Jill's Journal: A railroad expert I'm not, but I can appreciate a really cool thing when I see it. Tehachapi is known for “The Loop,” named one of the seven railroad wonders of the world. It’s worth the drive and the wait for a train. From what I understand, the grade through the mountain pass gets too steep too quick for trains to make it, so engineers in the 1870s had to find a different way to complete the rail line from San Francisco to Los Angeles. By causing a train to spiral over and under itself (or go in a loop), 77 feet of elevation could be gained in one spot.
Seeing the train tracks alone can’t give one an appreciation for the feat. It’s only when one spots a 4,000-foot train methodically spiraling around itself that amazement for the genius of 140 years ago sets in. And it is still the “most heavily trafficked single track main line in the country.”
The girls were pretty awed (and so were the grown-ups). Pictures truly don’t do it justice.
RobNote: I wanted to add a picture of the loop so that those that haven't been there can see what it really is. Our viewpoint was from the right of this photo, looking across it right to left. 
2 comments:
Rob and Jill ~ loved this entry about the loop and especially since we just got to see it a month ago while there! Rob, good idea with the "above shot" of the loop!
Julie
This might have to be a place we stop by while Wills is such a train fiend. That is super cool!
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