Anyone who has traveled on the scenic CA-126 between Santa Clarita and Ventura has passed through the lazy town of Fillmore. Observant travelers may have noticed a rather unique collection of vintage railroad equipment nestled in between the local housing just north of the highway. What most people don't know is that they are passing by an important piece of Hollywood history.
Indeed the Fillmore and Western Railway is known affectionately as Hollywood's Railroad. As a matter of fact all the railroad equipment on the property came from the four major studios: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros, and MGM. The location and it's equipment have been used in more than 400 movie, TV 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.
Though the Fillmore and Western is often an active filming location for movie and television it is also an operating railroad that tourists can ride. There are daily excursions to the nearby town of Santa Paula that allows the traveler the opportunity to ride in preserved vintage railroad cars through scenic farmland with amazing views of the local mountains.
When I last toured the facility back in 2017 there where numerous examples of locomotives and rolling stock ranging from as far back as the 1800s to equipment you would find operating on a modern railroad.
I hope you enjoy this collection of photographs. Perhaps you will see something from one of your favorite movies!
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