TRAIN TO THE TREES; RAIL RIDE BECOMING A HOLIDAY TRADITION.Byline: Kevin F. Sherry Daily News Staff Writer A diesel train engine dating to 1954 helped bring an old-fashioned holiday spirit to Fillmore on Sunday. The Fillmore & Western Railway Co.'s Christmas Tree Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. Train took its passengers on a 20-mile round-trip journey to Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. , complete with a stop at a Christmas tree farm. At the farm, some riders disembarked to cut their own Christmas trees. Riders said they preferred the hands-on experience to simply cruising over to the local corner tree lot. ``We've done this for two years,'' said Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. resident Karen Green, who rode the train with her husband, son, parents and sister. ``You get together with the family and make a day of it.'' Her 4-year-old son, Jacob, was decked out in his engineer cap and denim overalls. ``My son has always been very into trains,'' Green said. Although the tradition of riding the train to get a tree is just 2 years old for the Green family, Karen and her husband, David, have cut their own tree each Christmas of the 17 years they have been married, Karen Green said. The smell of pine and the wet needles are all part of the experience, David Green said. Riding the train to get to the farm just adds ``the romance of the rails,'' he said. Some Christmas traditions continue, no matter where the tree is bought, Karen Green said. ``It's fun to have the argument in the tree lot about which one is better,'' she said. The vintage train chugged along at a leisurely pace, giving riders a look at the hillside Hillside may refer to: Places
``It's a chance to slow down and see what it was like 40 or 50 years ago,'' said Dave Wilkinson, the railroad railroad or railway, form of transportation most commonly consisting of steel rails, called tracks, on which freight cars, passenger cars, and other rolling stock are drawn by one locomotive or more. owner. Most riders did not buy trees but just rode for fun. Santa Claus Santa Claus: see Nicholas, Saint. Santa Claus jolly, gift-giving figure who visits children on Christmas Eve. [Christian Tradition: NCE, 1937] See : Christmas Santa Claus handed out candy canes as children ran up and down the cars. ``The kids just had a blast,'' said Newbury Park resident Heather Robinson Born and raised in Littleton, Colorado, Heather Robinson became the youngest employee at American Cablevision, moving up the crew ranks while her mother went on to direct and produce her own Access Cable television shows. . ``They did not want to get off the train.'' Robinson brought her two children, Paige Lorentzen, 4, and Bryce Lorentzen, 2, for their very first train rides. Each car of the train came from a different era, and one was open to the air. ``I had a lot of fun,'' Robinson said. ``It's not like a new, modern train.'' Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. resident Sally Jackels waited for the 2 p.m. train with her husband and three children. This would be the family's first trip on the Christmas Tree Train. ``We usually go to a lot,'' Jackels said. ``If we like it, this'll be a tradition.'' People come from Long Beach and Chino Chino (chē`nō), city (1990 pop. 59,682), San Bernardino co., S Calif.; founded 1887, inc. 1910. It is the business and processing center of a diversified farming (notably dairying) area. Hills just to ride and cut their own trees, said Marilyn Galbreath, a ticket seller. ``It's become a family type tradition right now,'' Galbreath said. ``They make a whole day of it.'' Galbreath first visited the depot three years ago. ``Three years ago I rode this train, fell in love with it, and here I am,'' she said. Round-trip train rides cost $15, $12 for people 60 and older and $6 for children 12 and younger. Trains run twice daily - at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 20. Reservations are strongly encouraged. Next weekend's train rides have already sold out, Galbreath said. For more information call (800) 773-TRAIN. CAPTION(S): 3 photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Passengers on the holiday edition of the old-fashioned Fillmore-Santa Paula rail line enjoy the rustic views from the open-air car. (2 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. edition only) Andrew Ferm, 4, cuts the family Christmas tree with help from his dad, Ed, after riding the train to Ed Roatcap's farm in Santa Paula. (3 -- ran in SAC edition only) Volunteers load fresh-cut Christmas trees onto a flatbed railroad car Sunday in Santa Paula for the return trip to the Fillmore depot. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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