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The Hancock family recently agreed to sell the Santa Maria Valley Railroad Co.’s (SMVRR) name and operating assets to Coast Belle Rail Corp., according to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s Oct. 9 newsletter. The deal includes 14 miles of right of way.

The family will retain ownership of SMVRR’s yards, and adjacent commercial and industrial properties in California’s Santa Maria Valley. The Himoto and Larsen-Neubert families, owners of Coast Belle Rail, will continue to operate the 18-mile short line, which moves vegetables, lumber, steel, machinery, asphalt, aluminum, fertilizers and other industrial products.

In 1925, G. Allan Hancock purchased the short line — which was established in 1911 — out of bankruptcy proceedings.