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Aerial view of Esperanza.
The wooden trestle.
A 3 train meet at Esperanza!
A long SP drag crosses the trestle.
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Esperanza
At Esperanza, the mainline, now single track, crosses a high steel deck bridge, then a huge curved wooden trestle as the eastbound grade increases to 2%. The mainline curves and doubles back as it climbs the hill, creating a panoramic vista as trains struggle up the hill.
The terrain in Esperanza is very rugged. The single track railroad crosses the Esperanza Creek below on a high steel bridge. Under the bridge is the branch line from Hadley.
After crossing the steel bridge, the track follows the curve of a huge wooden trestle, struggling up the grade in Esperanza. If you listen closely, you can hear the rails "humm" as the train creeps across the trestle, an item saved from our original layout.
There is a short tunnel, blasted through the solid rock hillside, just east of the trestle. It is the first of two tunnels on the entire California Southern. The other tunnel lies just ahead, around the curve, as the railroad climbs towards the upper level.
Mongo's military express!
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