Rounding the big horseshoe curve at Caliente is Union Pacific freight train MRVEP-20, climbing the Tehachapi Mountains as it makes its way from Roseville CA to El Paso TX. Here at milepost 336, the train is already around 1400-feet above sea level and, 26 miles ahead, it will crest the summit in the town of Tehachapi at 4031-feet. UP ES44AC 7081, one-month-old Norfolk Southern AC44C6M 4640 and UP SD70M 3949 lead this manifest (the 21st Century term for a mixed-car freight train), with UP AC4400CW 5782 and NS AC44C6M 4393 as the rear Distributed Power Units. The front of the train is crossing over the highway from Bealville, while the middle of the train (to the left, out of the photo) is crossing the same highway at grade, blocking traffic. (Caliente, California – April 23, 2023)
