A Southern Pacific interurban commuter train is heading south out of Portland in 1922, bound for Lake Oswego, McMinnville and Corvallis. The 'modern' (1914) all steel cars were painted bright red and earned the nick-name "Red Electrics" which stuck to the end of service in 1929. The distinctive 'porthole' front windows were said to be designed for safety and added more strength in case of a collision (which did happen!). The S.P. simply electrified it's existing freight railroads in the area to compete with the rival Oregon Electric Railway, (shown in previous photos) but both met their demise by 1933, when people preferred to travel by automobile. Ironically, we are now spending millions to put electric powered passenger trains back in place! The Red Electric cars were too good to destroy when serviced stopped in Oregon and most ended up in L.A. and the Bay area in useful service for many years afterward.