Tehachapi Loop
The Tehachapi Loop is a railway structure in California ( USA ). The range of circle bend through the Tehachapi Mountains overcomes the difference in height in the form of a 1.17 km long loop (English: loop ). Long trains cross themselves this way.
The Tehachapi Pass rail line connects Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley with Mojave in the Antelope Valley . It was built between 1874 and 1876 by the Southern Pacific Railroad under chief engineer William Hood. The single-track route enabled the first rail link between San Francisco and Los Angeles .
The mountain route originally comprised 18 tunnels , ten bridges and numerous water towers to supply the steam locomotives . It was built in less than two years by up to 3,000 workers from China under the direction of the American civil engineer J. B. Harris. At that time it was considered one of the greatest technical masterpieces of its time. Over a length of 45 km (28 miles) with an average gradient of 2.2 percent, it overcomes a difference in altitude of around 1000 meters.
The steep ascent between Caliente and the Tehachapi Pass posed a challenge for the designers. After the route initially gained height at the foothills of the mountain range, the almost unsolvable problem remained, an increase of 23.50 meters (77 feet) in a small space ) to reach. William Hood solved the problem by building a loop that was unique at the time. The route leads from Keene to the southeast through a short tunnel, then runs counterclockwise around a hill, crosses the tunnel and then continues east. The loop has a diameter of about 370 meters.
The Tehachapi Loop is part of an extremely winding route through the mountains. The twists and turns add up to around 8300 degrees, more than 23 times a circle. To cope with the incline, the trains between Bakersfield and Tehachapi will be reinforced with additional locomotives.
After an earthquake in 1952, the buried stretch and the collapsed tunnels were made usable again within just three weeks. The American Society of Civil Engineers names the Tehachapi Loop one of the seven railroad wonders of the world. In 1998, the association named the Tehachapi Loop a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark . The Loop has been a historic landmark of the State of California since 1953 ( California State Historic Landmark No. 508).
The line is currently owned by the Union Pacific Railroad , which was taken over by the Southern Pacific in 1996. According to a line utilization rights (trackage rights agreement) from 1899 it is also used by the BNSF Railway used. A maximum speed of 37 kilometers per hour applies within the loop.
The Tehachapi Loop is popular with rail enthusiasts because it combines frequent train traffic (40 to 60 long freight trains per day) with spectacular scenery. A special event was the journey of two passenger trains through the loop on June 22, 2008, as only freight trains have been running on this route since 1971. In a historic railway depot in the nearby small town of Tehachapi there is a railway museum with historical exhibits. The Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum burned down in June 2008 shortly before the planned opening, was renovated and opened on June 5, 2010.
The Tehachapi Loop is located in Walong , a census-designated place in Kern County . The name is reminiscent of WA Long, a District Roadmaster for the Southern Pacific. A siding and siding built in 1909 on the uphill section is known as Walong Siding .
A white cross on the top of the hill in the middle of the loop commemorates two workers on the Southern Pacific Railroad who were killed in a train derailment on May 12, 1989 in San Bernardino .
See also
- List of roundabouts for similar structures
Web links
- Photos from the Tehachapi Loop
- Tehachapi Loop at YouTube.com; Special feature: 7 locomotives at the top.
Coordinates: 35 ° 12 ′ 3 ″ N , 118 ° 32 ′ 13 ″ W.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b for the text of the memorial plaque, see http://vredenburgh.org/tehachapi/data/plaques01.htm
- ↑ a b Historic Amtrak Passenger Service through the loop. Tehachapi News, August 30, 2006, archived from the original July 16, 2008 ; accessed on December 31, 2016 (English).
- ^ Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum / Visit the Depot. tehachapidepot.com, accessed January 1, 2017 .
- ↑ Jenkins, Jim C. and Jenkins, Ruby Johnson: Exploring the Southern Sierra, West Side . Wilderness Press, 1995, ISBN 0-89997-181-4 , pp. 23 .
- ^ Durham, David L .: California's Geographic Names . Quill Driver Books, 1998, ISBN 1-884995-14-4 , pp. 1124 .
- ↑ Walong (The Tehachapi Loop). trainweb.org, accessed January 1, 2017 .