To Shiny Rails

About 30 friends joined us at the railroad headquarters in Betteravia for a Santa Maria-style (tri-tip and chicken) Friends Fundraising BBQ Social from 11am to 2pm. Lunch included beans, garlic bread, drinks, and dessert. We celebrated summer and the upgrades and updates to the Santa Maria Valley Railroad’s locomotives! With the railroading getting busier and busier, there may not be too many more opportunities to get quite this close. The day’s activities included Kevin leading a group of Friends on his ever-popular tour of the Betteravia Townsite. All the photos: http://friends-smvrr.org/140614.html

We had a great time today at the Fillmore & Western Railway in Fillmore, CA. Those who arrived way too early got to spend a little time shopping in the gift shop railcar and strolling around the areas where equipment was parked. At 11:30am or so we boarded the “Weekend Scenic Train Ride” bound for Santa Paula with what seemed like unending citrus and avocado in between. The train stayed in Santa Paula about 75 minutes giving everyone plenty of time to do a little of the town. The only stop on the way back was at the Loose Caboose Garden Center, home of all manner of koi, birds, turtles… Well, you’ll see in all the photos: http://friends-smvrr.org/140322.html

The Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad toured the Betteravia Branch of the railroad today. The line was constructed from Guadalupe in the late 1800s to serve the Union Sugar Mill in Betteravia. We visited three stations along the way – Iremel, Bragur, and Barsug – which were primarily beet dumps. We also visited the Green Canyon Trestle, did a quick run of the Betteravia townsite tour, and toured Caboose #210 at the Guadalupe Amtrak station. Check it all out here: http://friends-smvrr.org/140222.html

WITH PERMISSION OF THE PROPERTY OWNER, a small group of Friends enjoyed a very rare opportunity to freely explore Betteravia, once a thriving town of several hundred people, including the abandoned sugar mill that was the heart of the community. More…

The Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad enjoyed a great field trip along the old right-of-way of the Pacific Coast Railway under Kevin’s able leadership. Check out all the photos: http://friends-smvrr.org/130504.html

This week we launched a new design for the website of the Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad: http://friends-smvrr.org/