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Arriving At Salem |
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As we make our way into Salem, we
discover one of the reasons the Oregon Electric Railway was
the most popular of the interurban lines. We are paralleling
Broadway street, just a dirt road at this time. Our route will
take us to the heart of the downtown area. At the time of the
first Oregon Electric trains, all of Salem's wide downtown streets
were dirt. Actually, they were mud most of the year, much to
the discomfort of Salem ladies, who had to lift their dresses
to cross the streets, but not high enough to display the ankles,
of course.
The terminus of the line was in front of the Marion County courthouse,
having passed the City Hall just a block before. On the other
side of the street was the Grand Hotel and the Grand Theater,
with a big cupola on top (now removed). The post office (now
moved to State Street where it is Gatke Hall at Willamette University)
was one block east, and beyond that, Willson Park and the Statehouse
(the one that burned in 1935, two years after the Oregon Electric
trains stopped running).
Oregon Electric Railway's principal competition was the Southern
Pacific, which arrived at the Southern Pacific station on Twelfth
Street, clear at the edge of town.
What a great experience it was to board a train at any place
in the heart of Portland and an hour-and-a-half later be deposited
in the middle of downtown Salem, and for only 25 cents. What
was the modern world coming to? The Oregon Electric ran 33 trains
a day between Portland and Salem at the height of its service.
Salem was proud of being a railroad hub, not only because it
was the state capital but because of its strategic location
at the heart of the Willamette Valley. Railroads ran through
town in every direction. I t would not be until after World
War II that these railroad tracks would be called the "iron
ring," and efforts would be made to relocate them.
The Union Street tracks to the north were the first to go. Finally,
with the completion of the Salem Civic Center in 1972, the Trade
Street tracks were removed, and classes could be held at Willamette
University uninterrupted by the trains that went through the
campus daily. Then, the Front Street tracks were moved to make
way for the Front Street bypass. Now, only the Twelfth Street
mainline of the Southern Pacific interferes with the movement
of automobiles and foot traffic through the heart of Salem.
Written by Wes Sullivan
Bibliography:
See Origins of the Oregon
Electric Railway
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Oregon Electric Railway
promotional map and routes
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State Street and Oregon
Electric Station in Salem
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