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Buying streetcars from an Oregon-based manufacturer has been a learning experience, said Rick Gustafson, executive director of Portland Streetcar Inc.

鈥淚t’s a classic case of going forward two steps and going back one step,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it’s not a big surprise. The production cars are very complicated pieces of equipment.鈥�

United Streetcar, a subsidiary of , was hired to construct five new streetcars for Portland Streetcar by July. Those vehicles will finally be delivered within the next two weeks, Gustafson said. The first one is scheduled to begin operating on Dec. 16, with the others to follow in three-week intervals.

The delays were costly, but Gustafson pointed out that this is Oregon Iron Works’ first foray into streetcar construction.

鈥淲hen you get near the end, you discover that some of the parts you had drawings for don’t fit and you have to reconfigure the car to put everything on it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s not unusual for first-time builders.鈥�

United Streetcar was chosen because the project is being paid for with $20 million from the Oregon Lottery. The request for proposals included an 鈥淥regon preference鈥� stipulation, so in-state manufacturers’ bids were considered first. United Streetcar was the only in-state firm that responded to the RFP.

The company is learning as it goes, said Chandra Brown, vice president of Oregon Iron Works. For example, while constructing the second vehicle, a more efficient method for electrical wiring was discovered, so workers had to backtrack for the first one.

鈥淚t’s a huge learning curve,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚t’s like the first time you build anything. It’s been a really lengthy, difficult process, but we (will be) very good once these bugs are worked out.鈥�

Portland Streetcar’s numerous safety regulations presented other challenges. One, for instance, requires that cars be operable even if springs fail. Finding that solution took awhile, Gustafson said.

Delivery delays resulted in an extra $1.7 million going to , which was hired to oversee the project. That amount was added to the nearly $2.6 million the firm was already owed.

Streetcar service also has suffered, Gustafson said, since the opening of the eastside line. Without additional cars, Portland Streetcar has had to scramble whenever a car broke down or needed repairs.

However, United Streetcar has not required any additional money during the delays, so the project has not exceeded its $20 million limit, Gustafson said.

Also, the project has led to creation of nearly 200 new jobs, he said, because it helped establish Oregon Iron Works’ transit division; United Streetcar is set to begin constructing streetcars for other parties, including a new line in Tucson, Ariz., after this project finishes.

鈥淚t’s not unusual behavior for us to be supportive of local manufacturers,鈥� Gustafson said. 鈥淲e try to be supportive of other companies to do the same.鈥�

Brown said the new cars will be better than existing ones, which were made in the Czech Republic. Their safety and HVAC systems will be much more intricate and efficient, she said. Also, the cars will be much quieter.

鈥淲e feel very bad it’s being delayed,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淗owever, we’re proud that we want to build the safest, best cars 鈥� there’s incredibly higher standards on our cars.鈥�

The cars will not enable more frequent service, Gustafson said, but rather decrease pressure on Portland Streetcar by serving as backup vehicles.

Portland Streetcar recognizes that cars, especially on the eastside line, are not arriving as frequently as they should be. That is because of insufficient money for operations and not a limited number of cars, Gustafson said.

鈥淲e appreciate that both the city and TriMet have had budget challenges, and so we’re operating a service at a level we regard as a minimum,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e prefer to operate at a higher level of surface, but we have to have the money to do that.鈥�

Gustafson hopes that when the streetcar loop is completed, after completion of the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail bridge, more money will be available for operations.