Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society
A nonprofit Oregon organization that preserves electric railway equipment and operates the Oregon Electric Railway Museum and the Willamette Shore Trolley.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society (OERHS) is a nonprofit preservation organization devoted to the history of electric railways, streetcars, interurban lines, and related transit equipment in Oregon and beyond. Founded in 1957, the society takes its name from the former Oregon Electric Railway, an interurban electric railway that once served communities in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Its work combines museum preservation, public interpretation, restoration, and heritage transportation operations. OERHS’s principal museum is the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Brooks, Oregon. The museum is located at Powerland Heritage Park, west of Interstate 5, and houses the society’s collection of historic streetcars, light-rail vehicles, trolley buses, and other electric railway artifacts. The organization also operates the Willamette Shore Trolley, a separate heritage streetcar service running between Portland and Lake Oswego. OERHS operates that line but does not own it. The society’s museum history began with Trolley Park, a streetcar museum established in Glenwood, in Washington County, Oregon. Trolley Park operated from 1966 through 1995 and was formally known as the Oregon Electric Railway Museum. In 1996, the museum moved from Glenwood to Brooks, retaining the Oregon Electric Railway Museum name and developing its collection at Powerland Heritage Park. OERHS is best known for preserving vehicles representing several generations and geographic traditions of electric transit. Its collection includes two 1904 Brill streetcars formerly associated with Portland’s Council Crest service, an open-sided streetcar built in Australia in 1912, double-deck streetcars from Blackpool in England and Hong Kong, and two PCC streetcars from San Francisco dating from the 1940s. The Australian car was among the society’s earliest acquisitions, obtained in 1959. Although the collection is international in scope, most of its equipment originated with transit systems and railroads in the United States. Beyond historic streetcars, OERHS has preserved a Boeing-Vertol US SLRV light-rail vehicle formerly operated by San Francisco Muni and three vintage trolley buses. The entire collection is based in Brooks, although individual vehicles have periodically been stationed in Portland or Lake Oswego for operation on the Willamette Shore Trolley. One notable example was former Portland Traction Company Brill Master Unit No. 813, which operated on the Willamette Shore Trolley from 1996 to 2010 before returning to the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Brooks in 2012. The society’s positioning is that of a specialist transportation heritage institution rather than a commercial transit operator. Its public value lies in conserving rare vehicles, maintaining knowledge of electric railway technology and operations, and giving visitors access to historic equipment through museum exhibits and occasional heritage service. Its activities connect Oregon’s interurban and streetcar history with broader international developments in urban electric transportation.
History
The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society was founded in 1957 to preserve and interpret the history of electric railways, particularly the streetcars and interurban systems associated with Oregon. The organization was named in honor of the Oregon Electric Railway, a former electric interurban line that operated in the Willamette Valley. From its beginning, OERHS combined the collection of historic vehicles with efforts to communicate the technological and social importance of electric transit. One of the society’s earliest acquisitions was a 1912-built open-sided streetcar from Australia, obtained in 1959. This acquisition helped establish the organization’s broader collecting perspective. Although the society has preserved equipment from several countries, its holdings have primarily come from United States transit systems and railroads. OERHS operated a streetcar museum known as Trolley Park in Glenwood, Oregon, from 1966 until 1995. The museum was formally identified as the Oregon Electric Railway Museum and used that name after its later relocation. In 1996, the museum moved from Glenwood to Brooks, where it became part of Powerland Heritage Park. The Brooks site remains the base for the society’s collection and museum activities. The collection developed into a diverse representation of electric urban and interurban transportation. Among the preserved vehicles are two Brill streetcars built in 1904 for Portland’s Council Crest service, double-deck streetcars from Blackpool and Hong Kong, two San Francisco PCC streetcars from the 1940s, and the Australian open-sided car. OERHS also expanded beyond conventional streetcars by preserving three trolley buses and a Boeing-Vertol US Standard Light Rail Vehicle formerly used by San Francisco Muni. The society’s operational activities include the Willamette Shore Trolley, a heritage streetcar line connecting Portland and Lake Oswego. OERHS operates the line but does not own it. The relationship between the museum collection and the heritage line has varied over time, with some society-owned vehicles temporarily based in Portland or Lake Oswego for service. Former Portland Traction Company Brill Master Unit No. 813 operated on the Willamette Shore Trolley from 1996 to 2010. It was transferred back to the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Brooks in 2012. Today, OERHS functions as a specialist nonprofit heritage organization. Its activities encompass collection stewardship, preservation of historic vehicles, operation of a museum, participation in heritage rail transportation, and public education. The society’s holdings document Oregon’s own electric railway traditions while also placing them in the context of international streetcar and light-rail development.
- 2012
Brill Master Unit No. 813 returns to Brooks
[1]The society-owned streetcar was moved from the Willamette Shore Trolley line back to the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Brooks.
- 2010
Brill Master Unit No. 813 leaves regular trolley-line use
[1]After operating on the Willamette Shore Trolley since 1996, Brill Master Unit No. 813 ended that period of service.
- 1996
Museum relocates to Brooks
[1]The Oregon Electric Railway Museum moved from Glenwood to Brooks, Oregon, at Powerland Heritage Park.
- 1996
Brill Master Unit No. 813 enters Willamette Shore Trolley service
[1]The former Portland Traction Company Brill Master Unit No. 813 began operating on the Willamette Shore Trolley.
- 1995
Glenwood museum operation ends
[1]The Trolley Park museum ceased operations at its Glenwood location after nearly three decades.
- 1966
Trolley Park museum opens
[1]OERHS began operating its streetcar museum at Glenwood, Oregon, under the Trolley Park name.
- 1959
Early international collection acquisition
[1]The society acquired a 1912 Australian open-sided streetcar, one of the earliest vehicles in its collection.
- 1957
Society founded
[1]The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society was established as a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving electric railway and streetcar history.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit transportation-preservation organization focused on electric railway history, historic transit vehicles, museum interpretation, and heritage streetcar operations.
Transportation museum · 1966
Oregon Electric Railway Museum
The Oregon Electric Railway Museum is OERHS’s principal public museum in Brooks, Oregon, on the grounds of Powerland Heritage Park. It preserves and interprets historic electric railway vehicles and equipment, including streetcars, trolley buses, and a San Francisco light-rail vehicle. The museum developed from the organization’s former Trolley Park facility in Glenwood and has used the Oregon Electric Railway Museum name since the relocation to Brooks in 1996.
Heritage streetcar service
Willamette Shore Trolley
The Willamette Shore Trolley is a heritage streetcar line running between Portland and Lake Oswego, Oregon. OERHS operates the service but does not own the line. The organization has periodically based preserved streetcars on the route, linking its museum collection with public heritage transportation and demonstrating historic electric railway equipment in operation.
Preserved transit vehicles · 1957
Historic electric railway collection
OERHS maintains a collection representing multiple eras and regions of electric transit. Notable holdings include two 1904 Portland Council Crest Brill streetcars, a 1912 Australian open-sided streetcar, double-deck vehicles from Blackpool and Hong Kong, two 1940s San Francisco PCC streetcars, three trolley buses, and a Boeing-Vertol US SLRV light-rail vehicle formerly used by San Francisco Muni.
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