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. 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. Passenger service was cut back to Front and Jefferson streets the following day, and OE moved its ticket office to that location. The tracks along 10th and Salmon streets were abandoned and soon removed. Regular passenger service in the Willamette Valley ended in May 1933.

Electrified freight service continued until dieselization in 1945. The Oregon Electric was merged into the new Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970. 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. 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 .

  • 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.
  • The North Bank Depot in Portland was the northern terminal for the OE from 1912 to 1931. 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. 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.
  • Several of the passenger coaches were obtained by the Black Hills Central Railroad in the 1970s, and are still in use on this heritage railroad.

See also

  • Red Electric – a competing interurban service of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the Willamette Valley
  • Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society

References

Further reading

  • Historic Oregon Electric Railway images from Salem Public Library
  • Oregon Electrics from www.pdxhistory.com