Fillmore & Western - "Fear Factor"

[MP57313]

While channel surfing a couple of weeks ago, I saw a train...on "Fear Factor". The train was run by the Fillmore & Western, which operates on a former SP line between Santa Paula and Fillmore in southern Cal. [The line extends further east to Piru, but no service there]. The train consisted of a roadswitcher hauling several flatcars with empty boxes on them.

The challenge was to have drivers in sports cars do a "corkscrew" spin over the passing freight, the driver {crasher} who got the greatest jump distance won. A lopsided ramp was set up at a grade crossing; the drivers all flew over the train and crashed sideways/upside down in a pile of empty boxes set up as a cushion.

The Fillmore & Western is regularly involved with movies and TV; I hope some of their other 'acting parts' are a bit more, uh, normal. The railroad does have a collection of equipment on display at Fillmore, and regularly runs round trip excursions to Santa Paula.

Mike

[ericsp]

I did see one of their ex-CRLE 89' flatcars in Piru when I was there in July. I wish I would have seen some reefers at the packing shed. I wonder if they have any chance of getting that business.

Does FWRY go only as far a Santa Paula or does it go all the way out to Montalvo? I asked the conductor on the excursion this and I thought he said Montalvo. There was a center-beam loaded with lumber sitting in Santa Paula when I went there. If FWRY operates the whole branch they would probably also have the Weyerhaeuser box plant in Santa Paula as a customer. Do you know if they have any other freight operations?

[Anonymous]

FWRY does not currently move freight. They maintain the line all the way to Montalvo. Operations are Santa Paula east. UP runs freight including the lumber you saw as far as Santa Paula.

LC

[Anonymous]

Oh, and F&W does a lot of other film work. Examples include "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" and the recent DHL advertisment.

LC

[Junctionfan]

Do they tra***heir own locomotives too? (Under Siege 2)

[adrianspeeder]

I think they were models in the movie.

Fear Factor is a good show and i would do any of the stunts except for eating or being around weird things.

Adrianspeeder

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan

Do they tra***heir own locomotives too? (Under Siege 2)

No. Those were models. In fact the two actual units used to pull the passenger train in that movie were purchased for the filming by the studio. One ended up on the Gold Coast Railway Museum in Miami, FL. I don't know where the other one went...

LC

[Junctionfan]

That good than. It costs money to trash stunt cars. Could you imagine how much it would have cost to crash stunt trains (Petroleum Express versus Passenger train) big $$$$. I wonder if it was HO scale?

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Limitedclear

FWRY does not currently move freight. They maintain the line all the way to Montalvo. Operations are Santa Paula east. UP runs freight including the lumber you saw as far as Santa Paula.

LC

Does the management not want to bother with freight or when they leased the line from SP (or did they buy it) did the did SP that they will handle the freight? If by some miracle Sunkist did start shipping from any of the packing houses in Fillmore or Piru who would handle this?

MP57313, were those flatcars the CRLE flatcars? When I rode on the train they had four of them stacked (two stacks of two) behind a nursery (plants, not children), there were two (I think) in Fillmore and one in Piru.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ericsp

QUOTE: Originally posted by Limitedclear

FWRY does not currently move freight. They maintain the line all the way to Montalvo. Operations are Santa Paula east. UP runs freight including the lumber you saw as far as Santa Paula.

LC

Does the management not want to bother with freight or when they leased the line from SP (or did they buy it) did the did SP that they will handle the freight? If by some miracle Sunkist did start shipping from any of the packing houses in Fillmore or Piru who would handle this?

MP57313, were those flatcars the CRLE flatcars? When I rode on the train they had four of them stacked (two stacks of two) behind a nursery (plants, not children), there were two (I think) in Fillmore and one in Piru.

F&W has the capacity to handle freight through an affiliated company. Thew line is owned by the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) that purchased the line from SP. SP handled the freight to Santa Paula until UP took over. Freight beyond Santa Paula would be handled by F&W.

LC

[MP57313]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ericsp
MP57313, were those flatcars the CRLE flatcars?

I don't know. The TV show focused on the contestants, not the train, so I was only able to catch the road name on the side of the engine.

I went up there earlier in the year. I spoke with the store manager in the Piru station; she had taken out a lease expecting some business from train passengers. The track to Piru looked "ok" and the main highway crossing signals were upgraded.
When I spoke to the F&W folks at the Big Train Show (June) they weren't sure when that part of the line would open up to business. The Piru segment is included on the map in their brochures.

[DPD1]