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Early settlers claimed the land that became Portland in 1843 and by 1849 the town had grown enough to have a Post Office. New settlers sailed from California up the coast to the Columbia River and then down the Willamette River for a short way to get to Portland, or they braved the elements and travelled overland by wagon train. Railroad History in Oregon began when Ben Holliday started building the Oregon & California Railroad in 1869. He made it to McMinnvile in 1872 and ran out of money. Henry Villard, who represented German bondholders took control of the line. It took 8 years for construction to resume. On May 4, 1884 Villard got as far as Ashland before the line was sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad. Service from Portland to California finally opened in 1887. Rail service from Portland to the east opened in 1883 when the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, which went east of Portland along the Columbia River, and connected with the Northern Pacific Railroad at Wallula Junction, which is south of Tri-Cities, Washington. A second transcontenental railroad opened in 1884 when the OR&N connected with the Oregon Short Line and the Union Pacific at Huntington, Oregon. Railroads grew in popularity and eventually they became the preferred method of travel, in the days before airplanes and busses. Northern Pacific, Union Pacific, Great Northern and Southern Pacific all served Portland with passenger and freight service. |
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A magnificent Union Station stands today as a tribute to the Railroads that once called upon our fair city and helped build Portland into the thriving metropolis that it is today |
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Portland’s Union Depot, now known as Union Station, was built in 1893 and 1894 to house Henry Villard’s Northern Pacific Terminal Company. It served as a station for all of Portland’s incoming and outgoing trains. Henry Van Brunt of Boston designed Union Station and he also designed stations in Ogden, Omaha and Cheyenne. |
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An early advertisment for a Northern Pacific Railroad booklet which shows many of the sites along the Lewis & Clark Expedition. |
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Union Station’s busiest days began on September 10, 1922 when the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad started operating all of its trains at Union Station. |
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Eastern view of Union Station where trains arrived and departed. In its heyday, a total of 92 trains called on Portland daily. There were fifty-two steam trains and thirty-eight electric trains coming or going every 11 minutes from 6:30 am to 11:30 pm. Service has dwindled to a handful of trains. |
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Hotel busses waited for incoming passengers to whisk them away to their evening accomodations. |
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Interior view of the News Stand at Union Station about 1910. The News Stand area is curently used for the ticket office. Note the convenience of the cuspidor at the end of the bench. |
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