The trolley line, which has been in service since 1989, is notable for its use of restored historic streetcar vehicles, as opposed to modern replicas.

The trolley is free to the public thanks to donations, as well as a joint operating subsidy from Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the Uptown Improvement District.

Before the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) began operations in 1989, the last streetcar ran in Dallas until January 1956.

[9] During the 1980s, there was a movement to restore streetcar service in Dallas's Uptown neighborhood after some of the original rails were uncovered on McKinney Avenue.

At 2:08 a.m. on January 14, 1986, 30 years exactly after the last scheduled service of Dallas streetcars, MATA signed a lease for the Bowen Avenue car barn.

In 1995, the agency had to fix subsidence in Cole Avenue causing a dip in the tracks between Hall and Bowen Streets.

[11] By the late 1990s, it became apparent that the 110-year-old brick pavement on McKinney Avenue could no longer support modern-day car, truck and bus traffic.

[12] It is now possible to ride the DART light rail system and get off at CityPlace station and board the streetcar to Uptown.

[7] The City of Dallas and MATA worked together to further expand the streetcar system past the southern terminus further into downtown.

[16] On Thursday, July 8, 2010, it was announced that the federal government would grant an additional $5 million for the M-Line trolley project, specifically to help complete the downtown loop for the McKinney Avenue trolley line, and the line will be able to run faster, more modern cars and penetrate deeper into downtown.

The event encouraged citizens to ride the free trolley and send pictures via social media for a chance to win one of several prize packages from local businesses.

Two dozen other local uptown and downtown businesses participated in the event by offering free samples and discounts.

[20] Car 122 was built to a standard American design by the J. G. Brill Company of Philadelphia in 1909[2] for export to Porto, Portugal.

GCE refurbished it at the Oregon Electric Railway Museum for use, on loan, in the first San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival, in summer 1983, and car 122 operated intermittently in service on San Francisco's Market Street in that year; it was painted yellow-and-cream,[22] the colors of its sponsor in the Trolley Festival, Eastman Kodak.

Having previously been refurbished for use in San Francisco, 122 only needed minor work to bring it into service on MATA's opening day.

186 was stripped of its running gear and electrical wiring and sold to a private individual who used it for a hay barn in far North Dallas.

When the museum closed, Landrum removed 186 and donated it to MATA, which restored the Green Dragon to running order in 1989.

Acquired in running order, Matilda only required cosmetic modifications to give her a more North American appearance.

At the same time it received a general overhaul that included new wheels, new roof, and a rewiring of the motor control system.

Shortly after system abandonment, Ben Carpenter (son of the president of Dallas Railway and Terminal Company from 1927 to 1935) moved 754 to his family's Hackberry Creek Ranch in Irving, Texas, and placed it on concrete blocks.

After a lengthy debugging process of 754's electronic control system, the car began regular service in March 2014.

Volunteer Richard Fowler donated Miss Daisy to MATA in complete, but not operable condition.

Built as a single-ended PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) streetcar by St. Louis Car Company in 1945 for (Washington) DC Transit.

Bought by Fort Worth's Marvin and Obediah Leonard for their rail shuttle line from their vast parking lot to their downtown department store's basement station via a 1,400-foot subway.

It was rebuilt as a double-ended car and given a more "modernized" appearance in Fort Worth — stainless steel siding and blue roof trim.

[28] In the 2005-2006 timeframe, attempts were made to put Winnie in service, but it had a series of recurring air-conditioning, mechanical and electrical problems.

Since the building was about to be demolished, on January 10, 1994, MATA volunteers went to Lewisville and tore the warehouse down to expose and recover the cars.

323 is the only known surviving example of the Stone and Webster "stretch" streetcar, in late 2022 car 323s roof collapsed causing massive amounts of damage to the already aged carbody.

When NTT ceased operations in 1934, a farmer near Granbury, Texas (southwest of Fort Worth) bought 332 and used it for grain storage.

However, restoration of the Morning Star was stopped and it was moved off-site in order to make space for the 2015 expansion of service.