Western Railroad Discussion > California's Forgotten Loop

On a cold, stormy day in Northern California, Union Pacific 6662 guides a 7,000' MNPRVX around the Williams Loop, east of Quincy. Guarding this iconic piece of railroad engineering are two classic searchlight signals.

Lets hear it... Tehachapi or Williams?

January 10th, 2018.

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Williams since I had the privilege of traveling over it on the CZ on Christmas Day, 1963.

BB

That is really, really impressive work Jake. Well done!

Posted from Android

Nice shot, with the searchlights just slightly out of focus...

But for me it's Tehachapi.... the surrounding countryside, the atmosphere of SoCal and the perspective over the entire loop is utterly spectacular.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/18 07:22 by exhaustED.

Well done from the Feather Canyon Route. Good to look at a aerial video

Bob Jordan

Painful as it is for this SP fan to admit, you asked, so I'll answer: Williams Loop for sure! It's just a far more scenic area to me, better chance for snowfall, just about everyone shoots Tehachapi, not too many trains on Williams these days so tougher to get the shot, and lighting tends to be tough in that area as well. So all and all, I much prefer Williams Loop and tend to find shots done by others in that area far more interesting than the loop down south.

PS - nice shot!

Nice shot!

Great photo. I remember our first trip thru the loop with 3985 and a 21 car train.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Williams....great picture!

Thanks for sharing.

> But for me it's Tehachapi.... the surrounding countryside, the atmosphere of SoCa...

You've got a point there - Tehachapi has much better smog than Williams Loop!

I live along the the CP mainline's Laggan Sub, home to the 2 spiral tunnels which are "loops". They're a little different than either of California's loops in that the loop is inside a mountain. But I find the loop engineering fascinating. Visiting both Tehachapi and Williams are high on my bucket list but Williams is a bit higher. And so is Keddie.

I didn't forget Williams, it's only about 40 minutes from the house!

TJY

Love Williams Loop, although the tree growth the past couple decades has made it nearly impossible to get a variety of good shots there, not to mention the low traffic levels on the ex-WP line.

How many of you know that the high line portion of the loop where it crosses over itself was originally built as a timber trestle? I stumbled on these images at the Plumas County Museum collection in Quincy a few years ago while researching another subject. The actual concrete subway and dirt fill wasn't completed until after the line opened in 1910.

The Feather River Route through Plumas County is definitely one of my favorite places on the planet.

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mp345 Wrote:
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> > But for me it's Tehachapi.... the surrounding
> countryside, the atmosphere of SoCa...
>
> You've got a point there - Tehachapi has much
> better smog than Williams Loop!

Ha ha, at least the sun shines through the smog quite often!

Tehachapi is way overrated.

Milw_E70 Wrote:
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> Tehachapi is way overrated.

Yeah course it is. Bit like Yosemite, the grand Canyon and Planet Earth generally...

Interesting photos, also shows that little road that enters the area. Not sure if that had been a major road for the day or was simply an access road.

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> Love Williams Loop, although the tree growth the
> past couple decades has made it nearly impossible
> to get a variety of good shots there, not to
> mention the low traffic levels on the ex-WP line.
>
>
> How many of you know that the high line portion of
> the loop where it crosses over itself was
> originally built as a timber trestle? I stumbled
> on these images at the Plumas County Museum
> collection in Quincy a few years ago while
> researching another subject. The actual concrete
> subway and dirt fill wasn't completed until after
> the line opened in 1910.
>
> The Feather River Route through Plumas County is
> definitely one of my favorite places on the
> planet.

Great pic from an underrated spot!

PQM

Milw_E70 Wrote:
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> Tehachapi is way overrated.


No it's not overrated. Tehachapi is great as is Williams Loop. We are Blessed to have both within the same state. These two loops are both great feats of engineering. I love them both!

SantaFeRuss

TCnR Wrote:
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> Interesting photos, also shows that little road
> that enters the area. Not sure if that had been a
> major road for the day or was simply an access
> road.

It's just an access road with a channel underneath for the creek. The construction of the highway (U.S. Alternate Route 40, now State Route 70) didn't begin until 1928.

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