orleans History -- Lake Pontchartrain
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
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1833 to present, St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line - An ASME Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark

Built in 1835, The St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line is the oldest surviving
interurban-urban passenger rail transportation system in the United States.
Originally incorporated as the New Orleans Carrollton Rail Road in 1833, service
began in 1835. A variety of motive power had been used including horses, mules,
overhead cable, steam engines, and ammonia engines before electrification in
1893. The 900-series cars presently in service were designed and built by the
Perley A. Thomas Car Company of High Point, North Carolina, in 1923 to 1924.
They operate on the original fifteen-mile right-of-way with a 5-foot, 2 l/2-inch
gage track that was adopted in 1929.



Source: http://www.asme.org/history/roster/H101.html