The electric streetcar line that replaced the earlier cable line up to the heights. It ran by a very different route with easier grades, but met with the tracks of the older line at SW Spring Street, which were used as a holding track. In its early years, the line was also sometimes referred to as the “Ford-street Line” after the street that it ran on immediately after turning south off Washington Street [now the corner of W Burnside Street and SW Vista Avenue].
The line originally ran as far as SW Vista and Patton, and returned via a loop along SW Ravensview Drive, SW Terrace Drive and SW Elizabeth Street. The extension using a private right-of-way all the way up to Council Crest opened in 1906, but was a shuttle service from SW Vista and Patton at first. Within a few years, Council Crest service was extended downtown and the “Portland Heights” designation gradually fell out of use, which makes it difficult to track down an exact end date for the service. Tripper cars still turned back at SW Vista and Patton, as did the whole line when weather conditions made the last part of the line unsafe.
See also: Council Crest (1906–1950)
| Important Dates: | July 25, 1904 – Opening of the line between 23rd and Washington and SW Spring and 20th. July 26, 1904 – Official opening ceremony; line opens along entire length. | | --- | --- | | Operating Company: | ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ | | Preceded By: | ‣ | | Succeeded By: | Council Crest (1906–1950) | | Gauge: | Narrow (3-feet, 6-inches) | | Headboard: | “PH” dash sign, “Portland Heights” overhead sign | | Car Barn: | ‣ |