Posts Tagged ‘The Gentleman in Black’
Posted on August 26, 2011 - by Annie Johnson
Going to the Races? Good Luck Finding a Seat on the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad
“The day will come when the Eclipse Course will be the first in the United States.” – New Orleans Picayune, 18 March 1837
New Orleans race fans in 1837 benefitted from the recently established New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad, which transported thousands to the Eclipse Course five miles above the city. Originally launched in the fall of 1835, the train – the first to implement “canned steam” that was pumped in at the terminal – lumbered along the route up St. Charles Avenue to the village of Carrollton at four miles per hour.