Welcome to Tehachapi Rails.com ore

This website is dedicated to photography of the Tehachapi that starts Bakersfield to Warren.  The aim of this photographic website is to capture the essence of this natural area as railroad tracks cut through the mountains to reach points east in an endless battle against nature.  Please take the time review the terms and conditions and hope people enjoy this website.

The railroad line connects Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley to Mojave in the Antelope Valley. Hailed as one of the greatest engineering feats of its day as well as being the world's busiest single-track main, the line was built by Southern Pacific Railroad, and is now owned by Union Pacific. BNSF also uses the loop under a trackage rights agreement of 1899 with the Santa Fe and implemted in 1901. 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. A railroad museum with many historical rail artifacts is located in the small nearby city of Tehachapi.

Historical facts:

In the 1870's the Southern Pacific (Central Pacific) Railroad sought to link their rails in central California to those in Southern California. The path was blocked by the rugged Tehachapi Mountain range, which acts as an east-west barrier between Bakersfield and Los Angeles. Since construction directly south was impractical, the Southern Pacific Railroad decided to go southeast to Mojave, through the Tehachapi Pass. The summit at Tehachapi Pass was 4000'. Construction from Bakersfield to Caliente was somewhat routine, but from that point on the elevation going east rises quickly. From Caliente to the summit (now the City of Tehachapi) the rise is 2,735 feet. The maximum grade permitted was 2.2%. By routing the track alongside the slopes of the Tehachapi foothills, engineer William Hood could envision completing the task. However, just east of Keene, there was an apparently unsolvable problem. An increase in elevation of nearly 80 feet was required, unattainable using typical designs .

The problem was solved by constructing a unique loop. Going southeasterly from Keene, a train first passes through an entry tunnel. The track then does a complete counterclockwise loop, passing over the entry tunnel before continuing easterly. The loop is sized to have a length adequate to achieve the needed gain in elevation. The result is a loop 3,799' long, with a typical diameter of about 1210 feet. By continuing to gain elevation throughout the loop, engineer Hood was able to make up the needed elevation (about 77' rise in the loop). With modern freight trains, often more than a mile long, the locomotive passes over (or under, depending upon direction) the final cars of its own train!

The entire track from Bakersfield to the summit was completed July 10, 1876. In all, in addition to the loop, there are 18 tunnels with a total length of 8,240'. There are 8,300 degrees of rotation as the track twists and turns through and along the mountains. The total distance from Caliente to Tehachapi (summit) is about 16 miles. The construction was undertaken by American engineers and Chinese workmen. The Chinese were "Cantonese", mostly recruited from Canton (now Guongjhou) area. Construction tools were mostly dynamite, picks and shovels. Many of the workmen were killed during this dangerous work.

The steep grade of the track from Keene to Tehachapi has always been a problem for the railroad. In 1882, a special locomotive, "El Gobernador" was developed especially for hauling trains to the summit. It proved to be too bulky for this service, and after a few years El Gobernador was scrapped.

In 1952 a massive earthquake hit the Tehachapi Mountains which cause landslides and tunnels to be buried. The Southern Pacific mobilized a force of men and machines to daylight tunnels and repair the area. The whole are was rebuilt in three weeks what would have take years if it happened in the 1800’s.

Today the Tehachapi Loop (operated jointly by the Union Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads) is on the main artery joining the agricultural and petroleum products of the San Joaquin Valley to Arizona and east. As many as 60 freight trains a day execute the loop, making it the busiest single-track line in the United States. Long eastbound freight trains cannot negotiate the grade with a normal locomotive complement, and it is undesirable for the couplings between forward cars to support the high tension loads. Therefore, "helper" engines are inserted in the middle of the train. Upon reaching the City of Tehachapi, the helpers are switched out, and then returned to Bakersfield.