Tehachapi Loop

The Tehachapi Loop is part of the Southern Pacific/Santa Fe rail line that goes through the Tehachapi area. Due to the steep grade, railway engineers building the track in the 1870's made a loop, where the track makes a full circle to gain altitude. A 4,000-foot train crosses 77 feet above its rear cars in the tunnel below. This is a tremendously popular attraction for railway enthusiasts, or "railfans" (the local Chamber of Commerce estimates that 30,000 people come to the loop every year to watch the trains loop over themselves).