Banning, CA to Bakersfield avoiding Riverside:Pasadena

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Glad you made it safely Scott.  Not fun losing that exhaust brake!  Years ago we were going from Moab to Salt Lake City with the Ruwards.  Our Jake started acting up and the downhill runs were getting interesting.  I drove while Jerry was troubleshooting and we made numerous stops.  It was nice to have Ron with us because he was so knowledgeable - and it was especially nice to have someone riding shotgun in case we got really stuck or in trouble.  Ain't RVing fun?!?

ArdraF

 
Tehachapi to Bakersfield, along 58, has a lot less traffic than the Grapevine and is a more gentle grade, although I do not know the exact numbers. 

Also, most people zip past Tehachapi without stopping, but it has a couple of interesting places.  First, just west of town is the 1876 Tehachapi Loop where the train tracks make a big circle and loop under themselves.  There is also a small train museum in town.  But I would NOT take a big rig or tow anything on the road (Woodford-Tehachapi Rd) to the Loop, although I took my 32' C there. Just pull over at the marker and wait a few minutes for one of the many trains that go by. I saw an Amtrak train go around the loop and one really long freight train, which was neat.

Also, there is a decent campground (Mountain Valley RV Park) that overlooks the runway at the Glider Airport.  Not fancy, but fun to watch the little tow plane pull the gliders up, especially on weekends.  Campground is not fancy, but sites have electric and water and are decently spaced.  Also good laundromat at campground, and fantastic German bakery in town!  Here is video I took from my campsite:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug6-lrgnfDY&feature=youtu.be

And a link to my blog on the Loop:  http://grandmajjb.blogspot.com/2017/10/1026-tehachapi-ca-and-loop.html
 
JudyJB said:
I saw an Amtrak train go around the loop and one really long freight train, which was neat.
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To see an Amtrak train on the Loop is really unusual. It's a severe bottleneck for freight traffic going in or out of Los Angeles to cities in California, Oregon and Washington and the only time the railroad allows Amtrak to use it is if track maintenance or other issues blocks their normal route from San Francisco to LA via San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.

I was able to luck onto such a detoured trip about 10 years ago.  I happened to look at the Amtrak booking page and there was a footnote saying the Coast Starlight from Seattle to LA would bypass all of it's scheduled stops between Sacramento and Los Angeles on a certain date due to track maintenance.  This meant it would detour down the Central Valley and go via the Loop to Mojave on tracks that normally only carry freight traffic.  Then from Mojave it would run on the MetroLink route through Soledad Canyon into LA.

I booked a seat from Sacramento to Los Angeles and was able to ride the Loop.  The snack bar attendant said she had been working on the train for 5 years and this was the first time she had taken this route.
 
I'm a train fan so we went to Tehachapi and stayed at Mountain Valley RV park for five days.  Never saw a train. 

Turns out they were doing track maintenance during daylight hours and the trains only ran at night. 

Tehachapi has one of the largest cement companies in America. They mine it there and ship it to Los Angeles, you'll see their mining operation on the north side of highway 58 just east of Tehachapi

Explored the area including California City and Mojave.  Pretty exciting stuff.

Judy JB is right, Tehachapi is a fun town to explore.
 
I was very lucky to see the Amtrak train, but there were some real train enthusiasts at the loop pullover site waiting, and they told me it was coming so I waited a few minutes extra.  Can't remember the reason it was on the track that day, but it may have been track maintenance. Click on the link I posted to the loop and you will see the Amtrak train.  Could also have been fires.

Sorry, you missed the trains, Arch.  They have been constant any time I stop there. Now, if you REALLY want to experience trains, try staying in Mohave Narrows Regional Park in Victorville, CA.  There is a very busy track that borders the campground, and then behind it, there is another single track.  Get one of the pull-thru spots on the west side of the campground, and you will literally have trains blowing their whistles in your backyard--all day and all night!  One tip, however.  When they say they lock the gates at dusk, they really mean it.  I had to walk a couple thousand feet in the cold and dark to get the code to get in, only to discover the lock was not really completely shut!  Kind woman drove me back to my vehicle so I could get in.
 
Train Fan here too.. Been to the "Loop" many times and it still amazes me.. the Engineering that went into it's design and construction.. Back In The Day. There's also (may have been mentioned) a very nice Railroad Museum in Tehachapi.. lots of History, as well as Old Timey Signals, and such... that still operate We have always stayed at the "Orange Grove" RV park... just East of Bakersfield, on hwy 58 and Edison Rd. 20 minute drive from the Loop. VERY NICE RV park.

OBTW... there's restaurant in Bakersfield called "Wool Growers" that serves Basque food, Family Style. Be Good'n Hungry.. If You Go....

Joe 
 
Okay, now you got me watching videos of trains on the Loop on YouTube.

Found this one of a steam engine pulling a train through.  The good action starts just before the 4:00 mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_7ACNp8eig
 
JudyJB  Thanks for the tip about Victorville. We are Cracker Barrel fans and the first one in California opened there this past year so may head on down there.  One just opened in Sacramento too so we are headed up there...Cracker Barrel, Smashburger, Fry's Electronics, Ikea.....who could ask for anything more.

BIG JOE We hit the museum in Tehachapi too. We also stay at Orange Grove when in that area. Have been to Wool Growers several times, pretty good.

Went to North Platte, Nebraska and spent several hours at the Baily Train Yard about 10 years ago. 
 
Do you like ships?  One of the neatest places I have been (other than to see HMS Victory and the Mary Rose in Portsmouth, England) is the city campground, Aune Osborn in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.  It is on the St. Mary's River which connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron, and is about a mile east of the Soo Locks.  If you get a reservation early enough, you can get one of the waterfront sites and watch the big lake freighters go by.  There is a website and number to call for their schedules through the locks.

Just to the east of the campground, the ships have to enter a very narrow channel, so as they go past, you can wave at the guys on deck. I got to see one of the 1000' long ships pass a smaller one in front of me.  You can also tour the locks and drive over to Whitefish Point and visit the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, near where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down.  http://grandmajjb.blogspot.com/2015/07/78-aune-osborne-campground-again.html. 
 
Do I like ships?  I was in the U.S. Navy four years...however I was on land duty the whole time.

I like tug boats, subscribed to a Tugboat magazine for a couple years, had a trip planned to Seattle to see tugboats but the trip got cancelled before we got there, long story.

We went to the Panama Canal on a 19 day cruise last year and got to see the new canal where some gigantic cargo ships were going through.  There is a small port on the Pacific side that is like a gas station for ships. Holy Kamoli there were a bunch of ships refueling at that place, including ours.
 
Getting Off Topic but......

Ships ? River Point Landing Marina & RV park in Stockton, Ca is a Real Good venue for Ship Fans. The park is on the bank of the Stockton Deep water channel.. to, and from the Port of Stockton. Ships pass within 150' of the back-in RV sites. Lots of Tug work, Sailing, and Luxury Yachts, as they come & go from nearby Yacht clubs and Marinas ?

Spent 22 years in the Navy Sea Bee's.. but Big Ships still intrigue me too Arch  :) ;)
 
Have thought about going up there, River Point Landing Marina & RV park in Stockton, for the past couple years, just a couple hours north of us. 
 
Arch Hoagland said:
Have thought about going up there, River Point Landing Marina & RV park in Stockton, for the past couple years, just a couple hours north of us.
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We've been there many times with our RV club.. keep going back.. for the Ships. Interesting to be that close to them as they pass, I guess. I-5N to Marsh St., 2 miles West. W&E.. dump sta. Lots to do & see in Stockton, and the area too. Lots off History.
 
Marysmall said:
The 58 is a newer 4 lane divided highway.
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Except for the stoplight at the junction with Hwy 395 at Kramer Junction.  The road narrows to two lanes for 5 miles or so on either side of the intersection and trucks trying to maneuver in and out of the crowded truck stops on the corner can create quite a backup getting through that light. 

When I was working and travelled that route on a regular basis I had to wait up to 20 minutes to get through there on a weekday.

Work is underway on a freeway bypass, but it won't be open until 2021.

http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20180427/kramer-junction-expressway-construction-progressing
 
And, on highway 58, you will be able to see the bullet train as that is the route to Los Angeles. 

We'll all be long gone by the time that happens though.
 
Arch Hoagland said:
And, on highway 58, you will be able to see the bullet train as that is the route to Los Angeles. 

We'll all be long gone by the time that happens though.
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Speak for yourself.  I'm only 75.  lol
 
OP here. This topic has become much more interesting than my original question  ;) ;D
 
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