Check this out guys, X Plane (a flight simulator) actually has the Tehachapi Loop in the latest scenery package: The terrain resolution and hillside textures could use some improvement but I sure do love flying around the Tehachapi pass area, especially when the famous loop is even there to gawk at from above. )
My favorite set of tracks (the prototype for my module) - the Cuesta Pass, is also there near San Luis Obispo, but the scenery textures need some work. Still, it is fun cruising around like a wild railfan in a plane, checking out my favorite railroad landmarks.
Unless the sim has turbulence for the area programmed, it probably isn't a real experience. Many years ago in the '60's a friend and I in his Cessna 170 (yep, taildragger) were flying around that area. Home field was William J. Fox, Lancaster. We shot an approach to the southern airfield at Tehachapi (there are two) and got into a downdraft that full power and climb attitude were not overcoming. About 1/4 mile off the end of the runway we flew out of it and made a successful touch and go. Scary. The turbulence around "chicken ridge" coming back into the Antelope Valley always got your attention. Oh yeah, this is about trains. We saw a lot of SP and ATSF traffic in the area.
Of course! Mostly though I throttle back to 120kts. and cruise around just below the mountaintops. The sim can produce turbulence but not the kind that depends on wind flowing over terrain. Regarding trains, there is a slim chance that I could relocate to somewhere in the hills of Tehachapi in 2-3 years due to possible work as an engineer in Mojave. Talk about railfan opportunities, and the housing market isn't nearly as inflated there as in LA (no work out in the sticks, lol).
