Ride the railroad for family fun and dinner

The Fillmore & Western Railway Co. offers a variety of family-fun weekend day trips in an old-fashioned steam locomotive. All trips depart from and return to Fillmore.

For more information and reservations (required) for any trip, call (805) 524-2546 or (805) 7738724 or visit www.fwry.com.

The regular weekend scenic excursions continue on Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 20 for a three-hour round trip to either to Santa Paula or Piru through the citrus and avocado groves of the Heritage Valley. Riders can have lunch in the diner or sit in the fresh air observation car. The train departs from Fillmore at noon and returns at 3 p.m., rain or shine.

The cost is $21 for adults, $19 for seniors, $11 for youth ages 4 to 12 and $7 for children 3 and under.

The Murder Mystery Dinner Train, "Mission Implausible" is tomorrow, Sat., July 15. According to a press release, riders can "dust off (their) bellbottoms and headbands and start practicing the Age of Aquarius." The train departs at 6:30 p.m. and returns at 9:30 p.m. The cost is $89 per adult and includes dinner on the train.

The Margarita Madness Dinner Train is Sat., July 22. A meal will be served on the train, including chips and salsa, rice, beans, cheese enchilada, tamale and a regular margarita. A mariachi band will perform during the ride. The price is $39 per person; tax, tip and the no-host bar cost extra. Riders must be at least 21 years old.

Shake, Rattle and Rail on Fri., Aug. 4 is a '50s Revue Nite Family Dinner Train with the characters, food and music of the 1950s, plus a visit to the Santa Paula Classic Car Cruise. The cost is $38 for adults, $16 for youth ages 4 to 14, and $10 for younger children.

Viva Las Vegas on Sat., Aug. 5 is set in the Vegas days of the "Rat Pack." Meet and greet celebrities and

songwriters while determin

ing who is responsible for the death of the Ratster. The train departs at 6:30 p.m. and returns at 9:30. The cost is $89 per adult.