Tehachapi Pass not first choice in early days
Tehachapi Pass not first choice in early days
By: Bill Mead
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 1 comment Going east to west in California isn't nearly as easy as going south to north because of the barrier of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and its southern extension, the Tehachapi Mountains. There are surprisingly few good routes across the Sierras even today. Donner Pass between Reno and Sacramento on the north and Tehachapi Pass from Mojave to Bakersfield on the south are the most modern highways across the mountains.
Now you can stop wondering why you pass so many trucks on 58. Other roads across the Sierras are narrower and steeper and there aren't many of them.
Back in the mid-19th century, the Tehachapi Pass was known but was eclipsed by Oak Creek Pass, less than 10 miles to the south, as the favored route of explorers and pioneers. Father Francisco Garces used Oak Creek Pass going east as did John Charles Fremont, the so-called “Pathfinder” who went through Kern County five times during his scientific expeditions. The Tehachapi Pass didn't gain favor until the Central Pacific Rail Road extended its line from Bakersfield to Mojave by way of Tehachapi Pass, linking San Francisco with Los Angeles. That was in 1876.
I can understand why horsemen would prefer Oak Creek Pass because it's a shorter route. I don't know why the railroad didn't go that way. In building railroads, gradient is the key consideration. The maximum grade on the Tehachapi Pass railroad is 2.2 percent. Maybe they couldn't meet that restriction through Oak Creek. I hope one of the local railroad fans can straighten me out on that point.
A few months ago I bought a reprint of an 1855 map of passes in the Southern Sierras that included the Tehachapi Pass. It was prepared by an army survey party commissioned by Jefferson Davis, U.S. Secretary of War, before the Civil War started and Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America. The fine print on the map said the survey was done in expectation of building a transcontinental railroad. The map is incredibly detailed but what surprised me the most was that it gave an elevation for the summit of Tehachapi Pass which was only 40 feet lower than the presently-accepted elevation figure, which has been calculated using high tech laser and GPS equipment.
In 1855, elevations were best determined with barometers, delicate instruments which were often broken during long exploratory treks. When that happened, surveyors simply boiled water and measured the temperature when it started boiling. This would give them approximate elevations. The 1855 calculation is better than approximate, differing from the current elevation by less than the width of a city lot. I can't help admiring those technicians of more than 150 years ago whenever I stand on my back porch and watch traffic crossing the Summit Overpass.
There weren't many people around Tehachapi in 1855. Even so, the residents of this community put on the first Fourth of July celebration ever held in Kern County just a year later. Hey, we hillbillies do like to party but we ought to figure out elevations before the beer arrives.
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Fri Jun 9, 2006 15:07:23 PDT
Thank you Bill, for a great history lesson. They're informative and witty. Please keep them coming.
