*I don’t think this was ever the official name of this consortium, but it’s easier than typing out “Messrs. C. E. Smith, G. Glass, C. Hegele and A. A. Dekum”, or “Property-owners on First street” each time.
When it became obvious as early as December 1892 that the pioneering but hugely unprofitable horse-car line of the Portland Street Railway Company was doomed to failure, business-owners along First Street met to see if something could be done. They petitioned the city council for the right to take over the old franchise and build a new electric line. The consortium would fund, build and own the road, but allow cars from the existing streetcar companies to run on it. This was seen as necessary to revitalize the business district along First Street, which had been supplanted by the streets with better streetcar service than the slow horsecars could provide.
Negotiations carried on for a while, and another consortium led by George F. Heusner (later of the Kenton Traction Company and the failed “Heusner line”) tried to steal the franchise, claiming that they were ready to build immediately. In the end, the council decided to grant a franchise to the First-street property-owners in May 1894, worried whether or not Heusner was truly acting in good faith – a recurring theme of Mr. Heusner’s career in Portland.
Even after finally obtaining a franchise, the property-owners still couldn’t act upon it as Joe Holladay steadfastly refused to relinquish the existing franchise for First Street. The council kept on renewing the newer franchise as needed to keep it current and legal during this time.
The old First-street line ceased operations in May 1895, its one remaining driver no longer able to be paid. The consortium was finally able to buy out the existing franchise, and the remaining assets of the Portland Street Railway Company were sold off by the receiver in October. Almost immediately, the consortium sprang into action: the old tracks were torn out and new dual-gauge track was laid, with the first cars running just two months later in December 1895.
Although the franchise held the rights to extend track north and south from NW Johnson and Broadway (then Seventh) all the way to the southern city limits on Macadam Avenue via the length of First, the consortium was never able to actually get anything built past their initial operating segment on First between NW Couch and SW Jefferson. Extensions of time were repeatedly given by the city council, which was very cognizant of the trouble and expense these citizens had gone to to rebuild the line, but the First-street franchise passed to the City & Suburban in January 1900 before anything more actually got built. The City & Suburban promised to build to South Portland by September 1, 1900.
| Years of Operation: | December 1892 (initial meetings and petitions of First-street businessmen)– January 26, 1900 (First-street franchise passed to the City & Suburban) | | --- | --- | | Preceded By: | ‣ | | Succeeded By: | ‣ |