| •
| Car
636 was part of an order for 25 streetcars for the Dallas Railway Co. from the
J. G. Brill Co. |
| •
| Petunia,
a "Birney Safety Car," (or Birney, for short) is named after its designer,
Charles O. Birney of the Stone & Webster Co. |
| •
| The
design incorporated numerous operational and safety improvements over earlier
streetcars that permitted one man operation and thereby allowed street railway
companies to reduce their expenses. |
| •
| Birneys
were known for their bouncy riding qualities and were never very popular with
the Dallas riding public. |
| •
| Nevertheless,
636 ran in Dallas until 1947 when she was replaced by more modern equipment. |
| •
| She
was stripped of her wheels, motors, and electrical equipment before being sold
to serve as a residence for 30 years. |
| •
| When
Ed Landrum acquired the car in the 1970s it contained a bed, sink, stove, refrigerator,
easy chair and blue curtains. |
| •
| Ed
restored the car and donated it to MATA. |
| •
|
Ed and John Landrum, Frank Schultz and Dean Smith designed and built 636's current
8-foot-long truck using parts from the extra Melbourne trucks purchased along
with Car 369. |
| •
| The
only plans and guides were undimensioned photographs of the Fort Collins, Colorado,
Birney truck.. |
| •
| Petunia's
new truck utilizes two 40-horsepower motors driving 27-inch diameter wheels. |
| •
| We
later added shock absorbers to smooth out the Birney's characteristic bouncy ride. |
| •
| 636
is 28-feet long and weighs 10 tons.
|
| •
| Petunia
was nicknamed, so the story goes, for "her petite size and generally sweet
nature." |
| •
| 636
is sponsored by Cityplace Corp. |
