Regular Service, Extensions
Regular, seasonal vintage streetcar service began operation on July 6, 1990, now named the Willamette Shore Trolley. A private company named Gales Creek Enterprises was the operator for the first five seasons, under contract with the City of Lake Oswego. A 1913-built streetcar originally from San Antonio, Texas, was used, with a diesel-powered generator trailer again employed to provide electricity to the streetcar.
In 1993, a half-mile of new track was laid in Lake Oswego, permitting extension of the trolley service south to a terminus just south of A Avenue, much closer to the city center. The ticket office was then relocated into a small building owned by Southern Pacific at the new Lake Oswego terminus, and since that time, round-trip excursions have started at the line's south end, rather than in Portland. The contract with Gales Creek Enterprises was not renewed when it expired at the end of 1994.
In 1995, the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society again became the operator of the trolley service, now on a longer-term basis, under contract to Lake Oswego. Trolley operation resumed in August, 1995, initially using a former Sydney, Australia open-sided streetcar, but only as a temporary substitute until the intended car could be moved to the line. This was 1928-built Blackpool tram 48, the same double-deck trolley which OERHS had operated on the Willamette Shore line for a few months in fall 1987. The double-decker entered service on Nov. 24, 1995. It was joined in December 1996 by another streetcar in OERHS's collection, a 1932 Brill "Master Unit"-type streetcar which had spent its entire working life in Portland, where the cars of that model gained the nickname "Broadway cars", from the route they first served.
In April 1997, the line was extended from its north end, to the RiverPlace district, increasing its overall length to about 7 miles (11 km). However, that section was last used in September 2003, and service was thereafter cut back to a new terminal located immediately south of Bancroft Street. The Blackpool double-decker was taken out of regular use on the Willamette Shore Trolley in late 2003 and was moved in May 2006 to OERHS's museum, the Oregon Electric Railway Museum, in Brooks, Oregon. Since then, the 1932 Portland Brill streetcar, No. 813, has been the only streetcar serving the WST line.
Service is provided on a seasonal basis, rather than year-round, the regular operating season normally lasting from May to October, followed by limited operation on a few dates during the Christmas and holiday season, in December each year.
For most of 2009, all service was suspended, so as to permit work to rehabilitate the line's four trestle bridges. The longest of these is Riverwood Trestle, which is 686 feet (209 m) long and about 75 feet (23 m) high.
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.
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