Desire At The Loop. On August 15, 1993, New Orleans Public Service car 966 (Perley Thomas, 1923–1924) was awaiting the next trip down the mainline at the Visitors Center at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. This is one of the class of famed New Orleans cars that still operates in the city, including on the St. Charles Line, the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world (except for a brief pause after Hurricane Katrina). In 1964, the car was retired by NOPS and donated to the Heart of Dixie Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS), and later was brought to Seashore in 1982. The car was regauged and became a regular operating member of the roster. In 2003, 966 was transported to the Lowell National Historic Park and joined a roster of newly built Gomaco streetcars to operate within the park and give it period authenticity. On Wednesday, August 21, 2024, the museum announced that the car is being transported to Kennebunkport for heavy maintenance, so perhaps a scene like this will be possible again in the near future.
