Elmonica/Southwest 170th Avenue is a light rail station on the MAX Blue Line in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. Named after a former station on the Oregon Electric Railway, it is the eleventh stop westbound on the Westside MAX. The side platform stop is located between Hillsboro to the west and Beaverton to the east.
Details
The station has two side platforms. To the northeast of the station is one of the facilities where MAX trains are stored and serviced, called Elmonica Yard, or "Elmo Yard" for short. As a result, most trains in the morning start here, and go west to Hillsboro's Hatfield Government Center station before heading to Gresham's Cleveland Avenue station, and service at the end of the day splits between terminating here or Merlo Road/Southwest 158th Avenue, and Hillsboro's Hatfield Government Center station and returning eastward to the yard.[1][2][3][4]
History
Elmonica station is named after the area, which was named after a station on the old Oregon Electric Railway.[5] The MAX line follows the old Oregon Electric right-of-way and shares several stop names with the old interurban. The name derives from the names of the daughters of an owner of land along the route.[5] Samuel B. Stoy, a Portland insurance executive, owned property along the proposed OE line and only gave permission for the railroad to go through his property if the company agreed to name the station after his daughters, Eleanor and Monica.[5] After the station was named Elmonica, this then led to the area around the station becoming known as Elmonica as well.[5][6]
