Plans and drawings relating to public transportation in Oregon
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of plans and drawings relating to the design and construction of streetcars, train cars, buses, and buildings for transportation companies. A significant number of these are plans and drawings either produced by or in the possession of Portland Railway, Light & Power Company (later Portland General Electric). Other firms represented in the collection include Oregon Railway and Navigation Company; Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway; and Oregon Water Power & Railway Company. Many of the drawings in this collection have an alphanumeric label written on them, which is noted in the item's title. Architectural drawings for buildings in this collection are primarily for facilities for streetcar and railroad employees and equipment, though they include a number of drawings for a proposed railway station in Mt. Angel, Oregon, and for a proposed hotel in Albany, Oregon, to be managed by Oregon Electric Railway. The collection also contains plans and drawings for other vehicles and sites, such as motorized shovels and landscape plans for a railway station rose garden.
Dates
- 1885-1943
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Historical Note
In the 1890s, electric streetcars began replacing horse-drawn trolleys in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan era. Initially, a number of competing companies operated these streetcars. However, in 1906, many of these companies consolidated into the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company (PRL&P). Streetcars provided service throughout Portland, and to nearby towns via interurban lines. Ridership peaked in the early 1920s, and the increasing popularity of the automobile led to a decline in riders. City streetcar lines were converted into bus lines in 1950, and interurban trains ceased operation in 1958. Electric mass transit returned to Portland in the 1980s through the opening of Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (Tri-Met) light rail lines, and a new streetcar line launched in 2001.
Sources: "Portland Streetcar System," by Richard Thompson, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/portland_streetcar_system/#.Y1AaLXbMIuU; "Fares, Please! Those Portland Trolley Years," by John T. Labbe, 1980.
Extent
1.25 Cubic Feet (9 oversize folders (36x48); 5 oversize folders (30x42))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Plans and drawings for streetcars, trains, and buses, as well as for related buildings of streetcar and railroad companies. Many of the plans in this collection were either produced or otherwise used by Portland Railway, Light & Power Company, which operated streetcars in Portland, Oregon, in the early 20th century.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged in four series: Series 1. Streetcars and trains; Series 2. Buses; Series 3. Buildings; Series 4. Other vehicles, equipment, and sites.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials acquired through a variety of donations in the mid- and late 20th century. Three plans relating to Portland Railway, Light & Power Company gift of George W. Blair, January 1975 (Lib. Acc. 13164)
Separated Materials
Charcoal drawing of a train car was separated and processed as Coll 923, the Karl F. Koch charcoal drawing of a train car; maps and schematic relating to the Oregon Copper Company were separated to Mss 1032, the Oregon Copper Company records, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Processing Information
Collection was initially processed in 2009, with materials pulled from the Architecture collection, Mss 1525. Collection was reprocessed and arranged in 2022. During reprocessing, some materials that were out of this collection's scope were removed and processed separately as Coll 923 or added to the Oregon Copper Company records, Mss 1032. Collection was titled "Portland, Oregon, streetcar blueprints and drawings" prior to 2022.
Item titles in the collection are based on the information on the item. Where the meaning of acronyms or abbreviations could not be determined, they are written in the item title as they appear on the item.
- Architectural Drawings
- Buses -- Design and construction
- Electric railroads -- Cars -- Design and construction
- Portland Railway, Light, and Power Company
- Railroads -- Buildings and structures -- Oregon -- Designs and plans
- Street-railroads -- Buildings and structures -- Oregon -- Designs and plans
- Transportation
- architectural drawings (visual works)
- blueprints (reprographic copies)
- Title
- Guide to the plans and drawings relating to public transportation in Oregon
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Michele Fricke and Geoffrey B. Wexler; revised by Jeffrey A. Hayes
- Date
- 2009; revised 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2022: Revised to conform to current best practices and reflect rearrangement.
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org