Trolley History
1884: North Dallas’ inaccessibility is eased by the construction of the Dallas Belt Street Company streetcar line, which runs up McKinney Ave. to Thomas St. This line allowed development in the Thomas-Colby district, an early upscale neighborhood. It also helped erase the stigma of North Dallas, then known as a red light district that was “across the tracks”. The line was instrumental in bringing North and South Dallas together.
The Cars
#636 Petunia
A Birney Safety Car, Petunia was built for Dallas Consolidated Electric Street Railway in 1920 by J.G. Brill of Philadelphia and was in service until retired in 1947.
#122 Rosie
Built in 1909 by J.G. Brill of Philadelphia, and was operated in Oporto, Portugal for 72 years. We’ll celebrate Rosie’s 100th birthday in a few short years!
#186 Green Dragon
A Stone and Webster type built in 1913; she is the only car of her type in the world in daily service.
#369 Matilda
Our largest car is a W-2 class built in Melbourne, Australia by the Melbourne Metropolitan Tramways in 1925.
The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority
3153 Oak Grove (at Bowen)
Dallas, TX 75204
214.855.0006