This company was formed in May 1906 as a holding company for the Willamette Valley Traction Company, which had been doing the construction work for the electric interurban lines down the Willamette Valley with engineering firm Moffatt & White, whose owners also held management positions in the new company. When the initial segment from Portland to Salem was completed, the Willamette Valley Traction Company was dissolved and the Oregon Electric Railway Company became the owner and operator of the line.

The company was acquired by James Hill and the Great Northern Railway in February 1910, and by March 1911 it had become a subsidiary of Hill’s Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad (the “North Bank” line). Track was extended from the foot of Jefferson Street through Portland’s downtown along SW Front, Salmon and 10th so that cars could operate from the North Bank depot, providing direct connection with main line SP&S trains there. Under this ownership, the company rebuilt its existing line and constructed the new extension to Albany and Eugene to full steam line standards, with wide curves, long tangents and low grades being a feature. The cars of the company were also repainted from their original safety orange to a very dark, almost black, Pullman green.

Passenger service ended in 1933, but freight service continued. 1945 saw the end of electric motive power, with diesel locomotives being used from that point on.

The Oregon Electric Railway Company was included with the SP&S as part of the merger that formed the Burlington Northern Railroad in March 1970, although the company still existed on paper until May 1981, when it was renamed as Burlington Northern (Oregon-Washington) Inc.

Lines

• Oregon Electric – Corvallis (1913–1931)
• Oregon Electric – Forest Grove (1908–1932)
• Oregon Electric – McMinnville (Never Built)
• Oregon Electric – Main Line (1906–1933)
• Oregon Electric – Woodburn (1910–1926)

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