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Its right-of-way was established in the mid- 1880s by the Portland and Willamette Valley Railroad, which began steam-powered service on July 4, 1887. It provided Oswego (as Lake Oswego was known then) with a direct link to Portland. Prior to this, access to Oswego was limited to primitive roads and river boats.
The line was later purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Southern Pacific widened the line from narrow gauge to standard gauge, and electrified it in 1914. This led to its peak in passenger travel in 1920, when 64 trains traveled daily between the two cities. By October 5October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). There are 87 days remaining. It is also the most populous birthday of the year in the US statistically. Events 1582 Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist i, 1929Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 See also 1929 in aviation 1929 in film 1929 in literature 1929 in mu, passenger service ended, though the line was used for freight until 1983Events January January 1 Beat Raaflaub became Basel Boys Choir's new conductor January 1 the ARPANET officially changes to use the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. January 1 compulsory wearing of seat belts becomes law in the UK. January 2 The mu.
In August 1984This page is about the year 1984. For other uses of 1984, see 1984 (disambiguation). 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday (link shows calendar). Events January January 1 Brunei becomes a fully independent state January 1 AT&T is broken up into 22 indepe, the Interstate Commerce CommissionThe American Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 created the Interstate Commerce Commission . Members of the commission were appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. This was the first of the so-called Fourth Branch agencies. Its aim was to granted Southern Pacific permission to abandon the line. This prompted several local governments in the area to establish a not-for-profit corporationA Not-for-profit corporation is a corporation created by statute, government or judicial authority that does not issue stock. It is created with a specific purpose, educational, charitable or related to other enumerated purposes, it may be a foundation, a to acquire the line and preserve the right-of-way for future mass transit. The line was purchased in 1988. Since 1995, the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society has operated the trolley service.
The effort to preserve the right-of-way for mass transit continues. There are tentative plans to connect the line with the Portland Streetcar.
As a tourist attraction, the line is most popular on the Fourth of July, when the Oaks Amusement Park fireworks display is viewable along the river, and in mid-December, when the area's Christmas Ship Fleet parade on the Willamette can be viewed.