The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society (OERHS) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, founded in 1957. It owns and operates a

railroad museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives (steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic equ ...

for electric railroad and

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

enthusiasts, and also operates a separate

heritage streetcar Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles. Trains It may concern trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, or have never been removed from service, like UP ...

line, the Willamette Shore Trolley.

History

The group was founded in 1957,"Firm Seeks Corporation" eadline was referring to another entity article reporting OERHS's filing articles of incorporation as a non-profit. ''The Oregonian'', November 1, 1957, p. 16. and is named in honor of the

Oregon Electric Railway The Oregon Electric Railway (OE) was an interurban railroad line in the U.S. state of Oregon that linked Portland to Eugene. Service from Portland to Salem began in January 1908. The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway purchased the system ...

, a former

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

electric rail line in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

. OERHS operated a streetcar museum known as Trolley Park in Glenwood,

Washington County, Oregon Washington County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon and part of the Portland metropolitan area. The 2020 census recorded the population as 600,372, making it the second most populous county in the state and most populous "Wash ...

from 1966"Trolley Park Opens Soon". ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

''. June 26, 1966, p. 35. to 1995. The Trolley Park museum was formally named the

Oregon Electric Railway Museum The Oregon Electric Railway Museum is the largest streetcar/trolley museum in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is owned and operated by the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society and is located in Brooks, Oregon, on the groun ...

, and it retained the latter name when it moved in 1996 from Glenwood to

Brooks, Oregon Brooks is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Brooks as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely ...

Operations

The OERHS currently operates the Willamette Shore Trolley between

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and

Lake Oswego Lake Oswego () is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located about south of Portland and surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town w ...

, as well as the

Brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine * Brooks Township, Michigan ...

.Welcome to the OERHS
Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society. Retrieved May 8, 2016. The museum is on the grounds of

Powerland Heritage Park Powerland Heritage Park, formerly known as Antique Powerland, is a collection of museums and a self-described heritage site for power equipment, such as farm machinery, commercial trucks, trains, construction equipment, and the engines which power ...

, located just west of Interstate-5.

Collection

The OERHS collection includes two former-Portland "Council Crest"

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

streetcars, built in 1904. Other vintage streetcars at the museum include an open-sided car from

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

; double-deckers from Blackpool, England, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

; and two 1940s

PCC streetcar The PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the ...

s from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. The 1912-built Australian streetcar was one of OERHS's first acquisitions, in 1959,"Aussie Train icArrives for Museum" (September 28, 1959). ''The Oregonian'', Section 3, p. 8. but most of the collection comes from U.S. transit systems and railroads. Although mostly concerned with preserving streetcars and electric railway equipment, the OERHS has also collected a modern Boeing-Vertol US SLRV Light-Rail Vehicle from San Francisco

Muni Muni may refer to: Municipal * A common US abbreviation for municipal, municipal services, and the like *Municipal bond *Municipal Bridge, the former name of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky *"Muni", slang for a mu ...

, and has acquired three vintage

trolley bus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es. The entire collection is based in Brooks, but there have been periods when one or two of the group's streetcars were based in Portland or Lake Oswego, for use on the Willamette Shore Trolley line (WST). The last OERHS-owned trolley car to have been used on the WST line, ex-Portland Traction Company Brill "Master Unit" No. 813 (operated on the WST 1996–2010), was moved back to the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Brooks in 2012."Museum News" (August 2012). ''

Tramways & Urban Transit ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthusi ...

'' magazine, p. 317. UK: LRTA Publishing Ltd.

References

External links

* – includes links to the Willamette Shore Trolley and museum.
Old official website
– with some additional links not yet moved to the new website {{Authority control 1957 establishments in Oregon Non-profit organizations based in Oregon Streetcars in Oregon Organizations established in 1957 Historical societies in Oregon

History

Operations

Collection

See also

References

External links