The Union Station and Munjoy Hill Horse Trolley in Portland about 1890. Horse-drawn streetcars made regular commuting from a distance of about four miles practical. The first horse trolley lines were constructed in 1862, and by 1888 the entire city was accessible by trolley.

The city began electrifying trolley lines in 1891. The electric trolley cost $.07 less per mile to run, and ran seven miles an hour faster than the horse trolleys. By the end of 1895, all of the tracks in Portland had been electrified, and the horse trolleys were no longer in use.