As recently as early 2017 the car was undergoing a major rebuilding with the goal of making it operational; it had been stripped down to the steel shell and the entire car had been sand-blasted. But it seems that the frame was more heavily deteriorated than expected and McKinney decided that it would be uneconomical to repair the car for operation. So in May or June it was cut up. It's worth remembering that MATA is not a museum; they're basically a tourist railroad with a franchise to provide a public transportation service. So their primary mission isn't to preserve or restore Dallas streetcars, it's to provide reliable service along their street railway route.
Car 612 was far from unique. A dozen other other members of this class exist in various museums, though none in operating condition and only a couple retained as accessioned collection pieces. But all of the other examples are located in the northeast - none in their original home in Texas.
When I visited IRM in 2013, MBTA 3334 was sitting forlornly in the outer reaches of the property. Sad to find that it made it back to "Big D" only to be judged beyond hope of repair. As I recall, another "Texas Ranger" went from Boston back to its homeland but was also too far gone.
ReplyDeleteIf you think about it’s journey, it’s pretty amazing how full circle it has come! A design by the Boston Elevated sold to Dallas, built in Worcester, MA, operated in Dallas, bought by Boston, and eventually moved back to Dallas!
DeleteYou must remember Boston received these as flood cars. Not only that, but the years of operating on roads treated with salt, took a very heavy toll on these cars. I know that Seashore has several old Dallas cars in their collection. In the meantime, check out this great clip of 3334 in the 1972 movie, “Dealing.”
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