Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Oregon Electric Railway Museum at Antique Powerland

The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society was founded in 1957. The OERHS negotiated a lease of property in Glenwood, Oregon that was the former headquarters of the Consolidated Timber Company and the Gales Creek & Wilson River Railroad, which was abandoned in 1950 and the tracks pulled up, but the railroad grade and shop buildings remained. The OERHS laid new tracks and hung catenary wires to turn the property into a Trolley Park, which opened around 1967. This was a secluded, wooded, rural area that wasn't near any major cities or other tourist attractions. In 1995, in an effort to have a better location, the OERHS, signed a lease at Antique Powerland, and the Glenwood Trolley Park closed in October, 1995. All of the trolleys and equipment were moved to Brooks and the tracks at Glenwood removed. Trolley operation at Antique Powerland began in 1999.

Brian McCamish visited the site of the Glenwood Trolley Park in 2005, click here for photos.

IMG_4922 Oregon Electric Railway Museum Interpretive Center Under Construction at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on July 31, 2010
Oregon Electric Railway Museum Interpretive Center under construction at Antique Powerland on July 31, 2010

The Oregon Electric Railway Museum's new Interpretive Center was under construction during the 2010 Great Oregon Steam Up.

(This section includes links to historical photographs of some of the trolleys and trolleybuses at Antique Powerland. Sources for these photos include Dave's Electric Railroads, Trainnet.org, nycsubway.org, Richard C. DeArmond's Electric Trolley Bus Web Site, and Tom's North American Trolley Bus Pictures.

Here is a video taken from aboard trolley #1187 during its trip around Antique Powerland during the 2008 Great Oregon Steam-Up on August 3, 2008.

Riding the Trolley at the 2008 Great Oregon Steam-Up

IMG_8163 Wig-Wag Signal at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 4, 2007
Magnetic Flagman “Wigwag” Signal at Antique Powerland during the Great Oregon Steam-Up on August 4, 2007

Part of the Trolley Line includes this Magnetic Flagman, or Wigwag, crossing signal, made by the Magnetic Signal Company of Los Angeles, California. These signals were installed in the early 1900s until the 1940s. This wigwag was removed from another location in Oregon, donated to the OERHS and installed in 2002 when the trolley line extension to the Brooks depot was added. Here is a short video of trolley #1187 passing the wigwag.

Trolley Passing Wigwag at the 2007 Great Oregon Steam-Up

Related Links:
Willamette Shore Trolley
Portland Vintage Trolleys
PdxHistory.com
Roster of Preserved N. American Electric Ry. Cars by the Branford Electric Railway Assoc.
Dave's Electric Railroads
Trainnet.org
www.nycsubway.org
Richard C. DeArmond's Electric Trolley Bus Web Site
Tom's North American Trolley Bus Pictures
Brian McCamish's Active & Abandoned Railroads of the Pacific Northwest

Since 1995, the OERHS has also operated the Willamette Shore Trolley between Portland and Lake Oswego, Oregon. Several of the society's trolleys have been used on this line. "Broadway Car" #813 was assigned to the Willamette Shore Trolley line in 2004 and remained there until being moved to Antique Powerland in June 2012. Even though I photographed #813 on the Willamette Shore Trolley line, I am including it here.

Portland Traction “Broadway Car” #813
New South Wales Government Tramways Tram #1187
Blackpool Corporation Tramways Tram #48
British Columbia Electric Railways Interurban Car #1304
Serviço de Transportes Colectivos do Porto Tram #210
Portland Street Railway "Council Crest Cars” #503 & #506
Portland Electric Power Company Interurban Car #1067
East Side Railway Snow Sweeper #1455
Los Angeles Railway H-Class Streetcar #1318
Hong Kong Tramways Tram #12
Mt. Hood Railway & Power Company Interurban Car #1191
Tacoma Railway & Power Company Streetcar #326
San Francisco Municipal Railway PCC Cars #1118 & #1159
San Francisco Municipal Railway Light Rail Vehicle #1213
Trolleybuses
Freight Motors
Diesel Locomotives
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway Caboose #713
Portland General Electric Bull Run Flume Work Train
Misc. Railroad Equipment

Continue to Portland Traction “Broadway Car” #813

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