We model the Mojave Subdivision in the year 1994, the last full year of operations under the Southern Pacific, and Santa Fe flags. The SP is still a EMD powerhouse, with SD45 and SD40T-2 models dominating the helper pool, tired but consistent. Newer GE "Dash-9" models do make appearances on road freights and intermodals. Lumber traffic is heavy, and heavy drags lug their way up the mountain behind lashups of five or six locomotives.
The Santa Fe side is a different story entirely, the Santa Fe is an railroad backboned in high-speed intermodal service, and the famous 199/991 trains still scale the mountain in record time, pulled by new GE & EMD road power in the hallowed "Warbonnet" paint scheme. There are however, still manifests that must climb the hill, and they are led by a fleet of the Santa Fe's blue and yellow locomotives.
The Monolith cement plant is alive and bustling, requiring daily switching by the SP's "Mountain Local." Santa Fe grain trains tip toe up and down the hill, and the SP "oil cans" still make their daily trip up the loop. All in all, this is pass at its height, when big manifests and fast intermodals all fought for space on one of the United States greatest stages, the Tehachapi Pass.
The Santa Fe side is a different story entirely, the Santa Fe is an railroad backboned in high-speed intermodal service, and the famous 199/991 trains still scale the mountain in record time, pulled by new GE & EMD road power in the hallowed "Warbonnet" paint scheme. There are however, still manifests that must climb the hill, and they are led by a fleet of the Santa Fe's blue and yellow locomotives.
The Monolith cement plant is alive and bustling, requiring daily switching by the SP's "Mountain Local." Santa Fe grain trains tip toe up and down the hill, and the SP "oil cans" still make their daily trip up the loop. All in all, this is pass at its height, when big manifests and fast intermodals all fought for space on one of the United States greatest stages, the Tehachapi Pass.
The railroad operates on 100% battery power, although we do have the capability to run track power. Construction on the outside is track on top of two-inch concrete that is reinforced with re-bar. The tunnels use a mix of different methods for construction. Scenery on the outside is mostly zoyza grass and Dwarf Alburtis Spruce trees trimmed to look like trees found on Tehachapi. Since the Tehachapi range is on "the high desert," the scenery is overall very barren with small amounts of vegetation growing due to small amount annual of rain received on the real Tehachapi.