The Springwater Corridor Trail

Text by Craig Bass, January 2004

I moved from the Portland area in early 1982.  Since then, I've learned the following from other sources, not personal experience or research I did for the 1981 article.

Beginning not long after I left, the Gresham line was abandoned and partially removed to make way for Portland's new MAX Light Rail system, which launched service in 1987.  The PTC had been used to deliver MAX cars to Gresham.  In 1989, Southern Pacific sold the line from Sellwood to Boring to the City of Portland. The tracks were removed in 1990-91, and the right of way eventually became what is now the Springwater Corridor Trail (according to a 1946 map, the line from Golf Jct. to Faraday [near Cazadero] was shown as the Springwater Division).

Also in 1990, the Spokane Portland and Seattle's 700 that had been stored at the Oaks was returned to operation and left the park.  I understand that recently the UP 3203 was moved to the Brooklyn Roundhouse to undergo restoration.

The remainder of the line was purchased by Richard Samuels of Samuels Pacific Industries. The East Portland Traction Company was incorporated in April, 1991 to operate what was left of the line from the East Portland yard to the Milwaukie Industrial Park east of Sellwood, where the current-day engine house is located. Seasonally, a passenger excursion called "Samtrak" is run on this abbreviated trackage, consisting of a 45 ton diesel locomotive, an open air covered passenger car and an old caboose.  The ride covers 8 miles from Milwaukie to East Portland and back and lasts an hour.  Surprisingly, the railroad now has 6 locomotives, whereas in 1981 the PTC only owned two.

In January 1997, Samuels' Oregon Pacific Railroad acquired the remaining trackage and commenced operation.  (Oregon Pacific also acquired ex-SP's Canby to Mollalla branch and began operation there the same day.)

In 2002, the Portland Traction Company sold the right of way between Gladstone and Sellwood (Golf Jct) to be used as another bike path.

The Sellwood car barn was razed on Veteran's Day, 2003 to make room for new development. The developer plans to keep the facades of the three original front bays and incorporate them into the new construction.

Other than the four miles of trackage used to connect the Milwaukie Industrial Park to the UP and BNSF world at East Portland, the only remaining evidence testifying of Portland's historic interurban empire are a few bridges and a small section of track used by UP to work a paper mill in Oregon City.

I had originally researched and wrote the story of the Portland Traction Company on the preceding pages for an article I had planned to submit to Model Railroader Magazine back in 1981 for their "Railroads You Can Model" series, but things happen and I never got around to submitting it.  If recreating the PTC in miniature appeals to you, click here to continue reading the original article, including track plans and modeling suggestions.

Your additional information or comments/criticisms are welcome: feel free to email me at craigbass@gmail.com

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