Is New Orleans finally getting back on track? The city still has a long way to go to repair all the damage wrought by that awful trio of Katrina, incompetence, and indifference—but the locals are hailing the return of the St. Charles Streetcar as a sign that the good times may yet roll again in this battered city.

The St. Charles line still uses the same streetcars the city bought in 1923, and, were it not for Katrina, would be the oldest continuous-running streetcar line in America. Its riders don’t mind doing without the heat and air conditioning that newer streetcars have to offer. As NPR’s Melanie Peeples reported on today’s Morning Edition:

Winter’s really not too bad and in the summer, there’s nothing quite like putting all the windows down and catching a breeze as you roll under the canopy of giant, old oaks, passing the fabulous mansions of the Garden District.

A form of mass transit that doesn’t rely on fossil-fueled climate control! How energy efficient can you get?

So far the city’s only restored 6 ½ miles of the St. Charles line, half its pre-Katrina length. New Orleans transit officials aim to have the rest of the line up and running before the New Year. Here’s hoping they meet their goal; New Orleans needs all the momentum it can get.