Let’s Talk Trolleys!
Let’s Talk Trolleys are a series on virtual presentations about the history of streetcars and Interurbans in Oregon, and about our museum’s trolley collection. This is to help keep us connected while our trolley operations are suspended. The presentations are free to attend (pre-registration is required), donations are appreciated to help the OERHS maintain our historic trolleys.
The OERHS has decided not to open to the public for the 2020 season for the safety of our volunteers and passengers due to COVID19 We look forward to seeing you in 2021.
3995 Brooklake Road
Brooks, OR 97303
On the grounds of Powerland Heritage Park
Phone: 971-701-6327
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Welcome to the largest Trolley Museum in
the Pacific Northwest
The Oregon Electric Railway Museum is an operating trolley museum. We feature trolleys and other electric railway equipment from the West Coast as well as from around the world. Our railway equipment collection dates from the 1890s through 1977.
Your Visit to the Museum includes
An authentic experience of purchasing trolley tickets at our Depot, Hopmere Station. This station, built by the museum, is based on plans of a Southern Pacific train station. It is also out ticket office and gift shop. See our Children’s Trolley!- A ride on one of our authentic trolleys from around the world. Our most popular operating car was built in 1913 for Sydney, Australia. The ride is about 2 miles round trip
- On days that our carbarn is open to the public, you will be welcomed to tour our collection of historicrailway equipment. Some are on static display, others are amid restoration to service. See examples of the transportation technology that started out as the symbol of progress, later became considered outdated and now returning to the heart of many of our cities.
Volunteers
The Museum is run all by volunteers, from the restoration of the streetcars to selling tickets to operating the trolley. Consider joining the OERHS and volunteering your time, or consider monetary donations to keep our trolleys running.
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A chance to drive-thru Powerland!!
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.With the temperature pushing 100, volunteers completed removing switch ties, ballast and base gravel from the yard lead track and switches. The area is now completely cleaned up and ready to start laying out the rail and parts to rebuild the track in concrete.
Special thanks to Evan Burroughs, the track hoe operator, who spent the entire day working the machine like a pro!
Work continues on the yard track rebuild project. After removing the rest of the spikes and bolts, stacking plates and joint bars on pallets and clearing other debris, volunteers removed and set the rail aside, out of the work space. Saturday, the crew will be back to remove the ties and run them up to the tie yard for sorting for storage or disposal. After the rotted tie remnants are removed, the ballast and base gravel will be scooped aside to be used on the new locomotive storage track.
Rail and ties from the old south spur were also moved across the mainline and stacked where they will be able to be accessed for removal with a forklift. Some pieces of rail may be used in the yard track rebuild.
Saturday was a busy day despite the heat. The track crew removed bolts and spikes from the track to dismantled switches 1, 2 and 3. The track is being removed in order to replace all of the wood ties and gravel and reset the switches in concrete. This is the first phase, in a multiphase project to eliminate all of the wood ties in the carbarn leads and switches. The majority of these ties were retired by the railroads and installed at the museum nearly 25 years ago when we were building the track to an empty construction site where the carbarn was built 3 years later. They are now showing their age and no longer able to effectively hold a spike, allowing the gauge "wander". The result usually means rerailing an axle or two.
The crew will be at it again this coming Saturday, picking up and stacking joint bars, removing tie plates and gathering bolts and spikes. The rails will be labeled for reassembly prior to removal and storage away from the work site.