Tigard branch
Overview
OwnerUnion Pacific Railroad
LocaleWashington County, Oregon
Service
ServicesWES Commuter Rail
Operator(s)Portland and Western Railroad
History
OpenedJuly 10, 1910 (1910-07-10)
Technical
Line length7.2 mi (11.6 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification1,500 V DC (1914–1929)
Route map
mi
Newberg branch
748.0
Cook
Newberg branch
750.0
33.2
Bonita
Oregon Electric Railway
to Eugene
32.2
 Tigard Transit Center
Oregon Electric Railway
to Portland
31.9
Greton
30.0
 Hall/Nimbus
28.9
Beburg
West Side branch
MAX Blue Line
27.5
 Beaverton Transit Center
MAX Blue Line
28.0
OE District
Tillamook District
Forest Grove branch
West Side branch
[1][2]

The Tigard branch is a short railway line on the west side of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It connects the Union Pacific Railroad's West Side branch and Newberg branch. It was originally built in 1910 by the Beaverton and Willsburg Railroad, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company. The Portland and Western Railroad operates the line, including the WES Commuter Rail service.

Route

The Tigard branch begins west of Lake Oswego, at "Cook," where it connects with the Newberg branch. It runs northwest to Beaverton, where it connects with the West Side branch. A short spur runs to the Beaverton Transit Center, the northern terminus of the WES Commuter Rail service.[1][2]

History

Southern Pacific

The Beaverton and Willsburg Railroad, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, constructed the Tigard branch as part of a new cutoff connecting the Southern Pacific's lines in the Portland area. The new line opened on July 17, 1910.[3][4] The line handled trains to and from Tillamook, Oregon, and was sometimes, along with the Milwaukie branch and West Side branch, considered part of the Tillamook branch.[5][6]

The Oregon Electric Railway began electrified passenger service between Portland and Salem in 1908.[7] The Southern Pacific responded by electrifying some of its existing branch lines in the Portland area, including the Tigard branch. Electrified operation using 1,500 V DC began in 1914.[8] Services began at Portland Union Station, then used either the Newberg or West Side branch to reach McMinnville and then Corvallis.[9] Electrified operation ended on October 5, 1929.[10]

Portland and Western

In 1995 the new Portland and Western Railroad leased several branches from the Southern Pacific, including the Milwaukie branch. These leases continued when the Southern Pacific merged with the Union Pacific Railroad.[11] Administratively, the Portland and Western has divided the Tigard branch into two parts:[1]

  • the OE District between Beaverton and Bonita. The district also includes the former Oregon Electric Railway main line.
  • the Willsburg District between Bonita and Cook. The district also includes the Milwaukie and Newberg branches.

WES Commuter Rail

Passenger service returned to the Tigard branch in 2009 when the WES Commuter Rail service began operation. The Portland and Western operates the service under a purchase of service agreement with TriMet.[12] Five new stations were built, three of them on the Tigard branch: the Beaverton Transit Center, Hall/Nimbus station, and the Tigard Transit Center. The latter two stations have gauntlet tracks for safer freight operation.[13] The Beaverton Transit Center is located north of the existing right-of-way and required the construction of a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) spur.[14]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Portland and Western Railroad (9 May 2010). "System Timetable 9" (PDF). Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 Southern Pacific Railroad (15 September 1931). "Portland Division Timetable 121" (PDF). p. 8. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  3. ↑ Interstate Commerce Commission (1934). "Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports". U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 245.
  4. ↑ "Work begins on cut-off". Polk County Observer. 24 September 1907. p. 1. Retrieved 1 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Southern Pacific Railroad (10 July 1949). "Portland Division Timetable 141" (PDF). p. 11. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Astle, D. J.; Howells, C. L. (1986). Report to the governor from Governor's Task Force on Rail Line Abandonments. Salem, Oregon: Rail Division, Oregon Public Utility Commissioner. p. 95. OCLC 19324391.
  7. ↑ "Oregon Electric Railway". Electric Railway Review. Vol. XIX, no. 9. 29 February 1908. p. 258.
  8. ↑ Lebenbaum (1914), p. 271.
  9. ↑ Southern Pacific Railroad (1 October 1925). "Southern Pacific Red Electric Timetables" (PDF). Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Hilton & Due (1960), p. 396.
  11. ↑ Dorn (2000), p. 37.
  12. ↑ FTA (2013), p. 15.
  13. ↑ Cornillie, Thomas C. (2013). "Diesel Multiple Units in North America – Trends in Construction, Maintenance, and Operating Practices" (PDF). American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association. p. 532. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  14. ↑ TriMet. "WES Commuter Rail" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 1 January 2024.

References

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