The Oregon Electric Railway Museum is the largest streetcar/trolley museum in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is owned and operated by the

Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society (OERHS) is a non-profit organization in the U.S. state of Oregon, founded in 1957. It owns and operates a railroad museum for electric railroad and streetcar enthusiasts, and also operates a separate ...

and is located in

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 co ...

, 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 ...

(formerly known as Antique Powerland).

History

Carbarn at the Trolley Park museum (Glenwood, Ore

The original museum opened in Glenwood, about west of

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 ...

, in 1959, with the first operation of streetcars taking place in 1963Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 90. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. .Price, J. H. (August 1978). "Museum News", five-page article about OERHS and its museum in Glenwood. ''

Modern Tramway Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

'', pp. 270–273, 276. UK:

Ian Allan Publishing Ian Allan Publishing was an English publisher, established in 1942, which specialised in transport books. It was founded by Ian Allan. In 1942 Ian Allan, then working in the public relations department for the Southern Railway at Waterloo st ...

. and regular operation in 1966. It was named Glenwood Electric Railway "''Trolley Park"'' or, more commonly, ''the Trolley Park'', but its formal name in later years was the same as that of the present museum. The Glenwood museum was built on the site of a former steam

logging railroad A forest railway, forest tram, timber line, logging railway or logging railroad is a mode of railway transport which is used for forestry tasks, primarily the transportation of felling, felled logs to sawmills or railway stations. In most cases th ...

,Marsh, Willard W. (March 29, 1983). "Trolley Museum: Head for Glenwood if a trip aboard a vintage streetcar is your desire". ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'', p. C4. and OERHS re-equipped the former sawmill building of the Consolidated Timber Company as a four-track carbarn. The museum property occupied about ,Pierce, J. Kingston (September 7, 1982). "The Land of Lost Trolleys: These old streetcars from days gone by have found a home at the Trolley Park". '' The Valley Times'' (Beaverton, Oregon), pp. C1–C2. and trolley cars were able to operate on a line. Operation at the Glenwood site ended in autumn 1995.

Current operations

Brooks carbarn exterior - wide view (2016)

The current museum opened in Brooks in 1996. The museum consists of about one mile of mainline track with

overhead wire An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...

. There is a four-track carbarn to store the international collection of streetcars. The museum is open from May through October with trolley operations on Saturdays. The big event of the year is the annual ''Steam-Up'', held on the last weekend of July and the first weekend of August. Thousands of riders use the trolley during these two weekends.

Collection

References

". Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/AntiquePowerland {{authority control 1959 establishments in Oregon Museums established in 1959 Museums in Marion County, Oregon Railroad museums in Oregon Street railway museums in the United States Streetcars in Oregon Historical society museums in Oregon Heritage railroads in Oregon

History

Current operations

Collection

See also

References

External links