Trolley Tuesday 11/9/2021 - The Southern Pacific's Red Electric Lines ...Revisited

Welcome to another rewrite of an old Trolley Tuesday classic, this time one that never actually made it from Twitter to Blogger! Despite having a wealth of interurban traction holdings in Marin County, San Francisco's East Bay, and down in Los Angeles, the Southern Pacific Railway's Oregonian odysseys were more short-lived, being used as a weapon in a mighty railroad war instead of the usual reason of boosting real estate values. Nevertheless, from 1914 to 1929, the mighty "Red Electrics" ruled the Willamette River's west banks as the Evergreen State's state of the art, largest, and fastest interurban line. On today's Trolley Tuesday, let's look back on what made the Red Electrics so memorable.

War, War Never Changes

Alright lads, make sure you share your picture space fairly. No, Mr. Harriman, Hill's portrait is not larger than yours.

(Austin Daily Herald, Internet Book Archive)

A westbound Oregon Rail & Navigation train east of Celio Falls, 1900s.
(Historic Photo Archive, Portland)

James J. Hill and Edward H. Harriman were, to put it mildly, very greedy men. After all, they owned two of the largest railroads in America, the Northern Pacific (NP) and the Union Pacific (UP), respectively. In the 1890s, as the two were finding roots in the Pacific Northwest, Hill had built his line to Portland on the north side of the mighty Columbia Gorge (today a BNSF line), while Harriman had the Oregon Rail & Navigation Company build a line on the south bank past Multnomah Falls (today a UP line). Recognizing the two were in direct competition with each other, Hill and Harriman pooled their resources together to create the "Northern Securities Company", the largest conglomeration of railroads at the time that swallowed up the NP, Great Northern (GN), and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) in 1901, with Hill and Harriman in control. (If this is sounding very familiar, the same merger happened in 1971 that created the Burlington Northern, precursor to the modern BNSF).

A map of the Great Northern Railways' reach by 1900, with the Columbia Gorge line seen
splitting off to the southwest towards Portland. Note the "projected line" between Seattle and Portland
that birthed the Spokane, Portland, & Seattle Railway in 1906.
(DWK Commentaries) 

BULLY, A CHALLENGE! / I LOVE COMPETITION!
(Library of Congress)

The large holding company led to a brief period of non-competition between Hill and Harriman, as through gritted teeth and false smiles, the two allowed one-another's trains to run on each other's lines in and out of Portland. However, while this peace was established, it did not stop the Big Stick from coming down and striking the two men senseless. In 1902, then-President Theodore Roosevelt sued Northern Securities for breaching the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, after a period of speculation where Harriman and Hill vied for control of the CB&Q. In a daring trial that was the first of many Roosevelt would spearhead over his presidency, the Justice Department ruled that Northern Securities had to be split up. This, in turn, eliminated the original non-competition clause between Hill and Harriman, forcing the two back into direct competition. Interestingly, the same antitrust act was later leveled at Harriman himself, forcing his divestment of the UP and SP as a combined system. Hill later formed the Spokane, Portland & Seattle (SP&S) in 1906 to stop Harriman's further growth into Oregon, which came with its own interurban line.

Oregon Electric Special Train No. X51 at West Woodburn, posed for the photographers.
(Oregon Electric Railway Museum)

Steam Gives Way To Wire

A Portland Eugene & Eastern Railway streetcar in Eugene, 1900s.
(Lane County Historical Museum)

Now that we've established the corporate side of things, let's turn to the streetcar side. After the opening of the SP&S's Oregon Electric (OE) in 1912, the SP was feeling as if something was lacking in the Pacific Northwest. Just a couple years prior, E.H. Harriman finally passed away and the company gained its biggest interurban holding by buying the remaining shares of the Pacific Electric Railway from its original owner, Henry Huntington. This led to the "Great Merger of 1911" and an increased transportational presence in many Californians' daily lives as now the SP handled local passenger and steam railroad service. Thus, with new territory in Oregon yet undiscovered, the company decided that another electric railway had to be set up. With so many steam railroad branches unelectrified, they became a costly chore to operate, leading many bean-counters to consider modern electrification. The SP's top brass agreed and decided to start this electrification through a shell company to throw off any antitrust suspicion, that shell company being the Portland, Eugene and Eastern Railway (PE&E).

A McKeen car belonging to the Oregon & California Railroad,
an SP subsidiary that provided boonie service to outlying towns.
(McKeenCar.com)

A Portland Eugene & Eastern interurban car bound for Salem Heights.
(Albin Kampfer)

The PE&E was originally the brainchild of Alvadore Welch, a local land developer who owned the streetcars in Salem, Eugene, and Corvallis. SP added another two lines, the Sheridan and Willamina Railroad and the Willamette Falls Railway shortly after, with electrification happening rapidly after purchase. By SP's own rough estimate, they could have every line they had (other than the mainline between Oregon and California) electrified by the mid-1920s, and threw everything they had into making the system more attractive than its rivals on the OE. The trains, this far in the future, were to be made with all-steel bodies, running on 1500V DC, and dressed in a handsome maroon color that led to them being nicknamed "Red Electrics", while the track and infrastructure was similarly upgraded. In just two years, from purchasing the PE&E in 1912 to the first trains running on January 17, 1914, the Red Electrics were up and running, and flagrantly flaunting themselves in front of the more-stolid-looking OE trains. After 1915, the PE&E name was dropped in favor of the more catchy "Red Electric" nickname.

The "Oswego Local" No. 319 at Portland's Union Station, mid-1910s.
(Old Oregon Photos)

The Red Electrics Roam

A map of the SP's red electrics at its height, showing the "Yamhill Loop" between Portland
and McMinnville, as well as the mainline to Corvallis and local stops to Portland's Union Station.
A larger, more legible version can be found here.
(Multnomah Historical Association)

A Red Electric train on the move past Cemetery Station on
the Eastside Line, south of Portland.
(PDX History)

At its peak, the Red Electrics ran 64 trains on 180 miles of track between Portland and Eugene with lines on both sides of the Willamette River. Their main line to Corvallis (with connections to Eugene) was completed three years later, in 1917, and a new 109-mile loop serving Forest Grove and Lake Oswego opened shortly after. The Yamhill Loop, as it was called, was split into two sections: the "Westside" line serving Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Forest grove, and the "Eastside" line serving Oswego, Tualatin, and Newberg. Local steam railroad connections included service to Oregon City and Salem on the east side of the Willamette River, as well as connections from Hillsboro to the Oregon Coast at Tillamook via Manhattan and Rockaway Beach. With such a large swath of the Oregon coast and Willamette River Valley under the Red Electrics, enough to even have its own Wells Fargo Mail service, SP assumed this would lead to intense land development in Central Oregon. Unfortunately, they had to hold their breath on that one, as by 1920, none of that growth had happened. SP stuck to just upgrading the rest of their un-electrified lines soon after, as it was not financially viable to spread out where no growth was predicted.

The Elk Rock Tunnel on the Eastside Line, which opened in 1921, was the last
major expansion/improvement of the Red Electrics.
(PDX History)

Notable Rolling Stock

A Red Electric train at Union Station.
(Warren Wing)

The interior of ex-Portland Twelve PE No. 1252, showing
how plain the Red Electrics were inside.
(Ira L. Swett)

Given the Red Electric's short lifespan, it's no wonder they only fielded one type of interurban car. Despite having a plethora of old streetcars that operated in Eugene, the whole hundred-miles-or-so were run by modern, fast, and safe Pullman 57-foot steel interurban cars. Their short length, contrasting the immense Blimps of the Oakland-Alameda-Berkeley Lines, allowed them to nimbly navigate streetcar curves in the city while keeping to time and remaining safe as could be on the lines outside the city. Their width was similarly slender, at a svelte 9'2" compared to the 10' of most steam railroad and heavy interurban cars. Underneath, the motor cars were equipped with four GE 222D motors that produced 560 horsepower, enabling them to keep up with their quick schedules. Inside, the trains were not as lavishly appointed as the OE's rolling luxury parlors and sleepers but were respite enough for weary commuters. The only luxurious accoutrements were the green-tinted stained glass standee windows and leather walk-over seats.

The Eastside Local shows off its handsome lines while posed for
a photograph, with Wells Fargo Car No. 664 on the lead.
(Richard Thompson)

A three-car local is snowed in at Reedville on the
Westside Line, year unknown.
(PDX History) 

Thanks to the Wells Fargo mail contract, the Red Electrics also rostered a fleet of RPO-baggage cars beginning in 1915 from the J.G. Brill Company. These cars were shorter (52' instead of 57') and produced less horsepower, but nonetheless had the speed to lead mainline trains. All cars were dressed in a handsome maroon with gold lettering and featured porthole windows as standard (long before the Blimps got theirs) for added safety and defrosting in winter time. Trains were arranged in three-car "locals" and four-car "expresses", with eight daily services between Portland and Corvallis and more frequent services than even the OE could keep up with. Unfortunately, speed wasn't everything for the Red Electric, and unlike the OE or the PE, they had no freight to fall back on. This made them very susceptible to ridership drops, as we shall see.

The Hillsdale Collision of 1920

An overall view of the Hillsdale Collision of May 9, 1920.
(Multnomah Historical Association)

Inbound Train No. 124, on a later date, waits
at the signals near Bertha, Oregon.
(PDX History)

Despite their fleet being made of steel and, thus, getting a leg-up on the competition's wooden cars, the SP Red Electrics were still rather weak. This unfortunate fact was demonstrated on May 9, 1920, at 10:23AM, when two trains collided in the town of Bertha (now in Hillsboro) on the Westside Line. Train No. 124, an inbound from Hillsboro to Portland, met train No. 107, a McMinnville outbound service, on a curve at high speed after the former failed to stop at Bertha to wait on the second train to pass. The motorman of train No. 124, Silas K. Willitts, died along with two other SP employees and five passengers as his car, No. 502, was crushed and telescoped from the impact, while ninety-two passengers and ten employees were injured (one passenger later succumbing to their injuries).

A closeup of Train No. 124's leading car, No. 503, smashed into train No. 107.
The motorman aboard No. 503 survived with minor injuries.
(Oregon Live)

The shredded remains of Car No. 502, revealing that the all-steel construction
didn't mean much if it wasn't strong enough to withstand a head-on.
(Oregon Live)

A two-car Eastside Local train leaving the Hillsboro District,
year unknown.
(PNW Folklore)

In the ensuing Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) report, the agency found that SP had neglected to add basic signaling on this single-track stretch of line and was still depending on the old "dispatch message" system. Like the 1913 Vineyard Junction wreck that forced PE to switch to steel cars and implement modern signalling, the Hillsboro wreck forced SP to do the same at a significantly-detrimental cost. Without direct involvement in freight to keep the line profitable and declining ridership in favor of the automobile (plus the earlier delay in development for the Willamette Valley), the Red Electrics went further into decline for the next nine years. By October 5, 1929, SP finally gave up, cut their losses, and ended the Red Electrics' operations. The Yamhill Loop remained a part of the local freight system, if only to serve their remaining customers.

Onto Redder Pastures

A two-car "Portland Twelve" train led by No. 1260 rambles on a special excursion
down the Santa Monica Air Line in the late 1940s.
(Craig Rasmussen)

The same car, gone sideways, on San Pedro Street after
losing its brakes coming down the terminal incline.
(Steve Crise)

With the complete erasure of the SP Red Electrics, James J. Hill and the Oregon Electric proved to be the ultimate winner in the battle for the Willamette Valley, given that the competing interurban lasted a little bit longer and remained moderately successful and without any major wrecks. The SP continued focusing on its California-based interurbans into the 1930s, pouring what little it had left into keeping them running until, by 1940, only the Pacific Electric remained as a dominant interurban railway. Seventeen of the "Red Electrics" eventually ended up on PE rails as the "Portland Twelves", with ten being renumbered to 1252-1263. Nine cars were rebuilt into freight motors, keeping their handsome green stained-glass windows, while one trailer was rebuilt into officer's car 1299. They all led rather eventful lives on the PE, most ending up in career-ending or baffling accidents, and two survive in preservation. More information on their Southern California careers can be found here.

PE wrecker No. 008 at Watts Carhouse, 1950s. Originally a Red Electric Wells Fargo car,
PE No. 1406 ran the mail out of San Bernardino until 1953. It survives as Wrecker No. 008 today.
(Will Hata)

Surviving Rolling Stock and Remnants

A promotional image of the Red Electric Trail in Beaverton.
(Portland Tribune)

Replica "Council Crest" car No. 514 passes through the 
Elk Rock Tunnel on the Willamette Shore Line Trolley.
(Only In Your State)

Aside from the two surviving "Portland Twelves" in PE condition, no other cars exist today in any form or fashion. The infrastructure, on the other hand, has survived the test of time. Most of the Red Electric's "East Side" between Portland and Lake Oswego still sees streetcar operation today in the form of the Willamette Shore Trolley heritage streetcar, after seven miles were sold by SP in 1988 to local authorities seeking to retain it for future transit use. Other sections of the Yamhill Loop in Southwest Oregon are currently being studied for Portland Parks & Recreation's "Red Electric Trail" project, hoping to repurpose the former rail-line (whose last operations was in 1988) into a bike and pedestrian path. The rest of the loop has since been built over with new suburban development, ones that came way after the Red Electrics' demise. As for buildings, three substations in Lake Oswego, Dundee, and McCoy still exist in varying conditions (with the first being an apartment building, the second a garage, and the third abandoned). Finally, three original depots still exist in McMinnville, Forest Grove and Hillsboro, with Forest Grove being repurposed into a house.

The former Forest Grove Red Electric depot, now a house.
(Waymarking)

Thank you for reading today's Trolley post, and watch your step as you alight on the platform. My resources today included "The Red Electrics: Southern Pacific's Oregon Interurban" by Walter R. Grande,  a May 10, 1920 edition of the Morning Oregonian about the Hillsdale Collision, a Portland Parks & Rec article on the Red Electric Trail Planning Study, the Oregon Encyclopedia, and the Willamette Shore Trolley of Lake Oswego, Oregon. The trolley gifs in our posts are made by myself and can be found under “Motorman Reymond’s Railroad Gif Carhouse”. On Thursday, we jump across the Columbia River to look at the Puget Sound Electric Railway. For now, you can follow myself or my editor on Twitter, buy a shirt or sticker from our Redbubble stand, or purchase my editor's self-developed board game! It's like Ticket to Ride, but cooler! (and you get to support him through it!) Until next time, ride safe!