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The Portland Vintage Trolley was a heritage streetcar service in Portland, Oregon, United States, that operated from 1991 to July 2014. It operated on a portion of the MAX light rail system, and for a brief time also operated on the Portland Streetcar system, in downtown and nearby areas.〔 Service was provided with replicas of a type of Brill streetcar, nicknamed the "Council Crest" cars, which last served Portland in 1950.〔Mayer, James (November 30, 1991). "Clang, clang, clang went Portland's new trolleys". ''The Oregonian'', p. B2.〕 The service was managed by Vintage Trolley Inc., a non-profit corporation, and the cars were owned and operated by TriMet, Portland's transit agency. For 18 of its 23 years, the service followed a section of what is now the MAX Blue Line, between Lloyd Center and the west end of downtown. In September 2009, the route was changed to a section of the MAX system, along the transit mall in downtown Portland, from Union Station to Portland State University (PSU). Introduced in 1991, Vintage Trolley service operated on most weekends or at least most Sundays, from March through December, in all past years through 2010, and ran seven days a week from 1994 through 1999. However, starting in 2011 the service was heavily reduced, operating on just seven dates per year,〔''Tramways & Urban Transit'', April 2011, p. 152. LRTA Publishing Ltd.〕 and it remained at that reduced level for its final four seasons. Rides were narrated by a conductor who identified historic points of interest along the way. After May 1994, rides were free, but donations were accepted. On December 22, 2013, the service operated for what was, at the time, scheduled to be the last time,〔''Tramways & Urban Transit'', February 2014, p. 92. UK: LRTA Publishing Ltd.〕 as a result of a decision by TriMet on December 11 to sell the two remaining Gomaco-built Brill-replica streetcars (511 and 512) to a group planning a streetcar line in St. Louis, Missouri. Earlier in 2013, the other two Gomaco cars were transferred from Portland Vintage Trolley service to the Willamette Shore Trolley (WST) fleet, although their entry into service there was delayed to 2014〔(Willamette Shore Trolley official page ). Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society. 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.〕 (and one of the two cars was not moved to the WST line until 2014). However, after the transfer of streetcars 511 and 512 to St. Louis was delayed from spring to September 2014, TriMet scheduled two additional dates of Vintage Trolley service: May 25 and July 6, 2014, and the latter was the final day of service. ==Early history== Portland Vintage Trolley service began operation on November 29, 1991,〔 on a section of TriMet's first MAX line, between Lloyd Center and Galleria/SW 10th Avenue station in the West End of downtown, including crossing the Willamette River on the Steel Bridge. The idea of operating vintage streetcars in Downtown Portland had been proposed at least as early as the mid-1970s,〔"Old Town trolleys proposed". (August 25, 1976). ''The Oregonian'', p. E12.〕 as a way to lure back to the city center shoppers who increasingly preferred suburban shopping malls. One of its most enthusiastic and influential proponents was Portland businessman Bill Naito〔Alesko, Michael (December 13, 1979). "Trolley proposal advances". ''The Oregonian'', p. D3.〕〔 Federman, Stan (January 29, 1987). "Tri-Met trolley plan gets go-ahead bell". ''The Oregonian.''〕 (who later became the first president of Vintage Trolley, Inc.).〔Mayer, James (November 27, 1991). "Rose City went off its trolley 41 years ago; it has returned". ''The Oregonian''.〕 However, the idea only finally began to garner growing support following the 1978 approval to construct a light rail system in Portland, the "Banfield Light Rail" project, renamed Metropolitan Area Express, or MAX, shortly before its 1986 opening. Another impetus for the plans was a concern by the Portland Historical Landmarks Commission that introducing a modern light rail system would have a detrimental impact on the character of two downtown historic districts though which the line would pass, the Skidmore/Old Town and Yamhill Historic Districts. Operating vintage streetcars during off-peak hours was seen as a way of alleviating those impacts.〔 Plans to operate a vintage trolley service on a portion of the MAX line were approved by TriMet in 1987.〔 Federman, Stan (January 29, 1987). "Tri-Met trolley plan gets go-ahead bell". ''The Oregonian.''〕 Some of the costs would be paid by TriMet, some by the federal government, and some by Vintage Trolley, Inc. An order for three replica trolleys was placed〔 "Antique trolleys to return" (February 28, 1989). ''The Oregonian.''〕 (a fourth car was added later), a carbarn was built in the Coliseum (now Rose Quarter) area, and a short length of track and overhead wire were built along Northeast 11th Avenue near Lloyd Center mall. The first two vehicles were delivered in August and November 1991,〔 and service was inaugurated on November 29, 1991, operating daily for the first month.〔 From 1992 through May 1994, service was provided on weekends and holidays only, and suspended for the months of January and February each year (except the first year). However, midday service (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) on weekdays was usually provided during the month of December to entice more shoppers to downtown and the Lloyd Center during the holiday shopping season. From mid-1994 through 1999, Portland Vintage Trolley service operated seven days a week, March through December. Hours of operation were 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. In 2000, Vintage Trolley service was reduced to Sundays only, and the hours reduced slightly, to noon to 6.〔''Tramways & Urban Transit'', April 2000, p. 150. Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association (UK).〕 This reduction came about in part because TriMet had opened a second light rail line in September 1998, with a resultant doubling of the frequency of service along the section of the MAX line used by the faux-vintage streetcars. An additional reason was that that a trust fund originally set up to pay for the operation had become mostly depleted by this time; TriMet took over most financial responsibility for the service in 2000.〔 Until the end of May 1994, the fare to ride the Vintage Trolley was $1.00, valid for a round trip. However, fares were eliminated effective June 1994; all rides were then free, and continued to be free for the remainder of Vintage Trolley's existence (but donations were accepted〔). This was the case even though the route extended outside what were then the boundaries of TriMet's Fareless Square free-ride area. (Fareless Square was expanded in 2001 and then encompassed the entire Vintage Trolley route. It was renamed the "Free Rail Zone" in 2010, but was discontinued in 2012.) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Portland Vintage Trolley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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