Picture_2.png
  • Vintage Portland

Warning: This post may bum you out a bit. Especially if you're frustrated by the heaps of cash going into the shiny streetcar program and/or the TriMet bus routes that are being cut in your neck of the woods.

I knew Portland had an elaborate streetcar/trolley history—in the early 1900s, Portland had one of the largest streetcar systems in the country—but never had seen a visual of the service routes. So! I dusted off an old map of Portland's elaborate transit system (circa 1943) from the interweb, illustrating the 34 trolley and streetcar routes shooting hundreds of miles across the city, and had a gander. It's impressive, to say the least.

The fact that all of these past tracks were torn out paved over in the 50s (thanks GM) just to be replaced by small amount of pricey tracks ten years ago is a fist-shaking shame. Check out the entire map here.