Late on a spring day, a westbound Santa Fe freight zigzags downgrade through the reverse curves at Caliente. When SP built the line over Tehachapi, its construction crews came right up the very fickle Caliente Creek and stopped here for some time. The creek mostly runs as a trickle, if that, but at times can turn into a raging, track-destroying monster, as the railroads have discovered over the years. In hindsight, it would have been much better had SP started its climb into the mountains somewhat closer to Bakersfield than following the easy but circuitous-- and subsequently ruinous--streambed.
