What's New

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!

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News Update:

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.

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Current Activities:

2025 Rail Photo Contest

Grab your camera and take some photos for our 5th Annual SMVRR Photo Contest. Showcase your favorite Santa Maria Valley Railroad photographs and win a prize! First, second, and third place winners will be selected in each of three categories. A new drone category has been added this year to allow all of our drone photographers to really showcase their work and creativity.

The deadline for the contest is October 1, 2025. Details are shown on our photo contest page.

Friends 2025 Upcoming Work Days

Due to the July 4th holiday, there will likely be no work day on Saturday July 5. Check back here for updated information about July 5.

10th Annual Fundraiser Gala

Celebrating 100 years since Captain G. Allan Hancock first purchased the railroad

The Gala was held on Saturday, May 17th at the Edwards Barn in Nipomo. This gala was the most successful ever. Thank you to all who attended and donated to the event. Everyone had a great time as we continue our efforts to preserve the history of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad.

Event information is on the Gala page.