Train Ride Gives Kids Another View

Accompanied by Tarzana resident, actor and former screen heartthrob Billy Hufsey, about 20 children from the San Fernando Gardens city housing project took a ride from Santa Barbara to Glendale on a historic train Tuesday.

Paired with the San Fernando Gardens children were kids from various Valley middle schools.

The group left the project in the morning by bus and arrived a few hours later in Santa Barbara.

After returning by train, children toured the Glendale railroad station and enjoyed ice cream, music and a motivational speech by Hufsey, an entrepreneur and onetime star of television’s “Fame” and “Days of Our Lives.”

Hufsey organized Steppin’ Up, a Los Angeles-based group that works to instill strength, values, a sense of community pride and purpose in city youth.

Mario Matute, housing project director, said the event provided children with a rare chance to experience a world far beyond the boundaries of the project.

“Most of the kids never had had the opportunity to be on a train, especially a historic train,” he said.

“It’s a lifetime experience for the kids. It’s also a good opportunity for them to interact with other kids who don’t live in San Fernando Gardens.”