Fillmore and Western Railway

The Fillmore and Western Railway is a heritage railway which operated on track owned Ventura Country Transportation Commission, which opened in 1887. Fillmore Visitors would see filming activity as sets and support equipment at the company's rail yard along the tracks between Santa Paula and Piru. 
==History==
The 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.
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.
They stopped operating on the line in 2021.
==Film Appearances==
The Fillmore and Western Railway was used in more than 400 movie, TV and commercial shots. Movies shot on the railroad include:
*Three Amigos, 1986 -
*Throw Momma from the Train, 1987 -
*Back To The Future Part III, 1993 - Ventura County Railway #9 and another VCY S6 was featured.
*Seabiscuit, 2003 -
*Rails & Ties, 2007 -
*Get Smart, 2008 -
*Race To Witch Mountain, 2009 -
*The Lone Ranger, 2013 - Used as a testing bed for a flat car and a handcar.
*Deadwood The Movie, 2019 -
*Call of the wild, 2020 -
The railway also starred in several TV Shows. The list follows:
*CSI
*NCIS: Los Angeles
*Criminal Minds
==Locomotive Roster==
=== Locomotives still on property: ===
Number	Images	Heritage 	Type 	Builder 	Built	Status 	Notes
4009 	 	Fillmore and Western Railway	Alco RS-32	American Locomotive Company (ALCO)	1962 	Still on property	It used to be painted black and orange but now it's painted Gray and Red which is the same colors used on the Southern Pacific Railroad.
100 	 	Fillmore and Western Railway	EMD F7 	General Motors 	1949 	Still on property	N/A
14 	 	Duluth & Northeastern 	2-8-0 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	1913 	Still on property	N/A
1084 	 	Fillmore and Western Railway	ALCO S6 	American Locomotive Company (ALCO)	1956 	Still on property	Former Ventura County Railway 7
101 	 	Fillmore and Western Railway	EMD F7 	General Motors 	1949 	Still on property	N/A
3502 	 	Fillmore & Western Railway 	EMD GP35 	Electro-Motive Diesel 	1965 	Still on property	N/A
=== Former Locomotives: ===
Number	Images	Heritage 	Type 	Builder 	Built	Notes
3501 	 	Fillmore and Western Railway	EMD GP35	Electro-Motive Diesel 	1992 	Sold to SMV
1059 	 	Fillmore and Western Railway	ALCO S6 	American Locomotive Company (ALCO)	1956 	Sold to Virginia & Truckee; Former Ventura County Railway 9
1 	 	Fillmore and Western Railway	0-4-0T 	H.K. Porter 	1891 	Sold to the city of Jacksonville, Oregon.
== Trivia ==
*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.
*Tracks removed in Saugus CA.
*Short Line Enterprises was a company that provided railcars for use in movie productions.
*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 Jupiter used to be stored at the Railway until 2021, when it was sold to the Volo Auto Museum for public display, while the Constitution still remains at the Railway.
*They came to Fillmore in 1991 to use the rail line and eventually added tourist and dinner trains.
*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.
Category:Heritage Railways
Category:Companies
Category:Tourist Railways
Category:Tourist Attractions
Category:United States