The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P) was a railway company and electric power utility in

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 ...

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 ...

, United States, from 1906 until 1924.Thompson, Richard M. (2006). ''Portland's Streetcars'', pp. 57 and 99.

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...

. .

History

A series of mergers of various transportation companies in 1905–1906Labbe, John T. (1980). ''Fares Please! Those Portland Trolley Years'', pp. 118–123. Caldwell, ID (US):

Caxton Caxton may refer to: Places * Caxton Street, Brisbane, Australia * Caxton, Cambridgeshire, a village in Cambridgeshire, UK ** Caxton Gibbet, a knoll near the village * Caxton Hall, a historic building in London, UK * Caxton Building, a historic ...

. . culminating in the merger of the Portland Street Railway Company; Oregon Water, Power and Railway Company; and the Portland General Electric Company on June 28, 1906, established the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P). Nearly 200 miles of track and 375 urban and

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 ...

streetcars were thereupon consolidated under a single company. Upon its formation, PRL&P became the only company to operate

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 ...

s within Portland city limits; it also continued to sell electric power. The name,

Portland General Electric Portland General Electric (PGE) is a Fortune 1000 public utility based in Portland, Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - 44% of the inhabitants of O ...

(PGE), remained in use as a division of PRL&P and, after subsequent reorganizations in 1930 and 1940 eventually PGE became once again fully independent as a power utility company, making PGE in some ways both an ancestor and a descendant of PRL&P. The company's interurban lines used

standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

track, with the exception of the line to

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

, while most of its urban (or "city") lines were narrow-gauge, specifically 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm) gauge. A few lines in the southeast part of the city were standard-gauge, converted from narrow gauge in December 1908 for efficiency, so that they could operate out of PRL&P's Sellwood carbarn, which was closer to the area those lines served but was only equipped for standard-gauge operation. By 1910, PRL&P was a $15 million

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

, having received 43 franchises from the city of Portland, mostly in the form of

land grants A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

. It was a monopoly, and "liable to anti-trust action under the

Sherman Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. Th ...

." The company only installed safety devices (such as pedestrian bumpers) on its streetcars after "extreme public pressure." While PRL&P installed many public streetlights, the city council complained about the power rates charged to the city. PRL&P's president, Franklin Griffith, was part of the corruption and graft surrounding Mayor George Luis Baker; Griffith and others paid off Baker's mortgage. PRL&P was reorganized as the Portland Electric Power Company (PEPCO) on April 26, 1924. Two former PRL&P streetcar buildings are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Bay E of the West Ankeny Carbarns was listed in 1978, and the Sellwood Division Carbarn Office and Clubhouse was listed in 2002. The company's 1911 hydroelectric facility in

Estacada, Oregon Estacada is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, about southeast of Portland. The 2020 population is estimated to be 3,700. According to the 2010 census, the population in 2010 was 2,695. It is the 89th largest city in Oregon and t ...

, the River Mill Hydroelectric Project, is also listed on the NRHP.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Oregon railroads Electric power companies of the United States Streetcars in Oregon Electric railways in Oregon Transportation in Portland, Oregon History of Portland, Oregon Portland General Electric 1906 establishments in Oregon History of transportation in Oregon 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in the United States Standard gauge railways in the United States Tram, urban railway and trolley companies

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links