Countywide : Locomotive Makes Inaugural Run

Painted bright yellow with blue trim, the Martha K made the ground shake Tuesday during her inaugural appearance in Ventura County.

Purchased for $250,000 by the Ventura County Railway Co., the refurbished diesel locomotive is the company’s newest railroad engine to ply the 18-mile stretch of rails between Oxnard and the Port of Hueneme.

Company officials observed the occasion with a brief ceremony and reception. “We needed to upgrade our equipment to accommodate our growing number of customers, and an increasing demand for service,” said Carmen Chappell, the company’s president.

The locomotive is named for the wife of Martin V. Smith, the Oxnard-based developer who owns the railway.

Shipped from the Great Western Railway Co. in Loveland, Colo., the Martha K generates 1,500 horsepower and can pull up to 40 freight cars.

The short-line railroad, founded in 1906, provides freight service to the Oxnard Industrial Park, south Oxnard and Port Hueneme through an interchange with the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1991, the railway was designated a cultural landmark by the county Cultural Heritage Board.