Dallas — McKinney Buys A PCC

Rail Transit Online, March 2003

The four-car heritage fleet of the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) has been increased by 25 percent with the purchase of a heavily modified PCC plus numerous spare parts from the Tandy Corp.  Until last August, the former DC Transit car was part of the double-ended fleet that operated a short subway linking a large parking lot with the Tandy Center, an office and shopping complex in Fort Worth.  The subway was built some 40 years ago by the owners of Leonard’s department store, which was eventually demolished and replaced by the Tandy Center.  The McKinney car, which was trucked to Dallas, has a square body that replaced the original streamlined PCC coachwork and is air conditioned.  Funding came from the Uptown Property Improvement District.  MATA officials said the car will need some alterations to adapt it for streetcar service, presumably including removal of the high platform entrances and restoration of conventional steps.  McKinney also owns two ex-Toronto PCCs which are awaiting restoration.