Drivin' that train....
Oregon is not alone in having licenses for professional engineers. Where they seem to be a little out of sync with real-world practice is that those PEs are typically licensed to design and inspect large scale structures. If they insist on everyone being licensed then I suppose they don't want any engineering companies in their state -- its a lot of work and unnecessary bureaucracy.
Incidentally, the guys (they're mostly guys) who drive the trains through Portland are known as 'engineers'. Train operators exist but they're usually driving light rail vehicles.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
