page_title: Astoria Riverfront Trolley
section_title: Route and service
hierarchical_section_title: Astoria Riverfront Trolley / Route and service
caption_attribution_description: Astoria Riverfront Trolley car 300 stopped next to the Columbia River Maritime Museum (in Astoria, Oregon), with people waiting to board. The photo was taken in July 1999, only the second month of operation of the trolley line. The Maritime Museum was later remodeled, with large windows added on this side. Car 300 is an ex-San Antonio (Texas) streetcar built in 1913 by the American Car Company, by that time a subsidiary of the J. G. Brill Company.
context_page_description: The Astoria Riverfront Trolley is a 3-mile heritage streetcar line that operates in Astoria, Oregon, United States, using former freight railroad tracks along or near the south bank of the Columbia River, with no overhead line. The service began operating in 1999, using a 1913-built streetcar from San Antonio, Texas. As of 2012, the service was reported as carrying 35,000 to 40,000 passengers per year and has been called a "symbol" and "icon" of Astoria. The line's operation is seasonal, normally during spring break and from May through September.
  Volunteers from the non-profit Astoria Riverfront Trolley Association operate the service and maintain the streetcar and tracks, but the city of Astoria has provided some funds for certain purchases, including a new carbarn in 2001 and a contribution to the cost of purchasing the streetcar. The car was on loan from San Antonio for the first seven years, but was purchased by ARTA in August 2005. By 2004, the Trolley had become "one of Astoria's most popular features" and "a main attraction in the city of Astoria".
context_section_description: Service was inaugurated on June 8, 1999, on a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) route from Portway Street to 36th Street. The principal boarding location was at the Columbia River Maritime Museum (at 17th Street and approximately the middle of the route), and initially there were no other set stops. Several designated stops were added later, and some of these include a bench and small shelter. Passengers are still permitted to flag-down the trolley in between the posted stops.
  The route runs parallel to the Columbia River's bank, and the river is visible most of the way. In a few places, the tracks are carried on low trestles over the water. The line passes through the National Register of Historic Places-listed Downtown Historic District, and its westernmost section passes under the Astoria–Megler Bridge. To the east of the Maritime Museum, at 20th Street, it passes a former Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway depot built in 1924. The fare has always been $1, with an all-day pass available for $2. Around 2006, operation was extended east from 36th Street to 39th Street, making the line about 3 miles (5 km) long.
  During the first few years, the line operated from March or April through December, daily in summer months and otherwise Fridays through Sundays.  Since about 2005, it has typically run daily from May through September, and sometimes also during spring break. Hours of operation are noon to 7 p.m. daily, Memorial Day to Labor Day, with more limited dates and hours in late spring and early fall. A round trip takes about 50 minutes. The car makes a trip approximately once an hour in each direction, but there is no exact schedule. Volunteers from the trolley association operate the car, with a two-person crew consisting of a motorman and a conductor. Boarding takes place at the rear door, where the conductor assists people in boarding, collects fares and identifies sights along the route while talking about the city's history.
  The trolley line has been credited by local officials with being instrumental in bringing about redevelopment of the downtown waterfront area, among them the chairman of the Port of Astoria Commission, the executive director of the chamber of commerce and the chairman of the Clatsop County Commission. Mayor Willis Van Dusen, another of the trolley's supporters, was quoted in a 2004 Daily Astorian article as saying that the trolley "has become almost a logo for the city, second only to the Astoria Column."
caption: Passengers boarding car 300 at the Columbia River Maritime Museum during the first season of operation, in 1999
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