Curiously Carousing Canal

Wow. See that? Our nephew is amazed with the passing scenery as we roll down Canal Street on a street car. I guess hanging out a bit gets you closer to the scene carousing by. Meanwhile, my wife is enjoying the enthusiasm boiling over.
--steve buser

Lagniappe ( a little something extra)

As the band plays on, it ends with a bang, not a whimper. Today on Pixel Eyed

Time travel

Days of future passed
In this day of crowded traffic lanes and too-narrow streets, there seems to me to be a certain sense of luxury in carving out two lanes in the middle of the main street in town to allow passing mementos of passed-times. It says something about the City of New Orleans and why it has remained as unique as it has. Traffic planners everywhere would drool over the opportunity to use the space for more traffic lanes in crowded downtown areas.

But this shot down the middle of Canal Street speaks to me of a city that looks the future in the face, and says we're coming, but we're also holding on to something and some way of life that we cherish.

If you get to New Orleans. Take a street car ride. You don't have to take it to anywhere. Go to the end of the line and back. Take a street car ride. In a sense, the reality is the street car ride will take you -- somewhere where you need to go.

--steve buser

Lagniappe (a little something extra)


There are places you never leave, even if you do get back on your boat or plane. This place, part of me is still there.

Today on Pixel Eyed

Cruisin' Canal

The street car driver in New Orleans has to be pretty alert. In attentive drivers tend to turn in front of them -- it helps to see it coming if you want to stop one of these lumbering beasts in time.

This shot is looking out the front of the car down the 'neutral ground of Canal Street in downtown New Orleans. (Of course there really is no front to the car -- there's a set of controls just like this on the other end to allow the car to go either way on the track). Everyone is more familiar with the shade-line St. Charles Avenue route of the cars. On Canal Street, the Cemeteries route will take you .... well, all the way to the cemeteries near City Park.

While the Canal Street car will (as soon as its is running -- Nov. 1?) take you passed unbelievably beautiful and massive homes, the cemeteries car takes you through a more traditional (and affordable) part of the city.

A few other "transportation" shots of City Daily Photo blogs today:

Fancy Pumpkins -- New York Daily Photo
Weatherman, Segway and Southern Comfort -- St. Louis Daily Photo
Southernbound track -- Hyde Daily Photo

--steve buser

There's clanging on St. Charles

In what can only be a good sign, streetcars were rolling down St. Charles yesterday. With yellow "Not in Service" signs stuck to the front of them it was clear they were just testing the newly repair track and new electric lines installed since Katrina.

The entire line has been out of service since the storm. In the spring the city started rebuilding the overhead electric line system.

Assuming all turns out well in the testing, it will be good news for the uptown area and restore one of New Orleans most famous attractions -- that tree-shaded leisure drive along the crescent of St. Charles Avenue and it's huge, graceful mansions.

The losers in all this? The joggers who had taken over the "neutral ground" where the street cars used to run.

--steve buser

New Orleans dream train

My daughter and our two grand kids are in town this week. It gives us the opportunity to be children and do the things you want to do and never get around to doing. For instance, riding the streetcar.

We hopped on up at the cemeteries on Canal Street and rode all the way into the CBD and back. My grandson Sullivan was holding us to our promise that we would ride a train, so the streetcar became a "streetcar train." Hey, it passed the kid test. You can see, he was having a blast with his Nanny, Linda.

The open windows provided plenty of breeze (it wasn't as hot outside as it was muggy.) But about halfway throught the route, the conductor opened the front window and the breeze sailed through the car.

There was a lot of imagination flowing on this "dream train."

-- steve buser

Check out Pixel Eyed today -- a waterfall is a metaphor for concentration, struggle and peace.

Pay no attention

We often go about hopping on the street car of life with no attention to what goes on around us. I love this spot of New Orleans -- it is down in the real scenic part of town at the foot of Canal Street. A lot of "stuff" comes together here that keeps it all going. Everyday, people pass up and down here and hop on street cars with no attention to that "stuff."

The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad has a line that passes just behind this street car -- it brings trains from one side of town to the other -- serving the port and industry along the river. Entergy has a major power line that passes over head just above here. Immediately to the left of this picture is major substation that feeds electricity to much of downtown. To the right of this picture is the dock for the Algiers ferry and the New Orleans Aquarium. There is a walkway just to the left of this picture that takes you to the Riverwalk.

But to most folks, all these wires and tracks are pretty much invisible. We see what we want to see and disregard the rest.
--steve buser

St. Charles Avenue pathways

With the street cars not yet running on St. Charles Street (since Hurricane Katrina) you would expect the grass to be growing over. I saw this and wondered why. A few minutes later it hit me -- or almost hit me. I jumped out of the way to avoid being run over by a jogger. The joggers, walkers, strollers, et al, have taken to the median (in New Orleans parlance it is the 'neutral ground') -- not fearing being run over by the metal monsters.

Note the pole in the center of the neutral ground -- the side arms should stick out like a big 'T' -- over the rails -- and have wires running toward the camera. The work on replacing the wiring is proceeding well, but all takes time. Street cars are running on Canal Street and a few blocks off it it.

--steve buser