Oregon Water Power and Railway Company
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| Public | |
| Industry | Public utility |
| Fate | Acquired by Portland Electric Power Company (1924) |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Products | Electric power, transportation |
The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company was a railway company and electric power utility in Portland, Oregon, United States, from 1906 until 1924.
A series of mergers of various transportation companies in 1905–1906 culminating in the merger of the Portland Railway Company; Oregon Water, Power and Railway Company; and the Portland General Electric Company on June 28, 1906, established the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P). Nearly 200 miles of track and 375 urban and interurban streetcars were thereupon consolidated under a single company. Upon its formation, PRL&P became the only company to operate streetcars within Portland city limits; it also continued to sell electric power. The name, Portland General Electric (PGE), remained in use as a division of PRL&P and, after subsequent reorganizations in 1930 and 1940 eventually PGE became once again fully independent as a power utility company, making PGE in some ways both an ancestor and a descendant of PRL&P.
The company's interurban lines used standard-gauge track, with the exception of the line to Vancouver, Washington, while most of its urban (or "city") lines were narrow-gauge, specifically 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm) gauge. A few lines in the southeast part of the city were standard-gauge, converted from narrow gauge in December 1908 for efficiency, so that they could operate out of PRL&P's Sellwood carbarn, which was closer to the area those lines served but was only equipped for standard-gauge operation.
By 1910, PRL&P was a $15 million holding company, having received 43 franchises from the city of Portland, mostly in the form of land grants. It was a monopoly, and "liable to anti-trust action under the Sherman Act." The company only installed safety devices (such as pedestrian bumpers) on its streetcars after "extreme public pressure." While PRL&P installed many public streetlights, the city council complained about the power rates charged to the city.
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