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Oregon
Trolley Systems |
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Portland
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Portland
Vintage Trolley
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Began Operation:
1991
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Miles of Line:
2 (on
portion of LRT sys.)
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Stations:
Numerous
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Org: Transit
Agency + Non-Profit
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Schedule: Weekends
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Photo: John Smatlak
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Portland's
Tri-Met provides vintage trolley service along a two-mile portion of its
light rail system. Gomaco-built replica trolley cars operate between downtown
Portland, and the Lloyd District, a "second downtown" office and
shopping district across the Willamette River. The vintage cars currently
operate on a seasonal schedule, which has changed a few times since
service began. 7-day a week service was originally provided from
May through December, but this was scaled back as additional light rail
lines opened and added additional traffic to the corridor. In recent
years, two cars operate on a Sundays only schedule.
A separate
non-profit corporation, Vintage Trolley
Inc. (VTI), provides policy direction and coordinates funding support
for the trolleys. VTI provides an entity in which public officials, the
business community, and private individuals can work together in a
coordinated fashion with each group contributing the type of funding and
expertise of which it is most capable or qualified. Local merchants
and other financial supporters have the opportunity to sponsor cars, which
then receive the sponsors name on the sides. VTI also recruits,
hires, trains and supervises the on-board conductors. Attired in authentic
uniforms, the conductors interact with passengers in addition to
performing traditional duties like announcing stations and operating the
doors. Operators for the cars are provided directly by Tri-Met.
Virtual
Tour of Portland Vintage Trolley Route
Equipment: The
four replica trolley cars were built by the Gomaco Trolley Company in
1991, and are a modified copy of a locally famous streetcar design known
as the "Council Crest car". The attractive wooden exterior of
the cars provide an appropriate period look, but the cars are quite a bit
more agile than your average vintage trolley. Designed for operation in
the light rail environment, they feature rapid acceleration and braking in
order to operate between runs on the regular LRV schedules. The cars are
also equipped with the Tri-Met's standard Automatic Train Stop and wayside
communication systems.
For
several years, the City
of Portland's Portland
Streetcar, which opened in July 2001, used two of the
vintage cars for service on that line.
Other Portland Area Trolleys:
A group of local agencies also owns a 5.6 mile railroad right-of-way along the Willamette River's western
bank between Portland and Lake
Oswego. The line was
purchased in order to permit future transit use, and is kept active via a
weekends-only Vintage trolley operation. Known as the Willamette Shore
Trolley, the operation is contracted to the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society,
which also operates a trolley museum
at nearby Brooks, Oregon. The line offers weekend
excursions using a tow-behind diesel generator for power.
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| Gomaco
replica cars on the Lloyd Center route |
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| Replica car
interior |
Original car
interior |
Lloyd
Center station |
11th
& Yamhill layover |
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John
Smatlak Photos 
News
/ Updates (scroll down for latest updates):
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Update
4/3/01- Replica Cars Begin Testing On
New Route- On March 18 a test run was made on
the 2.4 mile Portland Streetcar line using one of the Gomaco replica cars.
Update
7/27/01- The new Portland
Streetcar route began operation on July 20. Although it is not a
vintage trolley line, it has many similar characteristics and two of the Gomaco vintage trolley cars
have been assigned to the route for weekend operations.
The new
"low cost" line features all street-running track, and
made extensive use of minimal impact "shallow slab"
construction. Details on the track construction technique are available
from an interesting article
on the Gomaco World web site.
Update
2/13/03-
Two of Tri-Met's Gomaco replica trolleys continue in weekend
service on the Portland Streetcar route. Sunday Vintage Trolley
service also continues on the Lloyd Center Tri-Met route, except
for the winter shutdown during January and February. Portland Streetcar
has been in continuous operation since July 20, 2001. Ridership averages about 4,600 weekdays and 3,600 for Saturdays. Total ridership for the
first year was approximately 1,350,000, which was 150,00 above projections.
In other news, the Portland Streetcar has been given the go ahead to start planning .6 tenths
of a mile extension to RiverPlace. Sources: Portland
Streetcar and Vintage Trolley Inc. websites.
Update
11/3/03- In 2002, the seasonal, Sundays-only, Vintage
Trolley operation on the MAX Lloyd Center Line carried 25,668
passengers, and the weekend operation of the vintage cars on the
Portland Streetcar carried 64,420. The weekend operation of the
vintage cars on the Portland Streetcar was temporarily suspended
in July 2003 pending resolution of towing issues in case of
breakdown. Thanks to Dick Thomson of VTI for the news.
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Update
12/3/03- The APTA Heritage Trolley & Streetcar Task
Force held its Fall meeting in Portland /Tacoma on November 19.
The group traveled by train from Portland to Tacoma to visit the
new city streetcar system there and were treated to a guided tour
of the system. Upon return to Portland, a working meeting of the
Recommended Practices group was held, making additional progress
on a draft safety standard for vintage trolley vehicles.
On
11/20, a group of us visited the three Libson streetcars being
offered for sale by a private party in Portland. The cars were
imported in 1974 and have been stored indoors ever since. The cars
are detailed on the 3trolleys.com
website, and their condition appears to be excellent. The three
cars are, however, 900mm narrow gauge, and so any potential
purchasers will have to either consider a narrow gauge system or
re-gauge the cars.
On
Saturday 11/22, I had the opportunity to ride one of the Gomaco
replica trolleys on the Portland Streetcar route, some photos of
which follow. On weekends one of the replica cars replaces
one of the modern streetcars in the lineup and offers passengers
an enhanced sightseeing opportunity. One of Vintage Trolley Incorporated's
volunteer conductors provides a running narrative as the car
travels along the route. The conductor is stationed on the rear
platform, and greets everyone as they come aboard, answers
questions, and generally does a nice job of serving as a
host.
The
VTI website offers a nice virtual
tour of the route. The development along the route of the
Portland Streetcar is truly phenomenal- major changes were evident
since my last visit two years previous. The system is also being
extended once again. The September issue of Rail Transit Online
provided this report:
A ceremonial groundbreaking for a 0.6-mi. (1 km) extension of the highly successful Portland Streetcar was held at a downtown hotel on Aug. 4. The $18.2-million project will run from the current terminal at Portland State University along Harrison Street to the South Waterfront district. Construction will be done in three-block segments starting with utility relocation in late September or early October, and the line should be open by early 2005. The expansion is being financed by a combination of public and private sources. At the groundbreaking, Mayor Vera Katz said she expects the streetcar to spur economic development and create jobs. City officials are seeking funding for yet another 0.6-mi. streetcar extension that would take the tracks to Southwest Gibbs Street at a cost of about $18 million.
Source- Rail Transit Online
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| Turning
onto Market |
"Old"
meets new at the maintenance facility |
South
end of the line at Portland State University |
Northbound
on 10th at Alder (West End District) |
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| Northbound
on 10th |
Westbound
on Northrup, freight line crossing in foreground |
Northbound
on 10th |
One
of three Libson trolleys offered for sale by a private owner
in Portland. |
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John
Smatlak Photos
2/3/04-
The February 2004 Rail Transit Online contained news relating to
Portland's other Vintage Trolley operation, the Willamette Shore
Trolley. The WST has kept the line active since it was purchased
from Southern Pacific in order to maintain the possibility of
future transit use.
A
preliminary internal study just released by TriMet shows
streetcars, rather than light rail, would be the best transit
solution to connect Portland with nearby Lake Oswego.
The project could be completed for about $70 million,
according to the study, utilizing an existing 5.6 mi. (9 km)
former railroad right-of-way along the Willamette River's western
bank between Southwest Bancroft Street and the center of Lake
Oswego. The cost
estimate includes the purchase of four new streetcars.
The Willamette Shore Trolley already operates on the line
with vintage streetcars using a towed generator.
The 10-station route would connect with a proposed
extension of the Portland Streetcar into the North Macadam Urban
Renewal Area. “A
number of us have gotten very excited about using this alignment
for a streetcar line,” TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen told The
Oregonian. A trip
from downtown Portland would take about 25 min. and cars would run
on a 12-min. headway during rush hours.
The ROW is already publicly owned and infrastructure is in
generally good condition. A
more detailed $300,000 analysis is scheduled to get underway this
fall. The line was
once electrified and, until service stopped in 1929, saw an
intense passenger service operated by Southern Pacific. Source:
Rail Transit Online
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Links
Portland
Streetcar Official Site
Peter's
Pix- Portland Streetcar page
Portland
page on the APTA Heritage Trolley site
Official
Tri-Met Vintage Trolley site
Vintage
Trolley Inc, official site
Gomaco
Trolleys in Portland
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This
page was last updated on 10/11/07
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