Willamette Shore Trolley
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The Willamette Shore Trolley is a heritage railway trolley which travels along the west bank of the Willamette River between Portland and Lake Oswego in Oregon, on a train line known as the Jefferson Street Branch Line. The line runs for about six miles, including a passage through the quarter-mile-long Elk Rock Tunnel. The current Portland terminal is at SW Bancroft St. (& Moody St.) in the new high-density South Waterfront neighborhood now under construction. The Lake Oswego Terminal is downtown at State St.
Its right-of-way was established in the mid-1880s by the Portland and Willamette Valley Railroad, which began steam-powered service on July 4, 1887. It provided Oswego (as Lake Oswego was known then) with a direct link to Portland. Prior to this, access to Oswego was limited to primitive roads and river boats.
The line was later purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Southern Pacific widened the line from narrow gauge to standard gauge, and electrified it in 1914. This led to its peak in passenger travel in 1920, when 64 trains traveled daily between the two cities. By October 5, 1929, passenger service ended, though the line was used for freight until 1983.
In August 1984, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted Southern Pacific permission to abandon the line. This prompted several local governments in the area to establish a not-for-profit corporation to acquire the line and preserve the right-of-way for future mass transit. The line was purchased in 1988. Since 1990, the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society has operated the trolley service.
There are tentative plans to convert the line into an extension of the Portland Streetcar, through Johns Landing and into Lake Oswego. Opponents of these plans, including some residents along the line who would prefer that the line be abandoned, question the use of the mostly federal tax dollars to fund what they'd expect to be an unprofitable service.
As a tourist attraction, the line is most popular on the Fourth of July, when the Oaks Amusement Park fireworks display is viewable along the river, and in mid-December, when the area's Christmas Ship Fleet parade on the Willamette can be viewed.
