A crosstown route that linked all the bridges on the east side, hence the descriptive name. The line was first formed on January 1, 1915 when the previous East Side line was extended and renamed. The line originally ran from Broadway and Larrabee (serving the Broadway Bridge) down to Grand and Lincoln, passing interchanges for streetcar lines that used the Steel Bridge, Burnside Bridge, Morrison Bridge and Hawthorne Bridge on the way.
The southern terminus of the line was extended in August 1927 to take over the southern leg of the abandoned Brooklyn line south of Lincoln. Originally, PRL&P only wanted to extend the Bridge Transfer line as far as SE Brooklyn and Milwaukie as they felt the Powell Valley bus line provided ample service further out, but public outcry forced the company to reconsider. The line was eventually cut back to SE Milwaukie in February 1936, and to SE 10th and Powell by June 1937.
After this, the Bridge Transfer line is mainly notable for being abandoned and having its tracks paved over in 1940, which were then dug back out again to reinstate streetcar service in 1942 because of a war-time shortage of rubber for bus tires. This version of the line only went as far south as Grand and Hawthorne – enough to connect the bridges but no more!
See also: Brooklyn (1902–1927), East Side (1907–1909, 1914)
| Years of Operation: | January 1, 1915–March 23, 1940, then February 15, 1942–December 27, 1947 | | --- | --- | | Operating Company: | ‣ ‣ ‣ | | Gauge: | Narrow (3-feet, 6-inches) | | Headboard: | “BT” dash sign, “Bridge Transfer” overhead sign | | Car Barn: | ‣ |