Tehachapi Loop

[5] One of the engineering feats of its day, the Loop was built by Southern Pacific Railroad to ease the grade over Tehachapi Pass.

[8][9] 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.

[3] The Tehachapi line necessitated 18 tunnels, 10 bridges, and numerous water towers to replenish steam locomotives.

[1] Between 1875 and 1876, about 3,000 Chinese workers equipped with little more than hand tools, picks, shovels, horse-drawn carts and blasting powder cut through solid and decomposed granite to create the helix-shaped 0.72-mile (1.16 km) loop with grades averaging about 2.2 percent and an elevation gain of 77 feet (23 m).

[3][13][14] 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.