Tehachapi Loop
| Tehachapi Loop | |
 Aerial photo of Tehachapi Loop (south at top) |
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| City | Walong |
|---|---|
| County | Kern County |
| State | California |
| Railway(s) | Union Pacific Railroad/BNSF |
| Type | Loop |
The Tehachapi Loop is a .73 miles (1.17 km) long 'spiral', or helix, on The Union Pacific Railroad line through Tehachapi Pass, of the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, south-central California. The railroad line connects Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley to Mojave in the Mojave Desert.
The Tehachapi Loop was originally built and owned by Southern Pacific Railroad, with construction starting in 1874, and the first train to use it reaching Los Angeles in 1876. [1]
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[edit] Description
The Tehachapi Loop takes its 'loop' name from the circuitous route it takes, in which the track passes over itself, a design which lessens the angle of the grade. The loop gains a total of 77 feet in elevation as the track ascends at a sustained 2% grade.[2] A train more than 4,000 feet (1.2 km) long (about 85 boxcars) thus passes over itself going around the loop.
Notable contributors to the project's construction include Arthur De Wint Foote and the project's chief engineer, William Hood.[3]
The location of the loop is known as Walong, named in honor of Southern Pacific District Roadmaster W. A. Long.[4][5] The loop contains a siding, known as Walong Siding [1]. It also contains a tunnel, known as Tunnel 9 because it was the ninth tunnel built as the railroad worked from Bakersfield.
A large, white cross has been placed in the center of the loop, at the peak of the hill. Known as "The Cross at the Loop", it is in memory of two Southern Pacific Railroad employees who were killed in a train derailment on May 12, 1989 in San Bernardino, California. [1]
[edit] Rail use
Originally built by the Southern Pacific Railroad, the loop passed into the ownership of the Union Pacific following the two railroads' 1996 merger. However, trains of the BNSF Railway also use the loop under trackage rights. Today, the railway line, with almost 40 daily trains on average, is one of the busiest single-track mainlines in the world. Union Pacific currently prohibits passenger trains from using this line, which is preventing Amtrak's San Joaquin train from serving Los Angeles. A notable exception is the Coast Starlight, which uses the line as a detour.
[edit] Railfan site
The area is considered to be one of the prime railfan areas in the country with its combination of frequent train traffic and spectacular scenery. The Loop has been considered one of the greatest engineering feats of its day (ca. 1876), and a railroad museum, featuring many related historical railroad relics, has been constructed in the nearby town of Tehachapi. In 1998 the Loop was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Tehachapi_online - Tehachapi Loop history . accessed 12.1.2011
- ^ Ande, Howard (2010). "Tehachapi in the 21st Century". NRHS Bulletin (National Railway Historical Society) 75 (Spring 2010): 4–21.
- ^ Rickard, Thomas Arthur (1922). Interviews with Mining Engineers. San Francisco: Mining and Scientific Press. p. 172. OCLC 2664362. http://books.google.com/books?id=HcUJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=%22Arthur+De+Wint+Foote%22#PPA172,M1.
- ^ Jenkins, Jim C. and Jenkins, Ruby Johnson (1995). Exploring the Southern Sierra, West Side. Wilderness Press. p. 23. ISBN 0899971814.
- ^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names. Quill Driver Books. p. 1124. ISBN 1884995144.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tehachapi Loop |
[edit] External links
- Tehachapi Loop is at coordinates 35°12′03″N 118°32′13″W / 35.20085°N 118.53681°WCoordinates: 35°12′03″N 118°32′13″W / 35.20085°N 118.53681°W
- Trainweb.org: Tehachapi Loop - Map and Railfan Info
- Tehachapi Loop - A Brief History
- Tehachapi Loop Photos
- Photo Gallery of Tehachapi Loop shots
- HO Scale Model at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum
- Stay In The Loop - Tehachapi News & Entertainment
