Tehachapi Loop

Built 1874-1876

If the train in this picture were just a little longer, the front would pass directly over the rear as the locomotives completed the loop and continued uphill.

According to the histocal plaque placed by the American Society of Civil Engineers :

"... the world famous Tehachapi Loop ... is about halfway upgrade to the Tehachapi Pass.  This steep line averages 2.2% in gradient in its 28 miles of length.  This feat of civil engineering genius was the crowning achievement of civil engineer William Hood of the Southern Pacific Railway Company.  It is one of the seven wonders of the railroad world.

The Tehachapi Pass Railroad line was cut through solid and decomposed granite by up to 3000 Chinese laborers from Canton, China.  They used picks, shovels, horse drawn carts, and blasting powder.  This line, which climbs out of the San Joaquin Valley and through the Tehachapi Mountains had 18 tunnels, 10 bridges and numerous water towers for the old steam locomotives.  It was completed in less than 2 years time under the leadership of civil engineer J. B. Harris, Chief of Construction, a remarkable feat.

This line was part of the last and final link of the first railroad line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles.  It was a primary factor in the early growth of the City of Los Angeles and the State of California.

This single track line, essentially unchanged, is still in constant use today, 122 years" (as of 1998) "after its completion.  It passes an average of 32 freight trains each day.  This attests to the superior job of both engineering and construction done by the two civil engineers and the Chinese laborers.