At first, Woodlawn was a stop – with a depot and car barn – on the Vancouver line’s original 3-foot narrow gauge steam motor route. Some cars only ran to Woodlawn instead of going all the way through to the ferry terminal on the Columbia.
When the Vancouver line was electrified and regauged in June 1893, Woodlawn temporarily served as the interchange between the electrified and widened outer section to the Columbia and the inner 3-foot narrow steam motor section to downtown. Regauging took place quickly, and this arrangement was only needed for about a week.
When the Vancouver line’s route was changed to run all the way up Union Avenue to the city limits before heading across the Columbia Slough to the ferry terminal in 1906, Woodlawn became its own branch line. The car barn was closed, with operations moving to the new Piedmont barn. Woodlawn was now something of a “dead end” and the depot and old barn became run down and uncared for.
In 1910, the residents of Woodlawn began a plan of renewal and set about raising a subsidy for improvement and extension of the streetcar line. As part of this plan, the line’s unusual diagonal orientation (echoing the original plat of the addition) was straightened out to run along Dekum Avenue and was extended eastward from NE 8th Avenue – first to NE 13th Avenue in August 1912, and finally to NE 24th by September 1913. The car barn was finally demolished, and the old depot was replaced by a handsome brick fire station in May 1913, which still stands to this day.
The line was abandoned and replaced with electric trolleybus service in February 1937.
See also: Vancouver (1888–1940)
| Important Dates: | October 4, 1888 – start of service (as part of Vancouver line) June 24, 1893 – electrification and regauging to 3-feet, 6-inches June 30, 1906 – rerouting of the Vancouver line away from Woodlawn August 16, 1912 – new “straight” alignment opens to NE Dekum and 13th September 1913 – final extension to NE Dekum and 24th February 20, 1937 – abandonment; replaced by Williams Ave trolleybus line | | --- | --- | | Operating Companies: | ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ | | Gauge: | 3-foot narrow until 1893, then narrow (3-feet, 6-inches) thereafter | | Headboard: | “WL” dash sign; “Woodlawn” overhead sign | | Car Barns: | ‣ ‣ |