Caliente California Post Office
The railroad passes through the center of the small town of Caliente in Kern County, California. The town received its original, name, Allen’s Camp, from Gabriel Allen, who in the 1870s had a cabin and stock pasture at the site. The Southern Pacific railroad reached the small town in 1875. This railroad terminus became a shipping point for cattle from Walker's Basin and Bear Mountain, as well as, freight bound to and from the mining town of Havilah in the southern Greenhorn Mountains. Upon arrival, the Southern Pacific Railroad established a construction headquarters at Allen’s Camp and renamed the town Caliente. For over 16 months a work force of up to 3,000 mostly Chinese men laid track up and over Tehachapi Pass. It was heavy construction which included the famous Tehachapi Loop constructed by Southern Pacific's civil engineer, William Hood. To keep grades around 2% through the pass, Hood elected construct a loop which would pass over itself as a means of gaining elevation. Built during a period of time when almost no type of heavy machinery existed except dynamite the loop was built using a large force of laborers. Hood's loop used cut and fill methods to keep the grade at no greater than 2.2%, which, of course, featured a short tunnel and overpass. It ultimately covered about 3/4 of mile gaining an impressive 77-feet in elevation over the short distance. After all these years the loop is still in use, a testament to outstanding engineering.
Caliente California Post Office
The railroad passes through the center of the small town of Caliente in Kern County, California. The town received its original, name, Allen’s Camp, from Gabriel Allen, who in the 1870s had a cabin and stock pasture at the site. The Southern Pacific railroad reached the small town in 1875. This railroad terminus became a shipping point for cattle from Walker's Basin and Bear Mountain, as well as, freight bound to and from the mining town of Havilah in the southern Greenhorn Mountains. Upon arrival, the Southern Pacific Railroad established a construction headquarters at Allen’s Camp and renamed the town Caliente. For over 16 months a work force of up to 3,000 mostly Chinese men laid track up and over Tehachapi Pass. It was heavy construction which included the famous Tehachapi Loop constructed by Southern Pacific's civil engineer, William Hood. To keep grades around 2% through the pass, Hood elected construct a loop which would pass over itself as a means of gaining elevation. Built during a period of time when almost no type of heavy machinery existed except dynamite the loop was built using a large force of laborers. Hood's loop used cut and fill methods to keep the grade at no greater than 2.2%, which, of course, featured a short tunnel and overpass. It ultimately covered about 3/4 of mile gaining an impressive 77-feet in elevation over the short distance. After all these years the loop is still in use, a testament to outstanding engineering.