Originally, this line was a standard-gauge interurban steam motor line out to Lents via Tremont and Chicago. The outer terminus was at a location near SE 97th Avenue and Duke Street, where a small car barn was erected. The new McKinley Park addition reserved a four-acre site at its southeast corner in July 1892 for a “fine depot, waiting-room and shops,” though it is unclear if anything apart from the barn was built.
I speculate that when the line was extended further east through McKinley Park by the Oregon Water Power & Railway Company in 1902 to make a connection with the then under-construction Cazadero line, the spur down to the car barn was abandoned and the barn demolished. The end of the line was then the station at Lents Junction.
The Mount Scott line was electrified in June 1901 by the Portland & Oregon City Railway Company after lying dormant since January because of franchise and operational issues. This work was hastened after it became clear that the City & Suburban Railway Company was ready to step in to fill the void if the P&OC didn’t restore service.
Because of its steam motor line origin, the line retained actual named stations south of Division instead of streetcar corner stops like most of the other city lines and carried considerably more freight.
When the City of Portland widened Foster Road in 1922, PRL&P exchanged their old private right-of-way along the south side of the road for a new 25-year franchise for the Mount Scott line. The company paid for a portion of the improvements and moved their track to the middle of the new road. This also led to a slight realignment of the line between Powell Boulevard and SE 52nd Avenue, as Foster Road was extended in a straight line between these two points and the new track came along with it. As it ended up, the new franchise only lasted 14 years because the line was abandoned in September 1936.
| Important Dates: | June 17, 1892 – Official opening of steam motor line. January 7, 1901 – Steam motor line shuts down. June 30, 1901 – Electric line opens, though service seems to have been erratic, as it reopened again after sale to the Portland City & Oregon February 18, 1902 – Line is sold by the Portland, Chicago & Mount Scott Railway Company to the Portland City & Oregon Railway Company September 26, 1936 – Abandonment | | --- | --- | | Operating Companies: | ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ | | Gauge: | Standard (4-feet, 8.5 inches) | | Headboard: | “MS” dash sign, “Mount Scott” overhead sign | | Car Barn: | ‣ ‣ |