Willamette Valley Railways

The narrative explores the rise and fall of electric interurban railways in Oregon's Willamette Valley, highlighting their role in providing elegant transportation before the dominance of automobiles. It details the establishment of major systems like the Oregon Electric Railway and Southern Pacific Red Electrics between 1908 and 1915, which transformed Portland into a central hub. However, the decline of this era is marked by the shift towards highways and cars, leading to the eventual demise of electric passenger trains by the early 1930s.