I’ve visited the Tehachapi Loop before but I didn’t find it very interesting. This time however was quite a different experience. Today I had an absolutely fabulous visit because my timing was perfect. I arrived in time to see a very long train enter the loop and circle over itself. Crazy!
To understand what you’re about to see you need an overview. The first picture below is a satellite view of the Tehachapi Loop from Google Maps. I’ve annotated it with details which should put the subsequent pictures into perspective. Flow through them and see why it’s such a fascinating spot.
Anticipating a train I ran to the local hilltop. Still quiet as you can see.
The train hadn’t arrived but I could hear the engine and I was positioned.
Then the train appeared. Here is when it emerged from the tunnel and entered the loop. There were more than 85 cars behind the engine below.
Here the train has come thru the tunnel and is climbing counterclockwise with the yellow engine at the far right. Many, many cars are in tow.
Here you can see the yellow engine about to pass over the tunnel it recently entered. It’s actually about to pass over the tail of its own train!
The cross over has happened.
The engine is now breaking clear of the loop and the rest of the train is still passing through the tunnel. We in the audience are just amazed at it all.
On the hillside as I left I found this background scribed on a plaque.
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