The Beaverton shops c. 1914–1915 – note the locomotive to the left still lettered as belonging to the Portland, Eugene & Eastern (PE&E).
The main shops and car barns for the Southern Pacific’s “Red Electric” interurban cars. Originally designed to be a temporary facility, it instead remained in operation for the entire life of the electric system. Planned permanent shops at Bolton on the route of the Willamette Falls Railway were never constructed, as that line was never connected to the rest of the system at Oswego as originally planned.
Although designed to be used for repair and maintenance, I believe that the facility also housed most of the Red Electric fleet in its yards, which had capacity for at least 50 cars. West Side trains definitely began their runs from the shops, and the Beaverton–Cook cutoff allowed cars to be moved between the two divisions and the shops relatively easily. Some cars may also have been stored overnight at Portland Union Station and Corvallis for operational purposes – the first train from Corvallis left well before the first train from Portland arrived.
Newspaper advertisements starting on January 8, 1930 note that the Dolan Wrecking Co. was in the process of dismantling and selling the salvageable material from the shops.
| Important Dates: | April 30, 1913 – Site for shops purchased. October 1, 1913 – Shops opened. October 5, 1929 – Last day of electric rail service. January 8, 1930 – Ads first note that the Dolan Wrecking Co. is demolishing the shops. | | --- | --- | | Operating Companies: | ‣ ‣ | | Lines Served: | ‣ ‣ |