A typically eclectic mix of Southern Pacific locomotives has just brought a freight out of Bakersfield (at an elevation of 404-feet) and up the town of Tehachapi (3970-feet) on November 25, 1978. Not quite ten miles downhill this train crossed over itself on the famed Tehachapi Loop. Just ahead is the summit, and then it is downhill again to Mojave and Palmdale. SP U30C 7931, a GP35, two U33Cs and an SD45 have a combined 15,700 horsepower, all needed to lift this train 3,566-feet (1,087 meters) in just 50 miles (80.46 kilometers).
