Tehachapi Loop

One of the engineering feats of its day, the Loop was built by Southern Pacific Railroad to ease the grade over Tehachapi Pass. Construction began in 1874, and the line opened in 1876. Contributors to the project's construction include Arthur De Wint Foote and the project's chief engineer, William Hood. The siding on the loop is known as Walong after Southern Pacific District Roadmaster W. A. Long. The project was constructed under the leadership of Southern Pacific's civil engineers, James R. Strobridge and William Hood, using a predominantly Chinese labor force. The Tehachapi line necessitated 18 tunnels, 10 bridges, and numerous water towers to replenish steam locomotives. In 1882, the line was extended through Southern California and the Mojave Desert with 8,000 Chinese men working under Strobridge and another man. In the 1990s, the tunnels were modified to enable double-stack intermodal trains to use the loop. ==Operations==

The Loop became the property of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1996, when the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific systems merged. Trains of the BNSF Railway also use the loop under trackage rights. Although Southern Pacific ran passenger trains on the Loop for years, it banned passenger service there soon after handing its trains to Amtrak in 1971. Union Pacific has maintained the ban since taking over Southern Pacific. ==Recognition and access==

A concrete viewing platform was constructed at the scenic overlook on Woodford-Tehachapi Road in the summer of 2021, allowing railroad enthusiasts to watch trains on the loop at a safe distance from the winding, two-lane roadway. The Tehachapi Depot Museum is located in the nearby town of Tehachapi. The California Historical Landmark plaque reads: :NO. 508 TEHACHAPI LOOP - From this spot may be seen a portion of the world-renowned Loop completed in 1876 under the direction of William Hood, Southern Pacific railroad engineer. In gaining elevation around the central hill of the Loop, a 4,000-foot train will cross 77 feet above its rear cars in the tunnel below. A large white cross, "The Cross at the Loop", stands atop the hill in the center of the loop in memory of two Southern Pacific Railroad employees killed on May 12, 1989, in a train derailment in San Bernardino, California. ==See also==