The track itself is older than the heritage railway that ran on it. Southern Pacific built this standard-gauge line in 1887, routing it through the Santa Clara River Valley as part of its main line between San Francisco and Los Angeles. That distinction ended in 1904, when the Montalvo Cutoff through the Santa Susana Mountains provided a shorter route. The valley line became a branch, hauling citrus from packing houses along the river until as late as the 1950s. Storm damage in 1979 severed the eastern end of the line to Saugus in Los Angeles County. In 1995, the Ventura County Transportation Commission purchased the remaining segment from Southern Pacific.

Short Line Enterprises came to Fillmore in 1991 and began using the track for film work before expanding into tourist operations. The rail yard, located next to the restored city hall in downtown Fillmore, became a staging ground for props and equipment from 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros., and MGM. The roster of rolling stock reflected this: locomotives, passenger cars, and cabooses originally built for or used by major studios. The two full-size steam locomotive props from The Lone Ranger — diesel-powered inside, steam-locomotive outside — were housed here after filming. The larger one, named 'Constitution' in the film, subsequently appeared in Westworld and The Good Place.

The 1994 Northridge earthquake damaged much of downtown Fillmore, including facades along the blocks surrounding the rail yard. The rebuilt rail yard became part of the city's recovery and revitalization. In 2007, the railroad installed a 1906-vintage, 80-ton turntable bridge originally from Capreol, Ontario — purchased from Canadian National Railway and set into a newly constructed pit on February 7 of that year. The turntable allowed locomotives and cars to be turned and provided access to tracks in the narrow yard. Plans for a proposed railway heritage park complex with a roundhouse and Railroad Interpretive Center Museum were developed around this installation.

The Fillmore and Western's lease agreement with the Ventura County Transportation Commission expired after June 30, 2021, following years of legal disputes over track maintenance costs and operating rights. The final scheduled excursion trip ran on June 26, 2021. The Sierra Northern Railway became the contract operator of the line shortly after. Most of the Fillmore and Western's locomotives, rolling stock, and assets were acquired by Sierra Northern. Three pieces went to the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Nevada; the movie props — including the Lone Ranger's 'Jupiter' locomotive — went to the Volo Auto Museum. The track remains, and trains still run on it. The tourist railroad is gone.