The horseshoe curve at Caliente, CA, is on the Union Pacific's Mojave sub-division, part of the old Southern Pacific Los Angeles-San Francisco Valley Route, which was built between 1875 and 1876. The curve is about a 2 mile drive north from CA 58 on Bealville Road.
There is generally quite a bit of traffic in both directions on this part of the sub-division, both Union Pacific and BNSF, and there are many different spots at and around the curve to catch the action. Bealville Rd crosses the railroad line shortly after leaving CA 58 and then passes under it again just before reaching Caliente itself. These are good spots for taking photos, and the winding line and slow speed of most trains means you can catch them at both locations.
Caliente, CA, should not be confused with Caliente, NV, a small town with a disused passenger depot on the Union Pacific line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Once part of the old Los Angeles & Salt Lake City Railroad, the station building there has been turned into a small local museum.
Above, an eastbound intermodal freight hauled by BNSF GE ES44DC #7450 and #7632, and GE C44-9W #5174 pulls onto the siding at Caliente to await a crossover with a westbound freight in the morning.
The panoramic view of the horseshoe curve above looking east was made from an access road just off Caliente Bodfish Road, which runs along the base of the embankment on the right in this view.
The curve was completed in 1876 as part of the line constructed to carry the Southern Pacific railway up from the San Joaquin Valley to the Mojave plateau through a narrow spur of hills that connects the southern end of the Sierra Nevadas and the Tehachapi Mountains. This route also includes the well known Tehachapi Loop about 8 miles south of here (you can see photos of Tehachapi Loop on this website). Caliente is 1,290 feet above sea level but, from here, the line begins its climb over the spur to the Mojave plateau.
Three years after the line opened, Crofutt's New Overland Tourist and Pacific Coast Guide noted that there were several stores, a hotel, a large station building and freight warehouse here, with a considerable volume of freight being re-shipped in wagons to the surrounding countryside (you can see Crofutt's 1879 New Overland Tourist and Pacific Coast Guide on the books and manuals page of this website). Daily stage coaches also departed from here to Havillah, twenty-five miles south on Caliente Bodfish Rd, and for Kernville, forty-five miles north. Today, there is very little road traffic, and all that remains are a few farm houses and a small general store that doubles as the local post office.
The photos above were also taken from just off Caliente Bodfish Road. This is an excellent location to catch the action. As well as being close to the trains, you get great views of the curve.
With the westbound train having cleared the single line, the eastbound train starts into the curve heading towards Bakersfield.
The dry creek bed strewn with wild oaks in the foreground of these views is Caliente Creek.
As the eastbound train climbs out of the valley, GE ES44DC locomotives #7450 and #7632, and GE C44-9W #5174's engines are roaring. Plumes of blue exhaust drape the valley, and this is where the real work begins! In the next twenty-five miles, they will have to haul their load an additional 2,674 feet up to Tehachapi Pass over a grade that averages just over 2% the entire distance.
ES44DC indicates that the two lead locomotives are GE Transportation Systems Evolution Series, six axle, 4,400 hp, DC traction units powered by GE GEVO engines. They were designed to meet the US Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 2 locomotive emissions standards, which came into force in 2005. Depending on the customer's preferences, the units can be equipped with either AC or DC traction motors and, as well as a healthy US market, they have been exported to China, Australia, Brazil and Kazakhstan.
BNSF is one of the main users of the the Evolution Series. At the time of last updating this page, BNSF rostered seven hundred and twenty-six ES44AC units, forty-eight ES44C4 units and seven hundred and twenety-one ES44DC units.
Above, the triple header leaves the curve. There is both BNSF and UP action on the curve, although all the photos on this page are of BNSF units.
Be warned, however, there are no food or gas stations at Caliente: the nearest are nine miles away in Keene. The curve is about a one hundred and twenty mile drive from Los Angeles, so you can make it a day's outing from there. Alternatively, there are hotels in the town of Tehachapi about twenty miles south east on CA 58, or Bakersfield is just twenty-seven miles west.
Twenty minutes after the eastbound train has cleared the curve, a double stack westbound freight edges down.
This sequence of photos was taken from Caliente Creek Road just to the east of the Caliente Bodfish Road railroad crossing.
ATSF GE C40-9W #626 leads BNSF GE C40-9W #5447, #5017 and #5417 as they round the curve, cross Caliente Creek and enter the Caliente Bodfish Road railroad crossing.
#626 sports the old Santa Fe warbonnet.
Having dropped some 200' from the hills above Caliente Creek, the line swings through 180° to arrive at the valley floor. The train then rolls east towards Bakersfield.
On the left in the photos below, the site of the long gone Caliente depot.
Above, it's mid morning and an eastbound freight train crawls down the grade towards Caliente.
Meanwhile, below, a line of twelve helpers are waiting to move west out of the siding.
Below, the triple header, hauling a mixed consist, negotiates the curve and crosses Caliente Creek with BNSF GE C44-9W #4407 in the lead.
BNSF GE C44-9W #4847 and #5380 make up the trio.
After taking the curve, the train continues east towards Bakersfield.
Below, BNSF GE C44-9W #5009 pushes the last of the consist into the curve at the far end of the valley.
Once the east bound main has cleared, the helpers head out.
It's a mixed bunch. BNSF GE C44-9W #4373 is in the lead with Norfolk Southern liveried GE C40-9W #8918 and BNSF GE C44-9W #5120 behind.
