It was built along the east bank of the Mississippi River, in an area with many amenities catering to tourists.

From the time it opened in 1988, the Riverfront line was originally single-track, 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge, with one passing siding.

It was decided to build new streetcars, which would be replicas of the venerable Perley Thomas cars, but would have more modern trucks and controls.

The first such car used the body shell of another repurchased Perley Thomas streetcar, number 957 (renumbered 457), with a wheelchair access door cut into its side.

The ex-Melbourne cars were sold to the Memphis Area Transit Authority, for use on that city's Main Street Trolley line.

[8] One of the Perley Thomas cars was sent to the San Francisco Municipal Railway, and the other two were stored at Carrollton Station.

Frequencies range from 20 minutes 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., to 40 minutes nightly after 10 p.m.[9] Because of complaints regarding infrequency of service on the Riverfront line, NORTA has installed LCD screens at each of the stops along the route to show approximate incoming times in each direction, as well as an animated display showing destinations and stops in both directions along the line.