Download or read book Portland s Streetcars written by Richard Thompson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Street railways arrived early in Portland and made lasting social and economic contributions that are still apparent in the layout and character of the citys neighborhoods today. During the 1890s, streetcar lines spread rapidly into the West Hills and across the Willamette River. The technological prowess of the growing Rose City was reflected in the largest horsecar in the Northwest, the second steepest cable car grade in the nation, the first true interurban railway, and an annual illuminated trolley parade. By the dawn of the 20th century, Portland could boast of the largest electric railway system in the West, as well as its first eight-wheeled streetcar. The streetcars lasted into the late 1950s here, and then, after a hiatus of nearly 30 years, were rediscovered by a new generation of urban planners. Street railways arrived early in Portland and made lasting social and economic contributions that are still apparent in the layout and character of the citys neighborhoods today. During the 1890s, streetcar lines spread rapidly into the West Hills and across the Willamette River. The technological prowess of the growing Rose City was reflected in the largest horsecar in the Northwest, the second steepest cable car grade in the nation, the first true interurban railway, and an annual illuminated trolley parade. By the dawn of the 20th century, Portland could boast of the largest electric railway system in the West, as well as its first eight-wheeled streetcar. The streetcars lasted into the late 1950s here, and then, after a hiatus of nearly 30 years, were rediscovered by a new generation of urban planners.
Download or read book Portland s Streetcar Lines written by Richard Thompson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2010-10-25 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Portland neighborhoods owe their location, alignment, and growth to a splendid, 19th-century innovation: the streetcar. This city still bears the imprint of the carlines that once wove their way out to suburbs in every direction, including Fulton, Portland Heights, Goose Hollow, Nob Hill, Slabtown, Willamette Heights, Albina, Saint Johns, Irvington, Rose City, Mount Tabor, Montavilla, Mount Scott, and Sellwood. As routes developed, people used them for more than just getting to work; they also discovered the recreational function of street railways while visiting friends, parks, and shopping areas farther from the center of town. The time of the trolley peaked during the 1910s. In 1927, the local street railway system entered a period of slow decline that ended in 1950, when Portlands last city streetcars gave way to buses. This is the history of those classic lines.
Download or read book Slabtown Streetcars written by Richard Thompson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015-08-10 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No area of Portland, Oregon, played a more important role in street railway history than Northwest Portland and the neighborhood known as Slabtown. In 1872, the city's first streetcars passed close to Slabtown as they headed for a terminus in the North End. Slabtown was also home to the first streetcar manufacturing factory on the West Coast. In fact, until locally built streetcars began to be replaced by trolleys from large national builders in the 1910s, more than half of all rolling stock was manufactured in shops located at opposite ends of Northwest Twenty-third Avenue. All streetcars operating on the west side of the Willamette River, including those used on the seven lines that served Northwest Portland, were stored in Slabtown. When the end finally came in 1950, Slabtown residents were riding two of the last three city lines.
Download or read book Sunnyside Streetcars written by Richard Thompson and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Streetcars played a key role in the frenzy of development that followed completion of the first bridges across the Willamette River in Portland in 1887. As carlines radiated eastward, a revolutionary shift in population saw suburban neighborhoods like Sunnyside spring up overnight. In 1888, the first steam streetcars expanded the city of East Portland beyond the limits imposed by horse-drawn transportation. Within a year, "motor" lines were running north and south of Mount Tabor and local entrepreneurs, prompted by opposition to locomotives rumbling over city streets, were experimenting with new-fangled battery, gasoline and electric-powered streetcars. In 1889, Southeast Portland residents raised their own money to fund one of the first electric street railways in the country. By 1891, rival companies had merged to form the largest streetcar system in the West. The process would continue into the early twentieth century, as Portland built the third largest system of its type in the United States. Most of its carlines would serve Southeast Portland, operating from the city's largest carbarn complex. This is the colorful story of those sixteen lines, from the first steam dummy to Sunnyside in 1888 to the last trolleys to Mount Tabor and Montavilla sixty years later.
Download or read book Lost Oregon Streetcars written by Richard Thompson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2017-01-30 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The streetcars that plied Oregon's small-town streets were every bit as diverse as those in Portland and their history even more fascinating. Learn of the devastating 1922 fire that scorched Astoria's plank road railways and put a halt to its once-thriving streetcar network. Muse over the tale of a beloved white horse named Old Charlie that proved more efficient at powering Albany's streetcars than the alternative steam locomotive. Laugh at the spectacle of university students being carted back to their dormitories on the Eleventh Street Line's special midnight "drunk express" trains. Take pride in the tiny town of Cherry Grove, which became the first in the West to embrace new battery technology. Local historian Richard Thompson celebrates the lost trolley lines that transported Oregon's people across the state for decades.
Download or read book St Johns Streetcars written by Richard Thompson and published by America Through Time. This book was released on 2022-01-24 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Examining the Development Effects of Modern era Streetcars written by Jeffrey Richard Brown and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most U.S. cities pursuing streetcars are doing so primarily for their purported development effects, as opposed to for their transportation role, yet there is little evidence about the nature or magnitude of these development effects due to a scarcity of rigorous, empirical research. Most available work simply presents descriptive information about development outcomes (typically measured as changes in population, employment, land values, or permit activity) within streetcar corridors as indicators of the streetcar’s development effects. Alternate factors which may have influenced such results are often not considered, placing into question the validity of such measures. This study examines the development effects of streetcar investments in two U.S. cities that implemented streetcar service between 2000 and 2010: Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. The authors explore the development outcomes (here measured as the number of permits issued) through a combination of statistical analysis of development activity in the streetcar corridor and interviews with key streetcar stakeholders. The statistical results indicate that areas around Portland’s initial streetcar line experienced higher levels of development activity (more permits issued) than areas not served by the streetcar, although the differences in activity between served and not served areas since the opening of the second line have been insignificant. In Seattle, the areas around the streetcar line in the South Lake Union neighborhood experienced greater commercial development activity (commercial permits issued) but less residential activity than nearby unserved areas. The interviews provide important local context for the interpretation of the empirical results and highlight the continued importance of development as a rationale for streetcar investments, as well as to the limitations of the streetcar as a transportation service.
Download or read book Portland Streetcar written by Portland Streetcar Inc and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 1 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Portland Stairs Book written by Laura O. Foster and published by Timber Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Portland has 196 public staircases, an irresistible asset to this pedestrian-friendly city. In The Portland Stairs Book, Portland's walking guru Laura Foster has gathered the best and most interesting in a handy pocket-sized guide. From Mount Tabor's epic 282 steps to the glass cupola atop 115 steps in Pioneer Courthouse, The Portland Stairs Book features details on twenty outdoor stairs that have amazing stories and something unique to offer an urban explorer. The stairs include the Willamette River Bridge Stairs, The Westover Terraces Steps, and Rocky Butte's Grand Staircase. The book also features indoor stairs that are perfect for a rainy Portland day and five Stair Trails that lead readers on urban treks that contain hundreds of steps in five different areas of town.
Download or read book Portland s Interurban Railway written by Richard Martin Thompson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the end of the 19th century, Portland led the nation in the development of interurban electric railways. The city became the hub of an electric rail network that spread throughout the Willamette Valley. This is the story of the pioneering local railways that started it all as they built south along the Willamette River to Oregon City and east to Estacada and Bull Run in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. More than 200 historic images illustrate Portland's Interurban Railway from its rudimentary beginnings through the peak years, when passengers rode aboard the finest examples of the car builders' art, to the sudden end in 1958.
Download or read book Fares Please written by John T. Labbe and published by . This book was released on 1980-08-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Portland Streetcar Diary written by Portland Railway, Light, and Power Company and published by . This book was released on 1908 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diary kept by various streetcar supervisors or conductors in Portland, Oregon, probably on lines owned by the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company. Includes details of accidents, passengers, track conditions, and other activities.
Download or read book Trains Buses People written by Christof Spieler and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the best transit cities in the US? The best Bus Rapid Transit lines? The most useless rail transit lines? The missed opportunities? In the US, the 25 largest metropolitan areas and many smaller cities have fixed guideway transit—rail or bus rapid transit. Nearly all of them are talking about expanding. Yet discussions about transit are still remarkably unsophisticated. To build good transit, the discussion needs to focus on what matters—quality of service (not the technology that delivers it), all kinds of transit riders, the role of buildings, streets and sidewalks, and, above all, getting transit in the right places. Christof Spieler has spent over a decade advocating for transit as a writer, community leader, urban planner, transit board member, and enthusiast. He strongly believes that just about anyone—regardless of training or experience—can identify what makes good transit with the right information. In the fun and accessible Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit, Spieler shows how cities can build successful transit. He profiles the 47 metropolitan areas in the US that have rail transit or BRT, using data, photos, and maps for easy comparison. The best and worst systems are ranked and Spieler offers analysis of how geography, politics, and history complicate transit planning. He shows how the unique circumstances of every city have resulted in very different transit systems. Using appealing visuals, Trains, Buses, People is intended for non-experts—it will help any citizen, professional, or policymaker with a vested interest evaluate a transit proposal and understand what makes transit effective. While the book is built on data, it has a strong point of view. Spieler takes an honest look at what makes good and bad transit and is not afraid to look at what went wrong. He explains broad concepts, but recognizes all of the technical, geographical, and political difficulties of building transit in the real world. In the end,Trains, Buses, People shows that it is possible with the right tools to build good transit.
Download or read book Portland Hill Walks written by Laura O. Foster and published by Timber Press. This book was released on 2013-03-26 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Portland Hill Walks features twenty-four miniature adventures stocked with stunning views, hidden stairways, leafy byways, urban forests, and places to sit, eat, and soak in the local scene. The revised and updated edition offers five new walks in addition to the well-loved classics, with new contemporary and historical photos and easier-to-follow directions. Whether you feel like meandering through old streetcar neighborhoods or climbing a lava dome, there is a hill walk for every mood. New walks take you up to Willamette Stone State Park, across the St. Johns Bridge, down to the South Waterfront (with a ride on the aerial tram), along a stream in Gresham, and up Mounts Talbert and Scott. Portland is a walking city, and Portland Hill Walks will inspire you to enjoy it to its fullest!
Download or read book Fares Please written by John T. Labbe and published by Caxton Press. This book was released on 1980 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Track Design Handbook for Light Rail Transit written by and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2012 with total page 695 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TCRP report 155 provides guidelines and descriptions for the design of various common types of light rail transit (LRT) track. The track structure types include ballasted track, direct fixation ("ballastless") track, and embedded track. The report considers the characteristics and interfaces of vehicle wheels and rail, tracks and wheel gauges, rail sections, alignments, speeds, and track moduli. The report includes chapters on vehicles, alignment, track structures, track components, special track work, aerial structures/bridges, corrosion control, noise and vibration, signals, traction power, and the integration of LRT track into urban streets.
Download or read book Willamette Valley Railways written by Richard Thompson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Willamette Valley Railways tells the story of the electric interurban railways that ran through Oregon's Willamette Valley and of the streetcars that operated in the towns they served. Long before modern light rail vehicles, electric trains were providing Portland and the Willamette Valley with reliable, elegant transportation that was second to none. Between 1908 and 1915, two large systems, the Oregon Electric Railway and the Southern Pacific Red Electrics, joined smaller competitors constructing railways throughout the region. Portland became the hub of an impressive interurban network in a frenzy of electric railway building. Yet all too soon, this brief but glorious interurban era was over. Highway improvement and the growth of automobile ownership made electric passenger trains unprofitable in the sparsely populated valley. By the early 1930s, the company that had launched the nation's first true interurban was the only one still offering passenger service here.
