Santa Maria Valley Railroad turns 140; celebration set for Friday

Apr. 14—The Santa Maria Valley Railroad will celebrate the 140th anniversary of the completion of the Pacific Coast Railway into Santa Maria with a ceremony Friday.

The event will be held at the Santa Maria Valley Railroad's diamond, located at the end of South Railroad Avenue off West Boone Street, at 2 p.m. Attendees will have the chance to take photos with the railroad's newest locomotive, FWRY 3501.

The railway connected San Luis Obispo to Santa Maria on April 15, 1882. The project was completed by Chinese immigrants before the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 shut down the flow of skilled Chinese workers into the United States. As the railroad continued to be built southward, reaching Los Olivos in 1887, the work was mostly completed by Japanese and Mexican immigrants.

"Little-known fact that they built it 140 years ago, that Chinese track workers were some of the most skilled in the world after the completion of the Trans-Continental railroad," said Rob Himoto, president of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad. "It's really interesting history; after the Exclusion Act, the Japanese worked on the Pacific Coast Railway also. Later, immigrants from Mexico built the line too."

In 1942, just after entering World War II, Allan Hancock purchased a portion of the Pacific Coast Railway, connecting the Santa Maria Valley Railroad to the Pacific Coast Railway and rebuilt previous track sections with better railroad gauges, dubbing the line the Airbase Branch.

Today, the Santa Maria Valley Railroad's Airbase Branch is the last remaining Pacific Coast Railway line operating, and it remains critical. Over the last few years, as COVID-19 has affected the global supply chain, the railroad has served an increasing amount of freight along the rails, according to Santa Maria Valley Railroad staff.

In the near future, the Santa Maria Valley Railroad plans to have excursion trips for tourists and visitors, similar to ones they operated more than 15 years ago. The railroad also plans to be a key part of dealing with congestion along Highway 101 as the population in the area increases, according to Himoto.

"SLOCOG [San Luis Obispo County of Governments] has a study going about traffic from Santa Maria to [San Luis Obispo] and Paso Robles, and they're projecting that there will be a lot of backups within the next 10 years with all the increased housing and population," Himoto said. "We are looking to use our lines for not only freight but passenger commuting."

Recently, in conjunction with the city of Santa Maria, the railroad organized a massive cleanup of trash caused by homeless encampments along the railway. Over 62,000 pounds of trash were removed by Santa Maria code enforcement officials, city rangers and 2 Mexicans Junk Removal.

To help alleviate the issue, the railroad plans to increase the frequency of patrols in the area and add landscaping to deter foot traffic. The nonprofit Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad is heading an effort to add permanent fixtures and signs to educate the public, and Serve Santa Maria, another local nonprofit, plans to address recent graffiti along the railway.

For more information about the railroad and its celebration, call 805-922-7941 or email newsinfo@smvrr.com.