BATTLING GRAVITY IN BEALVILLE

摘要

LOOPING HAS BEEN a time-honored method for railroads to cross mountains. It is not only for the ease in ascending but also in descending: In steam days before diesels and dynamic braking, plain bearing journals and curves helped keep untold trains under control on the downhill. It was true everywhere from the Blue Ridge in North Carolina, to Crawford in western Nebraska, and Cantara in Northern California. It is fascinating engineering and physics at work. Even the Union Pacific's final approach to fabled Promontory Summit was one giant loop. On a mild February 2020 day, I've come to study and be amazed at the timeless battle of man and machine vs. gravity and geography at a popular train-watching site, Bealville, Calif, not far from the famous Tehachapi Loop. UP and BNSF Railway are the teachers.