By Tommy Johnson

This DVD is the latest addition to my collection and it turned out to be one of my very best railroad videos.
When 7idea Productions puts out a video on a subject, you need to buy a copy, no matter how many videos you might have on the same subject by other producers. When you watch the 7idea Production video you will feel that you are really seeing the subject for the first time. That’s how much better the 7idea Productions videos are compared to the others.

We watch in wide screen splendor as we travel timetable south from Bakersfield, CA, to Mojave, CA, following the Union Pacific’s route through the Tehachapi Mountains. The Tehachapi’s lie between the San Joaquin Valley to the north and the Mojave Desert to the south. The view of the railroad action is virtually unobstructed since these mountains are covered by grass and shrubs with no large trees.

BNSF has trackage rights on this sub and we actually see more BNSF action than UP action.

The grade is 2.2% for much of the climb to the summit of Tehachapi Pass near the town of Tehachapi. The word “Tehachapi” means “hard climb” in some native American language. We encounter two very interesting sections of track on our way to this summit, Caliente Horseshoe and Tehachapi Loop.

The Caliente Horseshoe is a place with some good RR action as trains climb out of Caliente Canyon. We can see portions of the same train going in opposite directions at this location .

The time spent at Tehachapi Loop makes this video worth the price of admission. It is absolutely fascinating to see trains looping over themselves. The head end of the train passes 77 feet above the trailing cars as they go through the tunnel.

This video comes with my highest recommendation. I think any rail fan would enjoy this one.