Oregon Electric Railway

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| name = Oregon Electric Railway

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| image = Oregon Electric train passing through Albany, Oregon (3230126720).jpg

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| caption = Oregon Electric train passing through Albany, Oregon

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| start_year = {{Start date|1906}}

| end_year = {{End date|1970}}

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| successor_line = Burlington Northern Railroad

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| electrification = {{Plainlist|

{{600 V DC}} (1906–1912)
{{1200 V DC}} (1912–1945)

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The Oregon Electric Railway (OE) was an interurban railroad line in the U.S. state of Oregon that linked Portland to Eugene.

History

Service from Portland to Salem began in January 1908.{{cite journal|title=New Track Construction in 1907|journal=Electric Railway Review|date=January 4, 1908|volume=XIX|issue=1|page=4}} The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway purchased the system in 1910, and extended service to Eugene in 1912. After the company requested, and received, permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon a section of line in Portland because of declining ridership and worsening traffic congestion.{{Cite news|title=Oregon Electric to Quit City Line: Interstate Body Permits Track Abandonment|date=May 27, 1931|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|page=24}} Passenger service was cut back to Front and Jefferson streets the following day, and OE moved its ticket office to that location.{{cite news|title=Electric Line Changes: Trains Stop Operating on Salmon and Tenth; Oregon Electric Service Now Terminates at Jefferson Street, Ticket Office Moves|date=June 20, 1931|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|page=4}} The tracks along 10th and Salmon streets were abandoned and soon removed.{{Cite news|title=New Pavement Is Laid: Strip Where Tracks Were Taken Up on Tenth Street Improved|date=July 7, 1931|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|page=9}} Regular passenger service in the Willamette Valley ended in May 1933.

Electrified freight service continued until dieselization in 1945.{{Hilton-Interurban|p=397}} The Oregon Electric was merged into the new Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970.{{cite web | url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-RR-231eff00d112c40a27cf2c3ac4535a16/pdf/GOVPUB-RR-231eff00d112c40a27cf2c3ac4535a16.pdf | title=Oregon Electric Railway Company (cessation of employer status) | date=June 9, 1970 | accessdate=December 22, 2023}} The Burlington Northern operated the last freight train on the ex-OE Forest Grove branch on December 31, 1994, in preparation for the construction of Westside MAX, part of the TriMet light rail system.

Route

The tracks run parallel to the main modern Union Pacific line between Portland and Eugene, used for freight and passenger service. The OE line is to the west, closely following the Willamette River.{{cite news |title= Oregon bids big for faster trains |first= Harry |last= Esteve |newspaper= The Oregonian |date= July 25, 2009}} In the 2000s, the line has been under consideration as an alternative for Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight passenger lines. Removing passenger service from the clogged Union Pacific track would improve the timeliness of the trains, permit higher capacity, and allow higher-speed travel, peaking at {{convert|110|mph}}.

The right-of-way between Portland and Tigard has since been abandoned. From the North Bank Depot, it followed 10th Avenue, Salmon Street, and the west bank of the Willamette River. Portions of the right-of-way between the South Waterfront and Multnomah Boulevard are currently under Interstate 5.

Stations

File:Garden Home Railway Depot circa 1911 (Beaverton, Oregon Historical Photo Gallery) (245).jpg

File:Oregon Electric Railroad Depot, Beaverton, Oregon (Beaverton, Oregon Historical Photo Gallery) (210).jpg

File:Beaverton Depot for Oregon Electric Railway (Beaverton, Oregon Historical Photo Gallery) (247).jpg

File:Oregon Electric Railway (Beaverton, Oregon Historical Photo Gallery) (243).jpg

=Main line=

In order from north to south

Portland North Bank Depot
10th & Stark
10th & Morrison
5th & Salmon
2nd & Salmon
Front & Jefferson
View Point
Fulton Park
Capitol Hill
Ryan Place
Multnomah
Shahapta
Maplewood
Barstow
Garden Home
branch to Forest Grove
Nesmith
Metzger
Greenburg
Tigard
Bonita
Durham
Tualatin
branch to McMinnville
Nasoma
Tonquin
Mulloy
Wilsonville
Prahl
Butteville
Fargo
Donald
Fellers
Broadacres
West Woodburn
spur to Woodburn
Saint Louis
Concomly
Waconda
Chemeketa (now Hopmere)
Quinaby
Chemawa
Claxtar
Deaf School
Highland
Salem
Melas
Livesley
East Independence
Orville
Sidney
Talbot
Dever
Conser
Albany
Pirtle
Gray
spur to Corvallis
Oakville
Fayetteville
Potter
Tulsa
Nixon
Cartney
Harrisburg
Junction City
Milorn
Meadow View
Aubrey
Enid
Lasen
Eugene

=United Railways line=

In order from west to east

File:Dispatcher table of Oregon Electric Railway.jpg

= Forest Grove line =

In order from west to east

File:Map of telephony lines of Oregon Electric Railway.jpg

Remnants

File:Remnants of Oregon Electric Railway (Eugene, Oregon).jpg

The Forest Grove Station is now owned by Friends of Historical Forest Grove, which is the town's historical society, This station was Southern Pacific Red electric, Forest Grove Oregon Electric station was located behind current fire station.
The former Oregon Electric line from Tigard to Eugene is now operated by the Portland & Western Railroad. BN donated the track from Tigard to Quinaby (a farming community north of Keizer) to the State of Oregon and sold the track to the Portland & Western. South of Quinaby, the line is still owned by BN successor BNSF and leased to P&W for operation.
The OE branch between Hillsboro and Beaverton is now part of the MAX Blue Line.
Passenger service is again available on the segment from Tigard to Wilsonville as part of the Westside Express Service (WES) commuter rail line. WES service continues north of Tigard to Beaverton using a former Southern Pacific track that the OE had used since the mid-1930s when its own route north of Tigard to downtown Portland was abandoned. The OE used to join with the ex-Southern Pacific track at Greton, located in the northern part of Tigard near the intersection of S.W. North Dakota Street and S.W. Tiedeman Avenue. Today, the original OE track ends and joins the former SP line southeast of S.W. Hall Boulevard. The parking lot of the current WES station in downtown Tigard is where the OE tracks used to lie; the abandoned right-of-way is still plainly visible north of downtown Tigard.
The former station in Eugene had been reused and housed the Oregon Electric Station restaurant.
The Albany station was a video poker outlet and later a pizza parlor. It underwent renovations from 2022 to 2025 to prepare for conversion into a restaurant.{{cite news |last=Eastman |first=Janet |date=December 18, 2024 |title=Restored electric train station will soon house a favorite Willamette Valley restaurant |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2024/12/restored-electric-train-station-will-soon-house-a-favorite-willamette-valley-restaurant.html |work=The Oregonian |accessdate=February 13, 2025}}
The Multnomah depot was located at the current site of the John's Market parking lot, on the northwest corner of SW 35th and Multnomah Blvd. The adjacent 1913 Nelson Thomas Building, characterized as "streetcar era commercial" architecture, still stands.{{Cite web |url=http://www.marcoscafe.com/about.shtml |title=Marco's Café: About |access-date=April 25, 2008 |archive-date=June 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604002701/http://www.marcoscafe.com/about.shtml |url-status=dead }}
The North Bank Depot in Portland was the northern terminal for the OE from 1912 to 1931."Electric Line Changes: Trains Stop Operating on Salmon and Tenth (subheadlines: Oregon Electric Service Now Terminates at Jefferson Street; Ticket Office Moves)". (June 20, 1931). The Morning Oregonian, p. 4. Used also as a warehouse, the building (and a matching one across the street) was preserved and converted into condominiums in the 1990s.
The site of the Tigard station is now occupied by the Tigard Chamber of Commerce.
The former Springfield Southern Pacific station was leased to Oregon Electric for a brief period. Is now a museum.{{citation needed|date=December 2010}} It has an authentic semaphore signal and baggage car outside.
Several of the railway's electric substations still exist, including those at Tonquin and Waconda.

References

External links

{{Oregon Encyclopedia|oregon_electric_railway|author=Thompson, Richard}}
[http://photos.salemhistory.net/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=all&CISOBOX1=&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP2=exact&CISOBOX2=Oregon%20Electric&CISOFIELD2=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP3=any&CISOBOX3=&CISOFIELD3=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP4=none&CISOBOX4=&CISOFIELD4=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=all&t=a Historic Oregon Electric Railway images] from Salem Public Library
[http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/oregon_electric.html Oregon Electrics] from www.pdxhistory.com
{{HAER |survey=OR-113 |id=or0484 |title=Oregon Electric Railroad, Garden Home (Mile Post 27.8) to Wilsonville (Mile Post 43.05) Segment, Garden Home, Washington County, OR |data=5}}
{{HAER |survey=OR-113-A |id=or0518 |title=Turnout, Milepost 41.3 |photos=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=OR-113-B |id=or0519 |title=Cattle Pass Trestle, Milepost 41.2 |photos=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=OR-113-C |id=or0520 |title=Tonquin Substation, Milepost 39.1 |photos=4 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=OR-113-D |id=or0521 |title=Hedges Creek Trestle, Milepost 38.7 |photos=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=OR-113-E |id=or0522 |title=Hedges Creek Trestle, Milepost 37.8 |photos=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=OR-113-F |id=or0523 |title=Tualatin River Bridge, Milepost 35.3 |photos=4 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=OR-113-G |id=or0524 |title=Fanno Creek Trestle, Milepost 34.7 |photos=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}