This cache also qualifies for the Disappearing RR Blues Bonus Cache
About MAX Orenco Station
Orenco Station today is known for a full redevelopment of an area that was once farmers fields, but now if basically a modern downtown district within Hillsboro.
Orenco is actually an old name. It was found in 1905, and is actually an acronym for Oregon Nursery Company. The Nursery company owned the land and developed basically a company town. In 1908 the Oregon Electric Railway built thru the town connecting Orenco with Hillsboro, Forest Grove to the west and Beaverton and Portland to the east. The Electric Interurban trains stopped calling at Orenco in 1928. But freight trains continued to run thru here up until the early 1990's. The Nursery had closed by the Great Depression, the Orenco went into a slow and steady decline, losing its port office in 1955.
The OE had transitioned into eventually being a part of the BNSF, then to Portland and Western. However, by the 1990's Tri-Met has a vision to restore Interurban service between Portland and Hillsboro in the form of MAX light Rail. The former OE line was converted to Light Rail between Beaverton (just west of the current Beaverton Central MAX station) all the way to Hillsboro.
In 1998 MAX opened with a modern stop at 231st Ave/Orenco. The original Orenco Station was probably about a couple block east of the current MAX station. The City of Hillsboro then worked with developers to convert this area into a high density mixed use community. The first of which built closer to Cornell Road north of MAX, and a residential community to the south of MAX. 2015 saw a big growth spurt right around the MAX station in-filling the gap between Cornell Road and MAX. This area has grown up!
Ponder what once was a company town to today's planned development. Although the buildings are bigger, the idea is pretty much the same...