Big Iron - Well Little Kid and High Rails
Alright, Laurie, I couldn’t find the ONE photo I thought I had from a day of snapping photos of big iron. I’ll find them this weekend (’cause I have to find all my plane photos too). But, just for a little teaser, here’s a shot of our oldest on the “high rail” at 23 months old.
I tell ya, she had fun that day when a 8 engine lash-up with about 80 cars groaned on by! She laughed so hard while holding on to my neck FOR DEAR LIFE! 
This shot is at a very famous spot: The Tehachapi Loop. For those that do not know, this is one of two places in the world where more than 100 feet in altitude is ascended in such a short space. This is actually a helix where the rails pass over one another while climbing 100 feet. You can stand there and never see the beginning or the end of the train as she groans up the grade to get to Mojave or down the grade to Bakersfield.
My wife and I have met people (train freaks like us) from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Florida, and as far away as Austria and Germany!
It really is a must see - and I have more shots to put up … soon.
![[Click Here to Zoom]](http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f104/Fix4RSO/WalkingTheRails_Big.jpg){kind=link}
April 7th, 2006 at 6:52
This is an amazing picture! Cute story. Beautiful setting. Wonder if you ever met my ex in your train enthusiast travels.
April 7th, 2006 at 8:39
Nice shot! I love trains myself. I belong to an HO club, and love to watch the big ones roll. Tehachipi is my favorite spotting site, and I plan on being there sometime this summer.
April 7th, 2006 at 17:03
Great pic!! too cute!
I used to ride the tracks on my horse, back in the day. We had some wild rides when the train came ~ Miss that little horse.
April 10th, 2006 at 7:38
I had a large HO set as a boy. They are not as prevalent nor the exclusive mode of transportation today as they were in the 50s. Did you seen the rails in Europe? They use nuts and lock washers on each tie !
April 10th, 2006 at 11:27
I do remember - and I have a photo from a crossing gate, in and around Frankfurt. I used to ride a 10 speed to work, via two paths. One was through the deep forest that crossed the tracks, and one was a bit more circuitous yet went all on blacktop and was more traveled.
In the evening, the bundesbahn always kept non-main crossing gates down, until morning. The reason is that express trains ran at night - all night - and they went VERY FAST! I used to have to toss my bike over the gate, scurry under, and wait to ensure NOTHING was coming. There was no warning, and you had to listen very carefully.
I’ll post that late evening photo up later today.
Also, I am working on an East Germany posting, predominantly around the evils of communism and what I saw in 1980s West and East Germany. I hope it helps to spread the word that we, the United States of America, truly have the best system. Anyone against it is just, well, LOONEY.
April 10th, 2006 at 19:03
[…] The Chief commented here about how crazy the rail-to-tie system is in Germany. I just so happened to have a shot I took on my way home from “The Shop” after my shift was over. You can see the tail of the train just at the far right of this shot: […]