The first—and as it turned out, only—electric interurban line to be extended from Vancouver. While original plans called for it to be extended to Brush Prairie and Hockinson, it only ever went as far as the “temporary” terminus of Sifton, around 7 miles from downtown Vancouver. The new townsite of Sifton was founded and heavily promoted by the officials of the Vancouver Traction Company, which formed the Clark County Development Company to sell land there. Indeed, many of the streets in Sifton—itself named after J. W. Sifton, also one of the officials—were originally named after those men: only Kerr Road remains now.
Unusually, the line opened in stages as it extended further out into the country; the regular trips of the heavy cars along the line helping to settle the ballast and allowing for materials to be brought to the current terminus. Regular passenger service to Sifton began on June 30, 1910 and a freight service instituted shortly thereafter.
The extension to Hockinson seemed assured in August 1912. A survey had been completed, a bonus from property-owners along the proposed route had been secured and right-of-way granted, but it was never constructed. Real estate advertisements into 1913 still held out hope for the line, selling property “near the Hockinson extension,” all to no avail.
| Important Dates: | March 20, 1910 – Line opens for service from Vancouver to the Jaggy road. May 15, 1910 – Line reaches Orchards; test run made over line for officials. May 22, 1910 – Passenger service commences from Vancouver to Orchards. June 30, 1910 – Scheduled passenger service commences from Vancouver to Sifton. October 11, 1926 – Orchards–Sifton line abandoned. | | --- | --- | | Operating Companies: | ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ | | Gauge: | Standard (4-feet, 8.5-inches) | | Headboard: | “Orchards–Sifton” | | Car Barn: | ‣ |