The 'church of light rail' begins

These are pictures from the opening of the Blue line Gresham to Portland. Light rail has since become a federal priority and is being funded to the tunes of BILLIONS all around the country.

There was 'light rail' long before it started in Portlandia but somehow Portlandia became the face of light rail. "transit oriented development" started right here in puddle town

Note the "B Stops Only" destination sign; I guess they were thinking of being like Chicago and doing skip-stop operations, and how Holladay Street traffic flow was reversed. Also note the "Gresham" destination on what appears to be a westbound train and lack of finishings on the Rose Quarter platform.

(Photo's from Jason Mchuff's private collection)