Constructed and operated by the Kenton Traction Company to ferry workers from the company town of Kenton to the Union Stockyards and other industrial businesses on the Columbia River. As most of the line was outside Portland city limits, an extra 5-cent fare was charged to ride.

Interestingly, the Swift Packing Company entered into negotiations with the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company in early 1908 to build a line all the way out to the site of these new stockyards, but this seems to have come to nothing apart from the eventual extension of the Mississippi Avenue line to Kenton to meet the separate stockyards line. The originally-planned route for this line would have used Patton [today’s Interstate] instead of Albina to reach Kenton.

The Kenton Traction Company leased cars from the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company, which were probably housed at that company’s Piedmont barns, although there is evidence that there was some sort of car barn in Kenton as well – See: Kenton Car Barn (1911?). However, power for the line was generated at the Monarch Lumber Company plant.

In November 1918, the Kenton Traction Company was granted the right to use the Derby Street approach to the Interstate Bridge for its line. Construction of this new segment was complete by February 1919. Although this made the route to the stockyards slightly longer, it made for a much smoother ride and eliminated the expensive-to-maintain trestle across the slough.

Closure of the line is not a cut and dried affair: while it seems probable that regular passenger service ended in 1928 as stated by Labbe and Thompson, special event service to the stockyards continued until at least 1933 before finally being replaced with buses.

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