One of the engineering feats of its day, the Loop was built by Southern Pacific Railroad to ease the grade over Tehachapi Pass. Construction began in 1874, and the line opened in 1876.[3] Contributors to the project's construction include Arthur De Wint Foote and the project's chief engineer, William Hood.[4]

The siding on the loop is known as Walong after Southern Pacific District Roadmaster W. A. Long.[5][6]

The project was constructed under the leadership of Southern Pacific’s civil engineers, James R. Strobridge and William Hood, using a predominantly Chinese labor force.[citation needed] The Tehachapi Loop[dubious – discuss] took under two years to complete, featuring 18 tunnels, 10 bridges, and numerous water towers for the steam locomotives.[citation needed] Between 1875-76 about 3,000 Chinese workers equipped with little more than hand tools, picks, shovels, horse drawn carts and blasting powder cut through solid and decomposed granite to create the helix-shaped 0.73 mile loop with grades averaging about 2.2 percent and an elevation gain of 77 feet.[citation needed] In 1882 the line was extended through Southern California and the Mojave Desert with 8,000 Chinese men working under Strobridge and another man.[citation needed] Both of the men came out of retirement after working on the Central Pacific Railroad.[citation needed]

A large white cross, "The Cross at the Loop", stands atop the hill in the center of the loop in memory of two Southern Pacific Railroad employees killed on May 12, 1989, in a train derailment in San Bernardino, California.[3]

The Tehachapi Depot Museum stands in the nearby town of Tehachapi.[citation needed]

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