Rollin' on the River

The Mississippi River continues to burst its banks along much of its southern course, but here in Memphis, it’s down a bit from its peak. The spot all the news cameras focused on, the foot of Beale Street, is still a pond, but that should be dry within a day. All the while, the city’s Riverfront streetcar line, which uses ex-Melbourne W2 class trams (though not in their authentic livery like Muni’s No. 496), rolls on.

Even at “high tide,” the Riverfront line’s tracks were several feet above the lapping waters, but it was nervous time for awhile. Much of that water on the right is usually land! This stop, Union Street, is the low spot on the Riverfront line. The line climbs the hill from here and crosses Beale, two blocks south, on a trestle. They call Memphis “Bluff City,” because the downtown sits on high ground overlooking the river, and the Riverfront line, about a half-mile from here, runs directly in front of a new group of exceptional (and very expensive by Memphis standards) homes with commanding river views.