| •
| 332
is one of four box (package express or freight) "motors" built in the Northern
Texas Traction interurban railway shops in 1912. |
| •
| When
NTT ceased operations in 1934, a farmer near Granbury, Texas (southwest of Fort
Worth) bought 332 and used it for grain storage. |
| •
| John
Landrum, our Chief Operating Officer, purchased the car in 1986. |
| •
| MATA
moved it from the farm to our car barn on September 28, 1992. |
| •
| On
the way, it carried its first M-Line passengers: the now-famous car barn cats,
the stowaways that won our hearts. |
| •
| We
put 332 on shop trucks and moved it into the barn on Track 2 where it has sat
ever since. |
| •
| John
gave 332 to MATA so it could be rebuilt into a parlor car. |
| •
| John
spent six years making drawings and measuring and researching interurban parlor
cars. |
| •
| During
that time John accumulated more than half of the
electrical equipment needed to restore the car; he also acquired trolley bases
from the South Shore, controllers from Dallas standard cars and ceiling lights
from Dallas PCC streetcars. John donated the car to MATA. |
| •
| Several
volunteers are donating their resources, time, money and labor to assist in the
transformation. |
| •
| Most
of the money for 332's rebirth has come from individual donations dropped into
a fare box placed at the front of the car. |
| •
| On
completion, The Morning Star will be painted in the old Texas Electric Bluebonnet
colors: blue and cream with red trim and a silver roof. |
| •
| 332
will have a rest room, a permanent bar, and we can set it up with at least three
different floor plans and configurations |
| • | To
facilitate easy loading and loading of chairs, tables, and party supplies, we
installed a "hidden" door on one side where the original freight door was located.
|
| • | The
steward's pantry at one end of the car has panels of leaded glass windows from
the 1912 Sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church downtown. The church's pastor
was the Chaplain of Dallas Railway and The Texas Electric. |
| • | Inside,
turned wood columns are being installed at each window. Each window column will
be topped by a caryatid (a draped female figure). The interior woodwork will be
two-toned red mahogany and light cherry. |
| • | The
car will be air conditioned – the first air conditioned wood-bodied interurban
car in America. |
| • | The
Morning Star will primarily be used as a party or charter car, but due to its
flexible seating arrangement, could also be used in regular transit service. |
| • | In
2011 we moved 332 to a temporary off site storage site to free up space in the
car barn to restore ex-Toronto PCC 4614. |
