A c.1896 photo of one of the cable cars converted to electric operation at the City Park terminus, which at that point in time was right at the gatehouse for Reservoir No. 4 (which can be glimpsed to the left of). I know Portland City Archives has other photos of the reservoirs, so I went poking...

This great photo from the Oregon Historical Society collection is named there as showing the Morrison Bridge in 1895. However, there's at least three things in the photo that I can see that prove that it is not. Any guesses as to what they are and which bridge it actually is?

A c.1896 photo of one of the cable cars converted to electric operation at the City Park terminus, which at that point in time was right at the gatehouse for Reservoir No. 4 (which can be glimpsed to the left of). I know Portland City Archives has other photos of the reservoirs, so I went poking...

And here's a photo with two of Portland's converted cable cars (back) at the intersection of Jefferson and Chapman streets, probably taken in 1896 just after the modifications were made. The open cable car in the foreground is ready to make the climb up the trestle to Portland Heights.

Revised chronological map of the Richmond line (1890–1936), showing that the route continued across the Morrison Bridge during construction of the new span from April–October 1904 along with the pedestrian shuttle cars.

Sometimes I have to correct myself when new information comes to light. I had always thought that streetcars that crossed the Morrison Bridge when the first bridge was being rebuilt into the second in 1904 were entirely replaced by a shuttle car service. But! 🧵

First photo: a single-truck Pullman car of the Multnomah Street Railway Co. (1890). Second photo: a double-truck "Fuller Standard" car of the first Portland Railway Co. (1902) that has very clearly just added enclosed platforms to one of the old Pullmans and set it on two trucks.

First photo: a single-truck Pullman car of the Multnomah Street Railway Co. (1890). Second photo: a double-truck "Fuller Standard" car of the first Portland Railway Co. (1902) that has very clearly just added enclosed platforms to one of the old Pullmans and set it on two trucks.

I just filled in the gap in the history of the Patton gas-electric car that came to Portland in 1892. We know that by 1893 it was being used by the Portland Consolidated Street Railway Co. as their funeral car out to Riverview cemetery on that company's only standard-gauge track. 🧵

I just filled in the gap in the history of the Patton gas-electric car that came to Portland in 1892. We know that by 1893 it was being used by the Portland Consolidated Street Railway Co. as their funeral car out to Riverview cemetery on that company's only standard-gauge track. 🧵

I'm on TV! FOX 12 Oregon asked me to contribute to a story on Portland's streetcar history a while back and it finally aired this morning. They did a great job with their old/new transitions! www.kptv.com/2026/03/24/p...

Unusually, the East Side Railway didn't number its cars, but gave them feminine names. A November 1900 bankruptcy notice names them all: Alva Bona Cora Dora Eva Flora Grace Helen Inez (destroyed 1893) Janet Kate Laura Mabel Nora Olive Persis Queen Rose Stella Tot Una

I'm on TV! FOX 12 Oregon asked me to contribute to a story on Portland's streetcar history a while back and it finally aired this morning. They did a great job with their old/new transitions! www.kptv.com/2026/03/24/p...

From October 1891 to late 1894, the Alder Street branch of the cable car line used double-ended cars to shuttle back and forth between Fifth and Front streets. I have never seen a photo of these cars (there were at least two of them), but we DO know what they looked like! 🧵

From October 1891 to late 1894, the Alder Street branch of the cable car line used double-ended cars to shuttle back and forth between Fifth and Front streets. I have never seen a photo of these cars (there were at least two of them), but we DO know what they looked like! 🧵

Portland's last brand new streetcars, the Brill Master Unit "Broadways," arrived on ships of the Quaker line in April and May 1932. These were the pleasingly thematically-named "San Clemente" (4 cars), "San Simeon" (6), "San Gabriel" (2), and "San Lucas" (the final 3 of 15).

Portland's last brand new streetcars, the Brill Master Unit "Broadways," arrived on ships of the Quaker line in April and May 1932. These were the pleasingly thematically-named "San Clemente" (4 cars), "San Simeon" (6), "San Gabriel" (2), and "San Lucas" (the final 3 of 15).

A 1928 Brubaker aerial photograph is the perfect backdrop to show exactly what the OE/SP Jefferson Street complex looked like. (Note: I'm only showing the passenger lines; there was also a network of freight tracks here, including interconnection between the two companies and the United Railways).

A 1928 Brubaker aerial photograph is the perfect backdrop to show exactly what the OE/SP Jefferson Street complex looked like. (Note: I'm only showing the passenger lines; there was also a network of freight tracks here, including interconnection between the two companies and the United Railways).

There's a fair few photos of the Oregon Electric's triangular Jefferson Street depot, but this 1921 photo is the only one I've ever seen of the Southern Pacific's "Red Electric" Jefferson Street station (right). The track and cars in the photo belonged to the Oregon Electric.

Sometimes I go off on side-quests, just for completeness' sake. Here's a quick history of the Battleship Oregon Memorial Park (1938–1956), because I was trying to work out when the old Oregon Electric Jefferson Street depot was demolished. pdx-streetcar-history.notion.site/Battleship-O...

Sometimes I go off on side-quests, just for completeness' sake. Here's a quick history of the Battleship Oregon Memorial Park (1938–1956), because I was trying to work out when the old Oregon Electric Jefferson Street depot was demolished. pdx-streetcar-history.notion.site/Battleship-O...

The Portland streetcar connection to the Golden Gate Bridge – the Portland-based Pacific Bridge Company's president was Charles F. Swigert, who was involved with the Willamette Bridge Railway Co., the City & Suburban Railway Co., and the Portland Consolidated Railway Co. from 1887–1905.

Today’s streetcar journey was brought to you by car No. 1015, representing the Illinois Terminal Railroad. Last rehabilitated in 2020, it gives a smooth ride!

The visit to the cable car museum did confirm my suspicion that the 12-ft diameter wheel out on Columbia Blvd is a guide sheave to change the direction of the cable around a corner. If it was a turntable sheave it would only be 8 feet across.

This is insanely cool.

First port of call in San Francisco!

Yes, I'm still finding new streetcar companies. The 72nd (!!) company added to the wiki is the Oregon City & Suburban Railway Co., who wanted to build from Oswego to West Linn, then over a new bridge to Oregon City and out to Redland. They failed. pdx-streetcar-history.notion.site/Oregon-City-...

Yes, I'm still finding new streetcar companies. The 72nd (!!) company added to the wiki is the Oregon City & Suburban Railway Co., who wanted to build from Oswego to West Linn, then over a new bridge to Oregon City and out to Redland. They failed. pdx-streetcar-history.notion.site/Oregon-City-...

WEEKLY SITE UPDATE: 3/8/2026 — Articles: 2,360 (+24 this week) Maps: 143 (—) Streetcar companies: 71 (—) Streetcar lines: 80 (—) Interurban lines: 23 (—) People: 9 (—) Rolling stock: 17 (—) Remnants/Removals: 74 (—) Main area of focus: Ford-street and Vista Bridges

Side note: What is it with bridge plaques in Portland all being a year too early with their dates? The Vista Bridge plaque says 1925, when construction started and finished in 1926. The plaque for the Terwilliger Bridge gets both the original span and the Ford Street bridge's dates wrong as well!

The old Ford Street bridge that preceded the Vista Bridge was built by the first Portland Railway Co. in 1904 to carry the new Portland Heights streetcar line across the Jefferson St canyon. They (and their successor companies) owned it, but allowed vehicular traffic to cross it for the public good.

And here's an amazing visualization of the proposed Vista Bridge, also from 1922. Long before Photoshop or computer renderings, someone in the city's public works department has painted this into a photograph. Sure, the perspective is a bit wonky, but this is still beautiful work!

An early elevation drawing of the Vista Avenue Bridge from 1922, four years before it was built. Note the Council Crest streetcar drawn in loving and accurate detail crossing the bridge.

Fans of vintage transit: we recently digitized Series 2285! It documents streetcars and other vehicles owned by the Toronto Railway Company just before it was incorporated into the newly-formed TTC in 1921. https://ow.ly/aSGr50YmHXg

I've always liked this shot (from the PGE website, don't know date or line, but it looks like the same car). Presumably the lower central section was easier for women with the new, slimmer skirts to negotiate.

Apart from some early experiments with splicing together old horsecars, Portland only had one real "Frankenstein" car. Known as "the Dragon," it took two old standard cars in 1914 and slung a conductor's vestibule between them. Underpowered and slow, it was not a success.

Streetcars sometimes got stitched together into weird configurations, but this is definitely one of the strangest that I've seen!

New on the wiki: the full newspaper report on the November 1, 1893 Madison-street bridge streetcar disaster, where seven lives were lost as the East Side Railway's car "Inez" fell through the open draw of the bridge. pdx-streetcar-history.notion.site/It-Was-Swift...

New on the wiki: the full newspaper report on the November 1, 1893 Madison-street bridge streetcar disaster, where seven lives were lost as the East Side Railway's car "Inez" fell through the open draw of the bridge. pdx-streetcar-history.notion.site/It-Was-Swift...

I've broken the short-lived Country Club spur line off into its own page on the site, instead of having information about it buried on the Rose City Park line's page. pdx-streetcar-history.notion.site/Country-Club...

I've broken the short-lived Country Club spur line off into its own page on the site, instead of having information about it buried on the Rose City Park line's page. pdx-streetcar-history.notion.site/Country-Club...

Live from my morning commute: A streetcar mosaic on a bench seat at the Kenton/N Denver MAX station.

A 1956 photo of the partially-cleared area that would soon become the Memorial Coliseum hides a piece of streetcar history down at the bottom right (see detail) – the east side approach to the first Steel Bridge (1888–1912) and an abutment on the shore. Track is still visible on the approach.

Sanborn fire insurance atlases are great for locating old streetcar infrastructure like stables, carbarns and powerhouses. The 1889 atlas of Portland, East Portland and Albina is particularly useful, as it coincides with the "second wave" of streetcar construction. But what is it showing exactly?

From the awesome "Abandoned Rails" Facebook group comes this photo of remnant track along the Kings Heights line on NW Macleay Blvd. This track was laid right on the southern edge of the ROW, so the other rail would have been to the left of this one (and maybe still is).

I absolutely love this photo of a construction crew on the Hawthorne Bridge, c. 1910 – though obviously the name hadn't been settled on as the caption still calls it the "Madison Street Bridge" like its predecessors. Note the standard-gauge streetcar track running under their feet.

I absolutely love this photo of a construction crew on the Hawthorne Bridge, c. 1910 – though obviously the name hadn't been settled on as the caption still calls it the "Madison Street Bridge" like its predecessors. Note the standard-gauge streetcar track running under their feet.

Sidenote: In this early postcard of the Hawthorne Bridge, you can see that there used to be little waiting shelters for pedestrians on either side of the lift segment. At this time, the streetcars ran in the outside lanes of the bridge, so conceivably could have picked passengers up at these points.

Sidenote: In this early postcard of the Hawthorne Bridge, you can see that there used to be little waiting shelters for pedestrians on either side of the lift segment. At this time, the streetcars ran in the outside lanes of the bridge, so conceivably could have picked passengers up at these points.