A mule-drawn "bobtail" car, turning off of Decatur for its outbound run up Esplanade Avenue. This is car #136 of the New Orleans City Railroad, operating either on their "French Market," "Esplanade and French Market," or "Levee and French Market" line.
The "bobtail" cars, manufactured by the John Stephenson Car Company of New York, were operated by all of the street railway companies prior to electrification. The NOCRR cars operating along Decatur Street and Esplanade Avenues were painted red and yellow. This is one of the reasons RTA chose red for the revival of the Riverfront line in 1988.Unlike other parts of the country, streetcar operators in New Orleans used mules to pull their cars rather than horses. Mules can work longer shifts in the heat and humidity of New Orleans' summer.
Dating photos with bobtail cars can be problematical, since they started operation in the 1860s and continued to run until electrification in the 1890s. The electric pole in front of the US Mint building narrows it down to the 1890s. The building in the background as the streetcar rounds the corner is the United States Mint located in New Orleans. Now referred to by locals as the "Old US Mint."
