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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

McKinney Avenue Trolley Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Honorary Motorman, Oliver Robison
Hop on board the trolley "Matilda" on Saturday, July 19th, and join the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the McKinney Avenue Trolley’s launch. Matilda's riders will be served birthday cake from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Phil Cobb, co-founder and chairman of the board for 24 years announced 5-year old Oliver Robison as special Honorary Motorman for the birthday celebration.  "Oliver is a big fan of the trolleys which he rides frequently with his mom, Kyla, and dad, Kenny," said Cobb. "We all love Oliver. He even drops by the Trolley Barn to say hi and check on the Trolleys. Oliver is also our official historian as he knows each of the Trolley cars, their names and their histories.”

Uptown-area restaurants are entering birthday cakes in a contest to be judged by Robison and MATA staff members. The restaurant with the winning cake will be awarded the fun of a complimentary two-hour charter on the Trolley bedecked with balloons. Restaurants baking birthday cakes (so far) are: Bread Winners Cafe & Bakery (who is celebrating their own 20th anniversary this July), Morton’s of Chicago, Truluck’s and Hillcrest Bank is sponsoring chocolate lava cakes from CafĂ© Express.

The M-Line's restored vintage trolleys, which are air-conditioned and heated, operate 365 days a year providing safe, clean, reliable, and convenient public transportation free of charge, with only the exception of private party charters, in Dallas' vibrant Uptown Neighborhood. MATA’s mission is to extend this service to a broader geographic area in downtown Dallas while maintaining the unique, historic ambiance and character of our current service and, in partnership with Dallas Area Rapid Transit, become a key component of the City's downtown circulator system. Service is in the process of being extended with an open downtown loop to be completed in the very near future. Details will be released soon as plans are finalized.

Visit http://www.mata.org/map.shtml to see Matilda's route and join the party!