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Re: Railroads That were never Built
Author: BOB2
Date: 07-03-2008 - 16:17
AT&SF's biggest unfinished line, and they kick themselves in the ass, every day, was the failure to completed the planned ATSF owned parallel Tehachipi line.
The planned ATSF line would have gone straight west from the old Barstow-Mojave alignment at Muroc Dry Lake, approximately along the LA County Line, about 10-15 miles south of Mojave, to a planned tunnel through the Grapevine/Tejon pass (near the state water project pumping station on the CA aqueduct). Then it would have descended along the foothills through the Tejon Ranch on a much gentler grade, but a longer distance route, to Bakersfield. Map and a story were contained a few years ago in the ATSF HS&TS Warbonnet.
The shared UP/BNSF Tehachipi line today is a mess due to steep grades and limited capacity. A variation of this planned route could/may still be considered today for shared use by intermodal and the CA high speed rail, which has yet to be defined over this segment.
The planned ATSF line would have gone straight west from the old Barstow-Mojave alignment at Muroc Dry Lake, approximately along the LA County Line, about 10-15 miles south of Mojave, to a planned tunnel through the Grapevine/Tejon pass (near the state water project pumping station on the CA aqueduct). Then it would have descended along the foothills through the Tejon Ranch on a much gentler grade, but a longer distance route, to Bakersfield. Map and a story were contained a few years ago in the ATSF HS&TS Warbonnet.
The shared UP/BNSF Tehachipi line today is a mess due to steep grades and limited capacity. A variation of this planned route could/may still be considered today for shared use by intermodal and the CA high speed rail, which has yet to be defined over this segment.
