As part of the CAL Rail 2020 Conference in Ventura, a rare mileage trip was offered on Sunday November 8, 2009 on the former Santa Paula Branch of the former Southern Pacific, now the Fillmore Western, Railroad. It was supposed to go from Montalvo to Piru, but track work between Montalvo and Saticoy took those tracks out of service. Chris Parker and I decided to go anyway as we love riding the train in the Santa Paula Valley through the orange groves.
Fillmore and Western Railway HistoryThe Fillmore and Western Railway is a railroad owned by the Fillmore and Western Railway Company. The company operates on track owned by the Ventura County Transportation Commission. The majority of F&W rolling stock was acquired from three major studios: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros and MGM. The rolling stock and right-of-way are frequently used for the filming of television series, motion pictures and commercials and as a locale for private and commercial still photography. Visitors to Fillmore often see filming activity as well as sets and support equipment at the company's rail yard and along the tracks between Santa Paula and Piru.
The F&W has been used in more than 400 movie, television and commercial shots. Movies shot on the railroad include "Throw Momma from the Train", "Three Amigos", "Seabiscuit", "Get Smart", "Rails & Ties" and "Race to Witch Mountain". Television series "CSI", "NCIS Los Angeles" and "Criminal Minds" have used the railroad for location shooting. The railway also featured in the documentary series "Mystery Diners" as "itself".
The railroad also operates a year-round tourist train and offers numerous special events, including the Railroad Days Festival, the Pumpkinliner, Christmas Tree Trains, the North Pole Express and the Day Out with Thomas. The normal schedule involves weekend excursions, dinner trains, murder mystery trains, barbecue trains and shopping excursions to nearby Santa Paula.
HistoryThe track is a standard gauge railroad constructed in 1887 by Southern Pacific Railroad through the Santa Clara River Valley in Ventura County, California. This line was originally part of the Southern Pacific's main line between San Francisco and Los Angeles before a shorter route was built through the Santa Susana Mountains in 1904. State Route 126 follows roughly the same route from Ventura to Santa Clarita. The track was used extensively by Southern Pacific as late as the 1950s to haul citrus from packing houses at the communities along the Santa Clara River. In 1989, the branch line that connects at its west end to the Union Pacific at Montalvo in Ventura was purchased from Southern Pacific by the Ventura County Transportation Commission. The eastern end of the line now terminates in Piru as storm damage in 1979 severed the eastern end of the line to Saugus in Los Angeles County.
Short Line Enterprises was a company that provided railcars for use in movie productions. They came to Fillmore in 1991 to use the rail line and eventually added tourist and dinner trains.
That morning, I arose early and after breakfast, drove to the Santa Ana station at 5:10 AM and found the Thruway Bus already there so boarded and took this bus via Fullerton to LAUPT. I walked to the front of the station waited for Chris Parker who picked me up and we drove through the dense fog. Near San Fernando, we came out into the bright clear morning sunshine and had a great drive to Fillmore. We parked and I walked over to where I saw the train crew but stopped for a pair of pictures.
Salt Lake Garfield & Western S6 1040, ex. Salt Lake, Garfield and Western DS4, exx. Chrome Crankshaft D, exxx. Southern Pacific 1207, nee Southern Pacific 1040 built by American Locomotive Company in 1944.
Our Fillmore Western excursion train that would take us west to Saticoy and east to Piru.
The east end of our train, whose consist was F7A 100, FWRY power car 1375, FWRY dining car 10204, FWRY table car 6052, FWRY table car 3106, FW bar/dance car 205, FWRY sleeper 2508 and FWRY F7A 101. At 8:15 AM, our train departed for Saticoy.
The Southern Pacific Fillmore station built in 1887.
The author.
Chris Parker.
The table car in which we rode, FWRY 6052.
One of the many packing houses.
The table that Chris shared.
Our train crossed Sespi Creek.
A field waiting to be planted.
Young trees.
These trees caught my eye.
View to the south.
View to the north.
Young trees planted.
These trees have been topped.
We passed the Loose Caboose with its upside down trees.
More young trees.
Our train arrived at Santa Paula.
The former Southern Pacific Santa Paula station built in 1887. We paused here for ten minutes then were allowed to detrain.
Our train at Santa Paula. Once we started moving, my new rail mileage started which would last until Saticoy.
This building in Santa Paula will become a farming museum.
Packing houses.
Rounding a curve.
Calavo Packing House.
Sunkist Saticoy Lemon Assocation.
View to the south.
Views looking to the north.
A southward view.
A school farm as we neared Saticoy.
View looking back.
The southward vista.
Our train went under California Highway 126.
An old packing house just after the underpass.
Cacti along our route.
Running along the orange groves.
Fields to the right.
Old farm buildings at this farm.
An oil well.
Strawberry fields forever.
Our train was almost at Saticoy.
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