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The Santa Maria Valley Railroad A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Coast Belle Rail Corporation Last Excursions from the Downtown Yard Aboard the La Condesa July 26, 2008 Within the next couple of months, the Santa Maria Valley Railroad will no longer operate from this downtown yard. The two private excursions today by the Friends of the SMVRR will no doubt be the last excursions to start or end at today's depot. The train crew scissors the loco out onto the main line for today's activity. Dennis (throwing the switch) is today's train conductor, and Dave is our engineer. Friends Gary, Patti, and Karl begin prepping and loading the La Condesa. Harry places one of the lanterns. And Karl hangs out the sash. Harry and Gary watch as Dennis signals the engineer to couple up with the La Condesa. This is the last time passengers will see this view leaving the downtown yard. Patti led the steward crew and Gary worked the drink station (aka "bar"). Today's run attracted some train-chasing photographers. It was a busy day in the fields, too. A system map is on one of the brochures (PDF). Today's lunch run stewards: Harry, Mary, and Patti. Great job you three! No. 1801 runs around at Guadalupe in preparation for the return trip to Santa Maria. Rob (standing), President of the SMVRR, chats with passengers. Dave's got it under control! Tour groups were given one last look at facilities in the downtown yard. This gauge sits atop the huge compressed air tank. Parts room. We found this Pennsylvania keystone on a tire of a welding cart. The pit. Tours included a final look at the blacksmith's shop. At right is the old sand supply box, and to its right is a vertical portion of the lines that lifted the sand to the sand domes atop the old steam locomotives. Kevin, Gary, and Karl check out the engineer's view. Inside the enginehouse. This was the first fully concrete building in Santa Maria, and among the first in the country. The ceiling holes for steam locomotive stack exhaust are still in place. Some folks on the tour had worked machining equipment like this. For more information on the steam machine equipment, click here. From inside the ballast tamper, this view looks down on one of the two SMVRR speeders. Tickets, please. Kevin was our evening car conductor. Do you recognize Kevin's profile? Recoupling after the run around in Guadalupe attracted a fair amount of attention. Dennis chats from the locomotive with passengers after the run around is complete and we're on our way home. In the distance are the two large storage tanks from the old sugar mill in Betteravia, and its lime tower on the far left. No. 1801 pulls one of the 70-tonners in behind it as it tucks itself away for the day. The sun sets on the depot at the excursion's end. Kevin was our evening car conductor and Karl was our Mechanical Officer on board for both trips today. We're all still wondering what flowers had to do with mechanical... But thanks to Karl, the lights were on! || About || Services || History || News || Events || Excursions || Store || Contact ||