Introduction

Welcome to this research wiki for the history of electric streetcar lines, companies, people and places in Portland, Oregon, compiled by Cameron Booth, starting in February 2024. I’ve long been frustrated with the paucity and compartmentalization of information about this subject, so this is my attempt to compile as much accurate, sourced and verified primary source information as possible into one place. Articles are mainly sourced from historical Portland-area newspapers, though periodicals and maps are another rich source of information. Everything is organized into an articles database, which is fully searchable and comprehensively tagged. Separate categories for each area of interest – be it a streetcar line, company, building or amusement park – allow you to quickly delve into the history of each. Browse the main areas of interest from the list to the right, or use the global tags database to explore by tags. Note that this is still very much a work in progress; more articles are being added all the time!

Some notes:

• An asterisk* in dates means that it has been estimated using John Labbe or Richard Thompson’s books and is pending verification from a primary source. “???” means a date still needs to be found.
• An asterisk* in an article title means that I have substituted my own more meaningful title in place of the one originally published. “East Side News” really isn’t very helpful!
• Comments inside square parentheses [like so] are my own clarifications regarding line names, modern street names or other matters. There’s a bit of supposition and commentary as well. More detailed notes appear in italics as their own paragraph.
• Most articles have a link back to the original source, though the archive I’m mainly using requires a Multnomah County Library card to be able to view them.

Comments, Corrections, Assistance?

Let me know what you think of the project! See something that’s totally wrong? Trying to find something very specific? Want to help out with the project? Have a great photo, map or timetable you’d like to send me? Send an email to: cam at transitmap dot net and let’s talk!

Categories

Articles Database

– Database: Filtered by Decade

Infrastructure and Buildings

Interurban Lines

Maps

Parks and Amusements

Streetcar Companies

Streetcar Lines

Remnants

External Resources

Glossary

Global Tags Database

<aside> <img src="/icons/chart-line_gray.svg" alt="/icons/chart-line_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Article Count: 1,200 – Map Count: 84 – Streetcar Company Pages: 43 – Streetcar Line Pages: 69 – Interurban Line Pages: 8 – Remnant Locations: 15 Last Updated: January 15, 2025

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Follow the Portland Streetcar History project on Bluesky!

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Recently Edited

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To Do List

• Database of existing remnant infrastructure
• Chronological line maps
• “People” category
• “Other Companies” category (i.e., companies that aren’t streetcar companies, but are important to their history in Portland)
• Non-PRL&P interurban lines (Oregon Electric, Southern Pacific, Willamette Valley Southern)
• Streetcar companies corporate chart/timeline
• Add all the bridges that carried streetcars to the “Infrastructure and Buildings” category
• Barnes Heights & Cornell Mountain Railway
• City & West Portland Park Motor Line
• Portland, Mount Tabor & Eastern Railway
• The “Heusner Line”
• Maps database with links to original source files on the web