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 most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

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

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

. .

History

Map Showing Lines of the Portland Railway Light and Power Company Portland Oregon June 1912

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. . 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 Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

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

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

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, ''Fortune'' 1000, publicly-traded energy company based in Portland, Oregon, that generates, transmits and distributes electricity, serving almost two-thirds of Oregon's commercial and industria ...

(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 in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

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 (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

, 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 Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

, 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 and consequently prohibits unfair monopolies. It was passed by Congress and is named for ...

." 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 Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

(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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. 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, Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, about southeast of Portland, Oregon, Portland. The population was 4,356 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 5,421 in 20 ...

, 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