Photo Essay: Last Chance Weekend Scenic Excursion, Fillmore to Santa Paula

I'd only just heard of the Fillmore & Western Railway's historic train rides and rail museum a couple of months ago, when I'd come across some local tourism guide at the Cowboy Festival at Melody Ranch.

As I do, I added it to my map, and made a mental note to go check it out, maybe for their Halloween or Christmas holiday train.

But when the news came out last week that Fillmore & Western were being evicted from the tracks that they lease from the Ventura County Transportation Commission, I knew I wasn't going to be able to wait that long. After their sold-out fireworks train for the 4th of July, Saturday's weekend scenic excursion might be their last.

It's not a done deal per se: "We're going to fight this," they declared. "This battle is personal."

But just in case, I got my first and maybe only train ride in, and can now share it with those who never got to go.

In the meantime, you can sign the petition to allow them to stay where they are by clicking here.



I arrived early enough to check out the restored 1887 Southern Pacific Railroad depot...



...where both passengers and freight once made their way to either San Francisco or Los Angeles.



There are a number of historic trains, cabooses, and steam engines that are parked – many in working order – at the Fillmore & Western Railway, that will have to be relocated or scrapped upon eviction.



When they take a train out, it's made up of a jumble of pieces from different train lines and different eras, all mixed up depending on where they're going and how many passengers they'll have.



Since they anticipated this as their last excursion, they gave us a long train, but it wasn't full.



I had enough time upon boarding to walk all the way to the back of the train, to the open air car...



...though the individual coaches...



...the dining cars...



...(which still serve food)...



...all the way up to the front private car, where the commissioner or other officials would have their meetings, as they did the day of our excursion.



After all, there was a lot to talk about.



I settled in a seat in the Rancho Sespe car...



...with seats that reclined...




...as the conductor punched our tickets.



Facing north, I watched the agricultural lands of the Heritage Valley slide by...



...the orange groves bearing fruit..



...and the nurseries scenting the air.



As we follow the mountains of the Los Padres National Forest, heading west,...



...a cowboy comes to visit, surveying our jewelry and any other items worth pilfering.



Having traveled only 15 mph since leaving Fillmore, we arrive in Santa Paula after an hour or so...



...giving us a chance to explore another historic town of the Heritage Valley...



...built along the railroad line.

Stay tuned for dispatches from Santa Paula, and the return train ride back to Fillmore.

Sign the petition to keep Fillmore & Western Railway in Fillmore here.

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Photo Essay: The Unseen Buried at Pioneer Cemetery (Updated for 2019)

[Last Updated 8/9/19 9:13 PM PT]

KCET ran a story about Pioneer Cemetery in Sylmar that's better than I could've written on my own.



After all, I visited Pioneer back in April, and I hadn't figured out what to say about it.



Maybe it's because there isn't much actually to see at the San Fernando Pioneer Memorial Cemetery...



...which is managed by the San Fernando Valley Historical Society.



The second-oldest cemetery in the San Fernando Valley, it's landmarked both at the state and city level, but what appears unremarkable about these four acres – its emptiness – is its astounding characteristic. You can't see where most of its interred are buried.



Founded in the 1870s as Morningside Cemetery, the last person was buried there in 1939, after which it was abandoned. There have been at least 750 graves there (including victims of the St. Francis Dam Disaster) [Ed: although SFVHS says that recent ground-penetrating radar studies revealed only 204 of them]. Of those, there are only 15 markers, and 30 bases of markers that have been vandalized, stolen, or otherwise removed.



Although some of the lost headstones have been returned (including that of the family of Civil War veteran Joseph Ansley)...



...the wide, open patches of unmarked land may be clear above ground...

...but you can't step anywhere without hitting somebody's grave.



You just may not know it.



During my first visit, I initially thought there just wasn't anything there.



I was gravely mistaken.

Like at Grand View, it's the unseen that's the most haunting.

Update 8/9/19: A recent research project has revealed 529 burials at Pioneer Cemetery, based on their death certificates. You can see their names and memorials here.

Further Reading:
What Lies Beneath: The Many Mysteries of Pioneer Cemetery (KCET)

Related Posts:
Photo Essay: Verdugo Hills Cemetery – Deteriorated, Vandalized, and Washed Away
Photo Essay: Grand View Memorial Park – Closed to Public, Neglected, and For Sale
Photo Essay: Savannah Memorial Park Pioneer Cemetery, Memorial Day

Photo Essay: A Rare Peek Into Cottonwood Canyon's Wildlife Corridor

"See balloons at the fenced entrance," the invite instructed.



I was invited to a "happy hour" community event to view a new parcel of land in Pasadena that is to be saved by the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy, who have also worked to conserve other open spaces in the San Gabriel Valley, like Millard Canyon and Rubio Canyon.



So I grabbed a complimentary Craftsman Lager, and I headed in.



There is no public trail or even Native American trail through here.



After all, these 11 acres have been privately owned by the same family for the last 120 years.



At best, there are existing deer trails, but the Conservancy has put in a loose access trail so we can view it.



It's not altogether undeveloped: there are retaining walls that can't be explained (other than to keep the loose dirt along the steep hillside in place)...



...and, somewhere, the remnants of a bottling plant.



I don't think any of us were prepared for a real hike, teetering on a ledge, each step destroying the trail as we tried not to spill our beers.



During the acquisition process, Cottonwood Canyon has been scouted out by local naturalists and biologists...



...who have identified there all four major plant communities of the area (Southern Oak Woodland, Coastal Sage Scrub, Chaparral and Streamside Riparian), as well as biodiversity in bird species (both year-round and migratory).



More importantly, this is a canyon with water, and a year-round supply of water, as originally channeled by the Cottonwood Water Company, incorporated there in 1892.



The natural springs have fostered lots of plant life, including some palms (which will have to be removed)...



...and a thick overgrowth.



The water from the natural spring continues to flow through the canyon, thanks to a horizontal well that was built to access it.



Although public awareness is important to the success of preserving this land, public access isn't, necessarily. The Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy want to maintain the unimpeded wildlife corridor along the Arroyo Seco in the San Rafael Hills.



Keeping it uninterrupted means keeping humans (and their developments) out.



But for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon, we got to see the gulch...



...and celebrate its precious resource.

For more on Cottonwood Canyon's history, click here.

Related Posts:
Photo Essay: Millard Canyon
Photo Essay: Rubio Canyon, In the Wild