New Orleans' Streetcars Make a Comeback

"Candy-apple red with yellow trim, streetcar No. 2010 rumbled down Canal Street on Tuesday, carrying well-dressed passengers getting a sneak peek at one of the city's restored jewels.

The red streetcars, complete with air conditioning and heating, have been absent from the Canal Street line since Hurricane Katrina flooded all of them. That left only the older green models when the Regional Transit Authority reopened a portion of the Canal Street line and the entire Riverfront line in December 2005."

"'Today is kind of a benchmark,' RTA Chairman Cesar Burgos said Tuesday of the roughly $24 million restoration effort paid for by FEMA. 'We're in the final stage of our recovery mode. This symbolizes that.'"