A planned branch of the Oregon Electric Railway from Tigard or Tualatin to McMinnville via Newberg. Some early versions of the plan had the line continuing down the west side of the Willamette River to Eugene via Dallas before the extension to Eugene was resurveyed to run from Salem and Albany as an extension of the already existing main line.
The branch is notable for being part of the Oregon Electric’s expansion plans for quite a period of time – even before James Hill purchased the company in 1910 – with terminal grounds even being purchased in McMinnville. There was some hurried laying of track in Newberg and McMinnville to keep franchises in those cities active in 1912, but economic hardships for the railway company, difficulties in obtaining rights-of-way and the introduction of the Southern Pacific’s “Red Electric” interurbans through almost the same territory meant that the line as a whole was never constructed. The last mention of the branch I have found is from January 1915, where it was forlornly hoped that construction might begin at some point in the upcoming year.