Dallas Area Rapid Transit

In 1872 (some sources say 1871) the first street railway in Dallas was a mule car line that ran from the Court House to the Houston and Texas Central Railroad depot. In 1875, four different mule car lines were in operation. By the summer of 1889, four steam-powered city lines had been constructed and were successfully carrying passengers.

In 1889 the first electric streetcar line was built, just the first of many more such lines built in the city by various transit companies. A cable car line was proposed in 1890, but by 1891 only 3,000 feet of it had been built and it was never completed. Eventually, the existing mule and steam powered railways were converted or were abandoned as the electric cars provided faster, more reliable and pollution-free service. In 1917 all the various companies were consolidated into one: The Dallas Railway Company. This later became the Dallas Railway and Terminal Company (The company also owned the Interurban Terminal building.) and finally the Dallas Transit Company. The Texas Electric Railway interurban also once operated local streetcar service in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. In 1925 they sold this line to Dallas Railway.

McKinney Avenue Transit Authority