Initially, this line was a three-foot narrow gauge steam motor line that ran from SE Water and Morrison up 4th Street [later Union Avenue, now MLK, Jr. Blvd] to Woodlawn. There it took a diagonal route through the angled streets of that early settlement, before heading north and then angling slightly west across a long trestle over the Columbia Slough to meet the Vancouver ferry on the north shore of Hayden Island.
The line was electrified and regauged to three-feet six-inches by the Portland Consolidated Street Railway Company in June 1893. This work was completed in two stages, with the line from the Columbia River to Woodlawn being completed first, followed by the city section from Woodlawn to downtown. Steam motors served the inner section and interchanged with electric cars at Woodlawn for about a week until the line was completely regauged and electrified.
On June 30, 1906, the line was rerouted north of Woodlawn to continue directly north along Union Avenue to the city limits and then take a shorter trestle to a relocated ferry terminal. This turned Woodlawn into a short branch line, and the station and car barn there became neglected. The car barn was soon closed and operations transferred to the new and much larger Piedmont barn.
The next major change to the line came in 1917 with the opening of the Interstate Bridge, which allowed VC cars to cross the river and interchange with cars from Vancouver’s own streetcar system on Third Street between Main and Washington. From 1927 to 1940, the line also served the popular Jantzen Beach amusement park on Hayden Island, before final abandonment in September 1940.
See also: Cloverdale (1892–1895?) and Woodlawn (1888–1937)
| Important Dates: | October 4, 1888 – start of service to Columbia River June 24, 1893 – electrification and regauging to 3-feet, 6-inches June 30, 1906 – opening of new route north of Woodlawn February 14, 1917 – start of service to Vancouver over Interstate Bridge September 2, 1940 – end of service to Vancouver September 8, 1940 – end of service to Jantzen Beach and final abandonment | | --- | --- | | Operating Companies: | ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ | | Gauge: | 3-foot narrow until 1893, then narrow (3-feet, 6-inches) thereafter | | Headboard: | “Vancouver”, “VC”, “V” | | Car Barn: | ‣ ‣ |