The Willamette Shore Trolley became Oregon’s first solar-powered railroad this fall and only the second in the world. With help from the City of Lake Oswego, the Portland-area tourist railroad installed a 29.2 kW solar array on the roof of its carbarn, which now fully charges its battery-powered trolley. The first solar-powered railroad is located in Australia. 

“The solar panels became operational in late July and, so far, have generated 8.66 MWh of lifetime energy, equivalent to CO2 emissions from 5.6 barrels of oil or 6,175 miles driven by an average gas-powered passenger vehicle,” the railroad announced. 

The Willamette Shore Trolley is owned by the City of Lake Oswego and operated by the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society. The trolley runs on about 5 miles of former Southern Pacific tracks along the Willamette River between Portland and Lake Oswego. It typically operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

—Justin Franz