This is the earliest map I've found that shows the trackage at the head of Canal Street:
This is from the Robinson Atlas, plate 28, courtesy of the New Orleans Notarial Archives. The track is indicated as turning left from Canal Street, onto City Park Avenue, then right at the New Basin Canal, to head out to West End. This atlas is from 1881, so the Canal line was operating with mule-drawn "bobtail" cars and West End with steam locomotives.
Funny how you notice one thing while researching something else. This map lists the "Half Way House" as being on the other side of the New Basin Canal (basically where the Semolina's restaurant was before the storm). What is now the abandoned Orkin building and usually referred to as the Half Way House is listed as a "Road House." Interesting, and will merit more research.
