Tehachapi Pass Railroad Line

Tehachapi Pass Railroad Line (HM7OU)

Location: Gettysburg, CA 17325 Kern County
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Country: United States of America
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N 35° 11.688', W 118° 32.064'

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Inscription

Constructed 1874 - 1876

— Commemorated October 1998 —

In front of you is the world famous Tehachapi Loop which is about halfway upgrade to the Tehachapi Pass. This steep line averages 2.2% in gradient in its 28 miles of length. This feat of civil engineering genius was crowning achievement of civil engineer William Hood of the Southern Pacific Railway Company. It is one of the seven wonders of the railroad world.

The Tehachapi Pass Railroad Line was cut through solid and decomposed granite by up to 3000 Chinese laborers from Canton, China. They used picks, shovels, horse drawn carts and blasting powder. This line, which climbs out of the San Joaquin Valley and through the Tehachapi Mountains had 18 tunnels, 10 bridges and numerous water towers for the old steam locomotives. It was completed in less than 2 years time under the leadership of civil engineer J.B. Harris, Chief of Construction, a remarkable feat.

This line was part of the last and final link of the first railroad line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. It was a primary factor in the early growth of the City of Los Angeles and the State of California.

This single track line, essentially unchanged, is still in constant use today, 122 years after its completion. It passes an average of 36 freight trains each day. This attests to the superior job of both engineering and construction done by the two civil engineers and the Chinese laborers.
Details
HM NumberHM7OU
Tags
Year Placed1998
Placed ByHistory and Heritage Committee, Los Angeles Section and Southern San Joaquin Branch, American Society of Engineers
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, October 3rd, 2014 at 8:34pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)11S E 360310 N 3895724
Decimal Degrees35.19480000, -118.53440000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 35° 11.688', W 118° 32.064'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds35° 11' 41.28" N, 118° 32' 3.84" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)717
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 26800-26842 Woodford-Tehachapi Rd, Gettysburg CA 17325, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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