Fillmore and Western Railway

History

The 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 the shorter Montalvo Cutoff 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 1995, 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 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.

The railroad operated 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 involved weekend excursions, dinner trains, murder mystery trains, barbecue trains, and shopping excursions to nearby Santa Paula.

The F&W was used in more than 400 movies, TV and commercial shots. Movies shot on the railroad include Throw Momma from the Train, Three Amigos, Seabiscuit, Get Smart, Rails & Ties, I’ll Remember April, and Race to Witch Mountain. Television series CSI, NCIS: Los Angeles and Criminal Minds have used the railroad for location shooting.

The rail yard is located adjacent to the restored city hall in downtown Fillmore and is part of the revitalized section of the city rebuilt after the extensive damage caused by the 1994 Northridge earthquake that brought down the facades of many nearby businesses. A vintage 1906 80-ton turntable bridge originally installed in Capreol, Ontario, was purchased from the Canadian National Railway by the Santa Clara River Valley Railroad Historical Society (SCRVRHS) and was installed in a newly constructed pit on February 7, 2007. The turntable allows not only turning of locomotives and cars but also access to planned facilities on tracks in the narrow yard area. This area is planned to be the center of a proposed railway heritage park complex that will also feature a roundhouse and a Railroad Interpretive Center Museum.

Ventura County Transportation Commission reached a settlement with the Fillmore and Western for trains to operate until 2021. Fillmore and Western's lease agreement expired after June 30, 2021. The final scheduled excursion trip was on June 26.

The Sierra Northern Railway became the contract operator of the line in December after approval by the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

Rolling stock

The majority of F&W rolling stock was acquired from four major studios: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros, and MGM. The rolling stock and right-of-way were frequently used for the filming of television series, motion pictures and commercials and as a locale for private and commercial still photography.

The roster of the F&W includes two GP35s, two F7s from General Motors Electro-Motive Division and an S6 and RS32 from Alco. The railroad also owns numerous coaches, freight cars, cabooses and excursion cars. The F&W roster also includes an Ex-Duluth and Northeastern Baldwin #14 Consolidation steam locomotive. In 2014, a Porter tank engine, the Sespe, was sold to the city of Jacksonville, Oregon.

The railroad also owned the two full-size steam locomotive props that were built for The Lone Ranger (2013). They are not working steam locomotives (and never were), being propelled instead by diesel engines located in their tenders. The larger of the two (named "Constitution" in the film) has been used in several other productions, including Westworld and The Good Place.

The majority of the locomotives, rolling stock and other assets were acquired by Sierra Northern after the lease of the rail line ended. Three pieces of equipment, including the S6, a passenger car, and the body of a Pacific Fruit Express reefer, were sold to Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Virginia City, Nevada in February 2022. GP35 #3501 was sold to SMV and the "Jupiter" prop and one of the prop coaches from The Lone Ranger, as well as the GP35 prop from Inception and the prop cab from Unstoppable were sold to Volo Auto Museum.

References

References

1. Harris, Mike. (July 25, 2014). "Railway's eviction is back in force". Ventura County Star.
2. McLeod, Jean. (July 23, 2014). "Western Railway, VCTC still at odds over track maintenance, lease".
3. "How We Came About".
4. Hulse, Jane. (June 24, 1993). "Locomotive Ride Is a Throwback to Rural Times : Rail firm is hooking up steam engine No. 51 to its string of 11 vintage rail cars for a series of trips over the July 4 weekend.". Los Angeles Times.
5. Hulse, Jane. (September 29, 1994). "JAUNTS : Old Depot Is Right Stop for Train Buffs : Facility is the site of an Autumn Rail Festival that includes historical exhibits and a barbecue.". Los Angeles Times.
6. "Business of the Year - Fillmore & Western Railway Co.". The Fillmore Gazette.
7. Harris, Mike. (September 8, 2014). "Fillmore railroad owner tires of legal battle". Ventura County Star.
8. "Santa Claus Comes to Fillmore". The Fillmore Gazette.
9. "Santa Train". The Fillmore Gazette.
10. "Fillmore Historical Museum and Railway decorated for Christmas". The Fillmore Gazette.
11. "The California Honey Harvest Festival". The Fillmore Gazette.
12. "Dad's Day Express delights the whole family".
13. "SCV Railroad Historical Society's Rail Fest 2013".
14. "4th of July Car Show entries down 30%".
15. "SHORT LINE ENTERPRISES COLLECTION".
16. "Shooting a huge headache".
17. "Disney Filming".
18. Verrier, Richard. (July 21, 2010). "His trains have a great Hollywood track record". Los Angeles Times.
19. "$950,000 Shortfall for Fiscal Year 2011 to be addressed".
20. "Transportation commission and Fillmore & Western Railway reach settlement to keep trains running". [[Ventura County Star]].
21. "Appellate court reverses Fillmore & Western Railway's eviction". Ventura County Star.
22. "Transportation commission seeks injunction against Fillmore & Western Railway".
23. "Fillmore & Western Railway dismisses suit against transportation commission". Ventura County Star.
24. "Fillmore & Western Railway told to halt operations or face eviction". Ventura County Star.
25. "Railway's eviction is back in force". Ventura County Star.
26. "Fillmore railway sells vintage car to help fund litigation". Ventura County Star.
27. "Appellate court hears arguments in Fillmore & Western Railway eviction". Ventura County Star.
28. "Fillmore & Western barred from running tourist trains on branch line". Ventura County Star.
29. "Fillmore railway again seeks delay of its eviction". Ventura County Star.
30. "Judge delays eviction of Fillmore & Western Railway". Ventura County Star.
31. "Judge upholds Fillmore railroad lease termination, but trains to keep running". Ventura County Star.
32. "Fillmore & Western trains resume at least temporarily". Ventura County Star.
33. "Historical society cancels Fillmore festival over railroad uncertainty". Ventura County Star.
34. "Railway won't run trains until insurance matter is resolved". Ventura County Star.
35. "Fillmore & Western plans to run Christmas trains, with or without a lease". Ventura County Star.
36. "Christmas tree train runs despite lease termination". Ventura County Star.
37. "Fillmore & Western could reach settlement with commission". Ventura County Star.
38. "Request for Proposals for An Operator of Rail Service on the Santa Paula Branch Line". Ventura County Transportation Commission.
39. (June 28, 2021). "Future of beloved Fillmore & Western Railway in Ventura County uncertain".
40. Lustig, David. (December 16, 2021). "Sierra Northern to operate line formerly used by Fillmore & Western". Trains.
41. Harris, Mike. (July 1, 2014). "Fillmore railway sells vintage car to help fund litigation". Ventura County Star.
42. "4/28/18 Preview: Fillmore & Western 14 pulls alongside the prop steamers used in "The Lone Ranger"".
43. "'The Lone Ranger' revels in railroading | Trains Magazine".
44. Lustig, David. (February 2, 2022). "Sierra Railroad acquires former Fillmore & Western equipment".
45. "F&W Equipment leaving Ventura County for V&T in Virginia City, NV".