The Southern Pacific operated a relatively huge Interurban system in Oregon. The line started in Portland. One line ran through Bertha on out to Beaverton, Hillsboro, Forest Grove then to McMinnville. The other line went south to Lake Oswego then headed through Tualatin, Sherwood, Newburg and McMinnville. At this point the line turned south and through Amity, Independence and ending in Corvallis. There had been plans to extend the electrification to Eugene, but that never happened. The Red Electric was actually called the Portland Eugene & Eastern. It also operated the Streetcar Lines of Salem, Eugene & Albany.

Currently the OERHS operates on a portion of the former Red Electric Route. The Willamette Shore Trolley runs on the Red Electric between Lake Oswego and RiverPlace. A History of the Willamette Shore Trolley is already on line.

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Since the OERHS one of the mission statements of the OERHS is to educate, this page is dedicated to providing history of Traction operations in the Pacific Northwest. If you have any articles that you would like to submit, please send them to the Webmaster.

Page last updated 02/06/05