The mission of the Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR) is to preserve, improve, and interpret historical and contemporary aspects of the SMVRR. We provide our members and the public with educational programs such as history, current business practices, and trends related to railroading in general and the SMVRR in particular.
Friends also conducts various activities such as field trips, tours, and travel. Friends is a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible organization.
More information is on our About page.
We welcome your Donations to Friends!
News Update - March 12, 2025:
On March 12, 2025, the SMVRR opened a new chapter and entered into a joint venture with Omnitrax! This new joint venture will allow the SMVRR to continue to grow the railroad, improve infrastructure, and improve customer service! With Omnitrax the railroad shares the same family, safety, operations, and customer service culture.
OmniTRAX, one of North America’s fastest growing privately held rail management companies, has entered into a joint venture for the Santa Maria Valley Railroad. The acquisition is a joint venture partnership with Coast Belle Rail Corporation, the local operator of the railroad since 2006.
“The Santa Maria Railroad has been vital to the valley for decades and this new partnership adds the resources, relationships, and real estate development capacities to ensure that this century old railroad continues to serve Californians for generations to come,” said Santa Maria Valley Railroad President Rob Himoto.
A full story about this new partnership will be in the upcoming April Friends newsletter.
Click here for the OmniTrax press release.
Current Activities:
Women and Railroading on the
Santa Maria Valley Railroad Presentation
March 20, 2025 at 6 pm (dinner at 5 pm)
San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum
On Thursday March 20 at 6:00 pm a presentation on Santa Maria Valley Railroad, a forerunner in Women in Railroading, will be at the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum. Presentation by Santa Maria Valley Railroad’s VP of Marketing Belinda Popovich, and Rob Himoto, President. There will be a box dinner available for prepurchase at 5:00 pm. We'll be eating our dinners in La Cuesta Passenger Car on the tracks at the museum. You must pre-order your dinner in advance.
More info and dinner ordering details are on the Programs Page.
Photo Charter/Photographers' Day events at Norgrove Railway and Pacific Coast Railroad April 4 & 5, 2025
As part of the 2025 California Steam Charters, Christian Schultz is organizing photographers' day events at the Norgrove Railway and Pacific Coast Railroad. They will include runbys with curated scenes to allow attendees to get the best possible pictures and videos of the railroads.
Full details for this two day event are on our
activities page.
10th Annual Dinner Gala
Save The Date
Saturday May 17, 2025
Registration/Cocktail Hour 5:00 pm
Dinner 6:00 pm
Edwards Barn - Nipomo
Details on the Gala page
OUR SPONSORS:We welcome new sponsors to expand our programs and tours, and fund educational activities. |
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