Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad facts for kids
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Ventura County, California |
| Dates of operation | 1898–1995 |
| Successor | Southern Pacific |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 16 miles (26 km) |
The Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad was a special train line. It connected the town of Ojai, California, to the main train network. This main network was called the Pacific Coast Line. The connection point was near Ventura station.
This railway followed the Ventura River upstream. It went through places like Chrisman and Ortonville. Then, it turned east towards Ojai. The tracks had some very steep parts. Captain John Cross finished building this line in 1898. It became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1899.
The very first passenger train arrived in Ojai on March 12, 1898. Back then, Ojai was called Nordhoff. Trains left Ojai twice a day. They made stops at places like Grant and Weldons. Then, they turned around in Ventura to go back to Ojai. Later, Southern Pacific ran only one passenger train daily in summer. All passenger train service stopped in the early 1930s.
Trains on this line carried many goods. The Ojai Olive Company shipped olive oil from its plant. This plant was built near the Ojai train station in 1901. The Ojai Orange Association also used the trains. They shipped citrus fruits from their packing house. This packing house handled a lot of the citrus from Ventura County. A Shell Oil refinery also sent refined oil products by train. These products came from the Ventura Oil Field.
Why the Railroad Ended
A very big storm hit on January 18, 1969. It was called a Pineapple Express storm. This storm caused the biggest flood ever recorded on the Ventura River. Ojai received a lot of rain, about 6.2 inches (16 cm) in one day.
The flood badly damaged the train tracks. Because of this damage, the railway line was closed upstream. However, trains still carried freight to the refinery at Canet. This continued until Southern Pacific officially closed the line in 1995.
The part of the train line that was closed in 1969 became a walking and biking path. It is now called the Ojai Valley Trail. This trail was finished in 1989. The remaining part of the line was later opened as the Ventura River Trail in 1999.
Locomotives Used
The Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad used different types of locomotives. These were the powerful engines that pulled the trains. Two of their early locomotives were built by Danforth, Cooke & Company in 1875. They were known as 4-4-0 type engines. These particular engines were first used by the Los Angeles & Independence Railroad. The Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad bought them from Southern Pacific. They were likely taken apart after Southern Pacific took over the line.
