No Longer Available in VHS An imposing obstacle faced the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1875 as it attempted to lay rails from Bakersfield to Mojave, California. By twisting twenty-eight miles of rail from the base of the mountains at Caliente to the summit at Tehachapi, almost doubling the sixteen-mile straight line distance, the famous Tehachapi Loop was formed. SP went on to conquer Tehachapi Pass with a curving, sixty-eight mile rail line, and in so doing created one of the busiest and best-known railroading locations in the western United States. Join Pentrex in an all-new exploration of railroading over Tehachapi. We'll follow Southern Pacific and Santa Fe (whose trackage rights were granted in 1899) southeast from their yards in Bakersfield, up the 2.1 percent grade between Caliente and Tehachapi Summit, to the descent into the Mojave sink. You'll see SP unit oil trains, unit steel trains, and heavy mile-long trains with mid-train helper engines snake their way through the pass. Santa Fe's warbonnet Super Fleet engines head up many trains, as well as older-style 20-cylinder FP45s. Santa Fe hotshots, smoke-belching tunnels, and a rainbow assortment of SP leased motive power add to the excitement. Here, too, is the beauty of the landscape. Whether it's the snow-powdered Loop, golden hillsides, late evening light along the tracks, or white clouds casting long shadows across the curves, you're sure to find Tehachapi a pleasure to observe. This is Tehachapi, non-stop railroading action from start to finish, presented in beautiful Pentrex style for you to enjoy again and again. 80 Minutes |
P.O. Box 94911 Pasadena, CA 91109-4911 |