Capture California-YOLT: Adventure 003, Site 002-Tehachapi Loop

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Adventure 003, Site 002-Tehachapi Loop

By the Calif Landmark and ASCE plaques

Capture California, the Game-2013

Adventure: 003, Site 002-Tehachapi Loop

California Landmark Number: 508

Team: YOLT

Date: May 7, 2013

Location:

Coordinates: 35°12′03″N 118°32′13″W

Address: Old State Highway, Walong

Description:

Date Built: 1874

Architect: Arthur De Wint Foote

(We do have an accompanying video on YouTube, but Blogger cannot find it. Try this link: ADV-003-002-Tehachapi Loop )

This adventure was especially fun for Gary as He had loved trains since he was a little boy. It was also fun to watch this train circle over itself. We went to look for the plaque and lo and behold along comes a train. He was so much fun to watch Gary as his eyes lit up to watch the train slowly make it up the mountain.

This is probably Gary's favorite historical landmark. From a young boy he has had a fascination with trains. When he first heard about this loop, he knew that this was someplace special to him. So naturually, when we passed by this place we had to at least bag the site. So we did. But even better, about the time which we passed by here, a freight train was just starting to chug its way up the loop. So we got to see the train, almost pass over itself—just a few cars short.

But a bit about the Loop. When it was first used in 1876, it was considered an engineering marvel. Nobody thought they could get a train up this steep grade, until Arthur Foote came up with his plan to create a 4,000' loop leading up to Tehachapi Pass. The train will enter into Tunnel Nine at the start of the loop. Then travel 4,000' around and 77' up for a 2% grade. A train long enough will pass over itself here. As a rule, only freight trains are allowed on this track.

On the Plaque:
From this spot may be seen a portion of the world-renowned Loop completed in 1876 under the direction of William Hood, Southern Pacific railroad engineer. In gaining elevation around the central hill of the Loop, a 4,000-foot train will cross 77 feet above its rear cars in the tunnel below.

From the National Historic Civil Engineering Site:
The Tehachapi Pass Railroad Line was cut through solid and decomposed granite by about 3,000 Chinese laborers using nothing more than picks, shovels, horse drawn carts, and blasting powder. This line, which rises from the San Joaquin Valley and through the Tehachapi Mountains, originally included 18 tunnels, ten bridges and several water towers to accommodate the steam locomotives. Completed in less than two years, it was part of the final line of the first railroad to connect San Francisco with Los Angeles.

The single-track line, essentially unchanged through the years, remains in use today and accommodates an average of 36 freight trains per day. The Tehachapi Loop, which is about half way upgrade to the Tehachapi Pass, averages 2.2% in gradient across its 28-mile length. The unique loop provides an entry tunnel from which the track travels in a complete counterclockwise loop that passes over the tunnel. The loop is 3,799-feet long, with a diameter of about 1,210 feet.
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