Western Railroad Discussion > A Few Hours on Tehachapi

One of the few perks of living in Bakersfield is being "Two hours from anywhere" but in the case of a railfan your even closer to Tehachapi Pass and depending on which side of town you live on you can be up on the pass in 15 minutes.  I left the house before sunrise and told the wife that I would be back before lunch.  In typical Tehachapi fashion I caught seven trains in just a few hours.

1) It's 6:37 am, and the sun has not yet risen from the desert to the East.  The town of Tehachapi remains asleep while the MWCRV-26 starts its descent down the mountain pass.  With less than two hours to work, the crew will use every last minute to bring the train into Bakersfield for the crew change.  As the train negotiates the broad left turn below Cable Crossovers, the engineer knows that he has the entire train on top of him, carefully balancing the train for the journey down the grade.

2) A heavy BNSF manifest drops below Cable crossing Tehahcapi Creek for the third of eight crossings.  This set of power is sporting all three of BNSF's primary schemes H3, H3, H2 MAC leaser and H1 bringing up the rear.

3) Exhaust smoke rises from the portal as the MRVEP-26 emerges from Tunnel 15.  In this stretch of the pass, the railroad and Highway 58 squeeze in tightly together as they near the top of the pass.

-18_lbs

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4) The MRVEP-26 drops down out of Eric passing the local track gang replacing a concrete tie on Main Two.  Tehachapi Pass requires a ton of maintenance to keep the trains running, two class one railroads sharing the predominantly single track mountain grade really puts a toll on the physical track structure.  Curve and Steel gangs are required to visit the mountain yearly to keep things moving.  MoW has to squeeze in any chance they can to patch up the railroad.

5) A BNSF manifest hot on the tail of the MRVEP coming around the corner at Eric where the grade really takes off for a short mile or so before flattening back out one last time at Cameron.

6) Back on the Western slope I caught a loaded grainer going South, opposite of the usual grain movements you see on Tehachapi.  Apparently this train is Montana wheat destined for California's inland empire.  The head end has passed over itself as the mids climb out of the cut.

-18_lbs

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7) I really missed an opportunity by not purchasing a wider angle lens yet for my camera, but if I ignore the lens correction you can get a better view of the train rounding the loop

8) All three sets of power in one shot.  A consist, B consist and C consist.  3x3x2

9) Before heading home I stuck around to catch the MRVLB-26 at Marcel with a fireman at the helm.

-18_lbs

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Great bunch - I really like low-light  no. 1 with the snow-capped mountain.

PCBill

bmarti7 Wrote:
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> Great bunch - I really like low-light  no. 1 with
> the snow-capped mountain.
>
> PCBill

Yes #1 is special.

Bob

Very enjoyable series!!

Larry

Excellent bunch.
JB

Posted from Android

Great series!  Thanks for posting.

texchief1

Nice set, that second one has nice color and contrast...

JG

Wow, you had a great day on Tehachapi!  I always begged my dad for a trip to Tehachapi when visiting my grandparents in Bakersfield.  Your first photo is outstanding, love the lighting and the snow capped mountain in the background!  How did you get #3?  Drone or hike?

Nathan

All of them keepers, but I really like the soft light and angle of #2 - Keep shooting and posting!

Thanks guys, I have to admit that #1 was a grab shot of sorts but was my favorite of the day. I was running up to Loves truck stop to grab some caffeine before finding a spot above the tunnels but checked the company webpage and saw the train was by Monolith so I found a spot to pull off and see what I could make happen.

No drones, all on Terra firma.

-18_lbs

SCUfoamer Wrote:
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> All of them keepers, but I really like the soft
> light and angle of #2 - Keep shooting and posting!

Come on down and we'll try the second perch I was on at Cable for the Tunnel 15 shot. I think it offers similar lighting and angle but with the added bonus of tunnels 16 & 17. Just a matter of finding a train before the sun rises too high.

-18_lbs



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/24 14:30 by 18_lbs.

Beautiful lighting in #2;  Great overview scene in #7

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

Very nice shots, I was on the Pass that afternoon with marginal success. Great work!

BTW Loves? I thought you were a Flying J guy:)

Posted from iPhone

Excellent photos! You've inspired me to go back there.  _ Eric B

Nice shots!!