At the very moment that a valuable piece of New Orleans’ history arrived in San Francisco on August 29, that historic city was being pummeled by Hurricane Katrina, with devastating results. Of course, the human tragedy was paramount in New Orleans, but in a sad and bizarre coincidence, both the oldest and newest streetcar lines in America—on St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street—were being flooded by breached levees even as Muni was taking delivery of its second Streetcar Named Desire for its vintage fleet.

Without an inkling of what was to come in New Orleans, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors unanimously voted on August 16 to approve $200,000 for the purchase of ex-New Orleans car No. 913 from the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Riverside County, to join its twin, car No. 952, here on a lease from the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority.

“You’d have to say our ‘Desire’ has turned to heartbreak,” said Rick Laubscher, MSR president. “Market Street Railway wholeheartedly supported the acquisition of car No. 913. Because New Orleans is one of the world’s great streetcar cities, we saw this car as an opportunity to celebrate that streetcar past—and present—as well as the kinship New Orleans and San Francisco have in terms of civic liveliness and spirit. We share the heartbreak of people everywhere at the devastation New Orleans has suffered, and we look forward to the day that their streetcars run again to symbolize the comeback of that unique city.”

San Francisco first experienced ‘Desire’ for New Orleans streetcars in 1998, when No. 952, arrived in San Francisco to help celebrate the world premiere of Andre Previn’s opera A Streetcar Named Desire, based on Tennessee Williams’ famous novel of the same name. Mayors Willie Brown of San Francisco and Marc Morial of New Orleans had arranged a trade...No. 952 for a retired California Street Cable Car, which went on display in a New Orleans park. However, due to last-minute complications, No. 952 was leased to Muni instead. The car has operated here successfully ever since, mostly on the Embarcadero shuttle portion of the F-line.

Perley Thomas twins
Cars No. 913 and 952 come from the same order of New Orleans streetcars built by Perley Thomas in 1923. The 900-class, 73 cars in all, served most of the lines then running in New Orleans, including the Desire line that looped on famed Bourbon and Royal Streets before reaching its namesake street. Both Nos. 913 and 952 survived several line closures, including Desire, but were finally declared surplus with the replacement of streetcars on Canal Street with buses in 1964.

Car No. 952 (along with No. 959) went to a hotel shuttle operation in Chattanooga (yes, inaccurately called the Chattanooga Choo-Choo), while No. 913 went directly to Orange Empire. Both cars were regauged at that time from New Orleans’ wide (5' 2.5") gauge to standard 4' 8.5" used by Muni.

Car No. 952 returned to New Orleans in the 1980s, when the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) started demonstration service on a standard gauge freight track on the levee alongside the French Quarter. This Riverfront Line was a success and became permanent—its track was rebuilt, the gauge widened to match the surviving St. Charles line. New replica cars were crafted to replace No. 952 and several other vintage cars (including Melbourne cars identical to our No. 496, which were sold to Memphis). No. 952 was exiled to a storage shed along with two other standard gauge Perley Thomas ex-Riverfront cars, out of service, with no prospects for future use in New Orleans, when San Francisco gave it a new lease on life.

Car No. 913 is complete, but was little used at Orange Empire. Even so, after years under a tarp, when the pole was raised to the overhead, the car ran smoothly onto the delivery trailer under its own power. The museum has embarked on a $1 million project for a new 65-space car barn to protect its fleet, which is now focused more closely on Southern California traction. That tightened focus also led the Museum’s board to sell back to Muni one of its original streetcars, No. 162, in 2003, along with ex-Muni PCCs No. 1033 and 1039.

Excellent condition
Car No. 913 looks exactly as it did when it left Canal Street in 1964, right down to period advertising, which will be preserved. It has been stored under a tarp in the dry high desert environment, and inspections by both Muni engineer Lou Maffei and maintainer Karl Johnson determined its steel structure to be in excellent shape. Windows, roof canvas, and some woodwork will have to be replaced as is normal for any newly acquired vintage streetcar. Additionally, Muni will install the modern electronic package that the PCCs and Milan trams already have, and that all the vintage cars will eventually receive.

Muni will soon create a schedule and complete scope for the refurbishment of No. 913. At that point, a target date will be set for its San Francisco service debut. Double-end cars like Nos. 913 and 952 are especially needed for starting up the E-Embarcadero line, currently scheduled to begin limited service in late summer of 2006. Muni’s proposed southern E-line terminal at Caltrain requires double-end cars. It may be several years in the future before a loop terminal for single-end cars could be built in the vicinity, so Muni is hopeful of retaining No. 952 as well. However, as a leased car, No. 952 is subject to recall by NORTA, and it is possible the impact of Hurricane Katrina could create a renewed need for the car in its hometown. One way or another, though, with the purchase of No. 913, Muni now owns its own Streetcar Named Desire to celebrate the undying spirit of New Orleans.

Sadly, its name came true
New Orleans’ Canal Street is so named because its 171-foot right-of-way, widest of any American Street, was originally designated for a canal between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Canal and our own Market Street were the only main streets in North America that once boasted four streetcar tracks. Many people in New Orleans felt that replacing the Canal streetcars with buses was a mistake, and after forty years, streetcars returned with a flourish to Canal Street earlier this year, using red-painted replicas of the Perley Thomas design. The 24 new Canal cars were in their barn at the time the levee broke, literally completing that dreamed of canal, but under tragic circumstances.

The historic St. Charles streetcar fleet, stored on the relatively high ground of Carrollton Station, was not damaged, though the trackway itself was littered with debris and downed overhead wires in numerous places. The replica cars serving the Canal and Riverfront lines, however, were stored on lower ground and were immersed in water above their motors for an extended period. It is expected that these cars will have to be extensively rebuilt.