New Orleans Public Service Inc. (NOPSI)
South Claiborne Bus Line
www.streetcarmike.com

Created March 28, 2001 and updated January 28, 2007.
©2001-2007 Michael Strauch.

NOPSI STREETCAR SERVICE:

South Claiborne was opened as a streetcar line on February 22, 1915. Route: from Canal and St. Charles, St. Charles, Howard Ave., S. Rampart, Clio, S. Claiborne to S. Carrollton. (For one year it turned at Broadway to Maple.) Return via S. Claiborne, Erato, Carondelet, and Canal to St. Charles. Car 915 is shown at the Carrollton end of the line, date probably between 1950 and 1953. Photo from Stephen Maguire.

Most of South Claiborne had a large drainage canal. Tracks were originally on the river side until June 15, 1927, when they were changed to one track each side. This canal existed into the 1950s, when it buried under neutral ground. A portion of the canal could still be seen between Leonidas and Mistletoe until the 1980s; it too was covered. In November 2001 portions of this canal were undergoing repair at cross streets Napoleon and Nashville.

NOPSI BUS SERVICE:

The South Claiborne streetcar was replaced by buses (probably White 788s) on January 5, 1953. The new bus line was rerouted in the downtown portion: via Melpomene (now M.L.King), S. Rampart, Canal, Baronne, Melpomene. Taking the route off Erato and Clio allowed the construction of the Claiborne overpass across the railroad tracks leading to Union Passenger Terminal and across Poydras. After the overpass was completed, NOPSI began South Claiborne-Carrollton via Poydras on March 14, 1955. (The picture depicts GM old look 1787 climbing the Poydras entrance to the Claiborne overpass; this picture was copied from the 1959 NOPSI annual report by Aaron Handy III.) This was a limited stop route running closed doors between Napoleon and Melpomene and utilized the GM 5105 old looks. Express lights were turned on to alert riders during the NOPSI era. The initial downtown routing was the same, via S. Rampart and Baronne, but was changed by 1958 to run via Carondelet and St. Charles (like the streetcar did). The photo of 307B in the early 1980s depicts what I consider "glory days" of South Claiborne service using new looks with or without ad wings, express lights turned on. Location is Carondelet between Common and Canal. Carrollton via Poydras ran Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

S. Claiborne-Napoleon via Melpomene (later M.L. King) gave local service during the hours of Poydras operation. Evening, owl, Sunday, and holiday trips were covered by Carrollton via Melpomene.

AM Generals supplemented the GM New Looks in 1974. When NOPSI received General Motors RTS and Grumman Advanced Design Buses, they were assigned along with new looks. The last ten RTS and all Grummans had lifts; South Claiborne was made one of fifteen accessible routes with specific runs on printed schedules marked "L" for lift equipped.

NORTA BUS SERVICE:

Right after RTA took over the transit system, GMC RTS 578 sits at the Carrollton terminal on a Sunday run of the So. Claiborne-Carrollton via M.L. King line, July 17, 1983.

RTA introduced MAN Americana buses upon receipt in 1985-86. Bus 835 is at the Carrollton terminal in the early 1990s.

New RTA route numbers in 1989: 16 South Claiborne/Carrollton/Poydras, 17 South Claiborne/Napoleon/MLKing, 18 South Claiborne/Carrollton/MLKing, and 26 South Claiborne/Nashville.

New Flyer D40s arrived in 1994. Coach 94022 is seen on Carondelet and at the Carrollton terminal, February 19, 1996.

MAN number 113 with RTS 593 at the So. Claiborne terminal, February 19, 1996. Both display the first version of RTA's new signage upon the 1989 numbering of routes, "16 CLAIB-CAR-PD," the cryptic version of "South Claiborne-Carrollton via Poydras."

Orion Vs (1997-98) finished replacement of MAN, RTS, and Grumman coaches. Photo taken November 25, 2001 of a Sunday route 17 bus at the Carrollton terminal. In the 1990s RTA moved the Poydras branch (16) to operate via Camp and Magazine. Routes 17 and 18 were discontinued, but their CBD routing was attached to the 28-M.L. King (formerly Calliope). Owl service formerly run via 17 now runs on 16.

Post-Katrina, the 16-South Claiborne line was reinstituted on November 27, 2005.

PALMER PARK:

The uppermost end of South Claiborne was covered by the South Claiborne Shuttle, a streetcar that used the tracks of the Orleans-Kenner interurban from May 8, 1916 until the O-K's demise July 31, 1930. On December 31, 1930 the streetcar shuttle was discontinued and the S. Claiborne Shuttle bus began service. In January 1957 the route was called Palmer Park, which was located at the Carrollton end of the line. RTA discontinued Palmer Park in favor of a 39-Tulane extension.

SCHEDULE:

The August 28, 1983 RTA schedule for South Claiborne-Carrollton via Poydras. An "L" denotes a lift-equipped trip.

PERSONAL THOUGHTS:

South Claiborne was one of my favorite NOPSI/RTA routes. It provided a speedy connection from the Kenner Local to downtown New Orleans. NOPSI had interesting bridge crossings on its bus lines (the St. Claude drawbridge, the former Chef Menteur drawbridge, the Seabrook Bridge on the Hayne line, Elysian Fields and Franklin railroad overcrossings, the So. Broad bridge over I-10), and this one climbed the spaghetti maze intersection with Pontchartrain Expressway to shift to the left hand exit to Poydras. So. Claiborne was the only limited stop route NOPSI introduced; future lines were called expresses. Evening, owl, Sunday, and holiday service was provided by extending the local Napoleon via Melpomene (later M.L. King) to Carrollton, offering direct service to Union Passenger Terminal.

K&B Drug Stores were located at Carrollton and at Napoleon. At Calhoun near the northern end of Tulane University was Frostop with a giant mug on a signpost (see restaurants page). And the route passed the Sugar Bowl stadium when it still existed. Poydras runs served the Superdome.

Claiborne was one of my family's driving routes (U.S. 90) to Ochsner Hospital and the Huey Long Bridge for many years, so I have an affection for the buses on this line.

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