Astoria had streetcars starting in 1888 with a horsecars with 3 miles of track. By 1892 the line was converted to electric operation. In 1910 the system stretched to 5.7 miles. The great fire of 1922 destroyed the wooden plank streets the streetcar operated over splitting the system in half. It was determined it was too costly to rebuild the damaged section and operating a split system was nto cost effective. By 1924 all the streetcars were retired and replaced by buses.
Astoria was served by the SP&S Railway that linked Astoria to Portland, as well as to Seaside. Passenger service ended in the 1950's, but freight continued. The tracks to Seaside closed in the 1970's. Track from Astoria to Portland remain open, but freight service ended in the 1990's. In 2003 the Lewis & Clark Explorer train operated from just outside of Portland in Linnton, to Astoria. That lasted for about 2 years before shutting down
In 1999, the Astoria Riverfront Trolley was born. The trolley runs on the SP&S track from near the cache location to the foot of 39th Street. The trolley is authentic but requires toting a electric generator to provide the electricity to power the car since there is no overhead wire. The Trolley, car 300, itself is from San Antonio, Texas. It is actually owned by the San Antonio Museum Association, but is leased to Astoria for $1/year. 300 was built in 1914 by American Car Company. Streetcar service ended in San Antonio in 1933, and the car was donated to the Witte Museum. The car was neglected, the restored, the neglected again over the years. The car came to Oregon in the late 1980's to run on the Willamette Shore Trolley in Portland. It was then moved to Astoria in 1998 for full restoration. The car runs weekend during the warmer months, to daily service over the summer. A great way to experience Astoria.