Western Railroad Discussion > A Study of Cliff

I was first introduced to Tehachapi Pass by my grandpa in 2003 - I was 12 years old and we camped trackside at the loop, right at the E. Waylong switch. I immedeatly fell in love with the rugged mountain railroading and unique climate changes between the Central Valley and Mojave Desert. Sice 2003, I have made 14 trips and it is easy to say that the Mojave Subdivision is my all time favorite. For the first few trips I stuck to the young, inexperienced foamer spots such as Bena, Caliente, Bealeville crossing, Woodford Siding, The Loop, Summit, and Monolith. Each trip pushed my curisotiy for more unique locations that took a little more effort to achive. This past June, JMF1910 and I ventured down to Tehahcapi Pass with one location in mind. Cliff. Besides Illmon, it was the only trackage that I hand't photographed, but always fantasized about shooting. Here is a collection and review of 2 days of hard work with John in which we tracked trains specifically to shoot them on the elusve "Cliff" 

This photo essay will move West to East

The 8,841* foot Cliff Siding sits perched above the small town of Caliente and runs parallel to the south west of Tehahapi Creek. The area known as cliff begins at MP 341.8 (E. portal of Tunnel #5) and geographically ends at MP 344.2 (E. protal of Tunnel #8) - However, Cliff Siding ends at 343.3 (W. portal Tunnel #7). There are two ways to access this trackage. From the west you turn east off of Bealville road and drive over Tunnel #3. From that point it is up to you to figure out how to travel to the west portal of Tunnel #5 and around the hillside to the west end of the siding. From the east you travel west down Avenue E. from Keene. Turn left/east at the east end of Rowen Siding and it is up to you to figure out how to get to the other end of Rowen and further to the east portal of Tunnel #8. 

1. WB BNSF entering Tunnel #3 - The rear of the train can be seein going through Tunnel #5 above.

2. EB UP manifest exits Tunnel #5 and onto the main track of Cliff Siding - Climbing a 2.3% grade.

3. Same location - different perspective



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/20 10:54 by SCUfoamer.

---

---

---

#4 - WB BNSF Z on the main track about 800 feet into the siding

#5 - WB UP Z about half way down Cliff Siding

#6 - Same location - different perspective



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/20 10:26 by SCUfoamer.

---

---

---

#7 - WB BNSF intermodal coming out of Tunnel #8 approaching Tunnel #7

#8 - EB BNSF manifest entering Tunnel #8

#9 - WB BNSF intermodal entering Tunnel #8 - The back of this train is just clearing West Rowen. 

Thanks for visiting! 

---

---

---

Nice series!

Joe

Great series of shots!!

Kim Heusel

Outstanding bunch. Apparently Cliff siding sees little use these days?
JB

Very nice shots!  An area that's hard to access, but well worth the effort.

3rdswitch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Outstanding bunch. Apparently Cliff siding sees
> little use these days?
> JB

We poked around a bit where the latest derailment had happened near the E. switch. The siding is off camber and seems like a geometrical nightmare. We have a haunch that dispatchers are highly encourgaed to treat the siding as a worst case scenario for meets. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/20 08:08 by SCUfoamer.

Really nice series and worth the effort to focus on one area of the pass. Ah, I remember the days where camping options were more readily available from Bealville to Mojave.

On my second trip to Tehachapi in 2005, my dog and I were startled by a rattlesnake that we disturbed above the abandoned Tunnel 4 while hiking up to Cliff, not far from where your first shot is. (Fortunately I was quick to pull my dog away, as she was between me and the snake and it was rattling and coiled to strike. Once we were at a safe distance I grabbed a few shots of it.)

Sean

SCUfoamer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for visiting! 

Great job checking Cliff off the list! I envy your "Shelter-in-Tehachapi." :-)

Great shots, its a hike either way you go in there. Thanks for sharing your efforts with us.

Tom

Nice set of pictures from certainly what would qualify as the less seen side of Tehachapi.

As for how often Cliff gets used, it is like most of the pass up there and gets regular use. In November 2016 they even extended it from 7530' to 8841' to make it more usable for the longer trains of today.

Great series!

Note the fence in 4, 5, and 6.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Nice pics!!

ns1000 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice pics!!

Ditto

SantaFeRuss

Great shots!

great series...   When I ran over Tehachapi all the tie were wooden instead of concrete..  the scenry hasn;t really changed in 50 years !  Except the colors of the locomotives !

Great pictures. I miss Tehachapi. I was there in July 2013. Three days running around. In that time, there were an accident with a UP and BNSF
autorack train just above the tunnel after the loop. So, there was a few trains running that time. I hope to come back one day.

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

No. 3 is great!

RC Lundgren
Elgin, TX