13 photos included after text.

The next section I will describe is what I call the Sandcut Area.  Again, this area is not visited by Route 58 and is accessed only through the small two lane road called Bena Road.  Bena Road does connect with Route 58 at the same intersection of Bealville Road and then at the next intersection on Route 58 called Route 223.

From Route 223, Bena Road will then parallel Route 58 for a short time and then abruptly curve to go under Route 58.  Just past Route 58, Bena Road will have an intersection with Caliente/Bodfish Road and then after only a couple of miles arrive in Bena.  At that point, Bena Road will continue to Sandcut and then a short time later at the intersection of Tower Line Road, change its name to Edison Hwy and travel all the way to Bakersfield, CA.

Like the Caliente section, there are no amenities at all in the Sandcut Area.  Still no worry since Bakersfield is just over 10 miles away, a full tank is all you will need.  For food, bring your sandwiches.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Sandcut Area makes up the trackage from Ilimon to the small town of Edison.  Along the way the railroad will pass the Bena Bridge, Bena itself, the large "S" curves at Sandcut and the agricultural area between Sandcut and Edison.

This is not Tehachapi Passes photographic highlight, but there are a couple of noteable locations that produce some really good photos.  To get to all of those locations, we first have to get on Bena Road.  So let me start at the beginning of Bena Road at Route 58 and describe it to you.

BENA ROAD FROM ROUTE 58 TO THE BENA BRIDGE

Bena Road actually begins at the intersection of Route 58 and Bealville Road.  Bealville Road turns to the north to go downhill toward Bealville and Caliente, but the other direction to the south is Bena Road.  It will wind its way to Route 223 which has its own intersection with Route 58 just about 1.5 miles from the Bealville intersection.

Bena Road will actually intersect with Route 223 just south of Route 58.  After that intersection, Bena Road will somewhat parallel Route 58 for about 1.5 miles and then curve away.  Just after that Bena Road will immediately return to go under Route 58.  Just .6 miles later, Bena Road will have an intersection with Caliente/Bodfish Road.

You could follow the Caliente/Bodfish Road back to tunnel's #2 and #1 and Caliente itself if you wanted, but it is really not a shortcut unless you came from Bena.

From the intersection with the Caliente/Bodfish Road, Bena Road will continue to be a curvy road for the next 3.9 miles to the Bena Bridge.  It is finally at this point that Bena Road will have any type of photo location near it.

BENA BRIDGE

Off of the Bena Road is an obvious open area with the bridge just off to the right of the roadway.  There is a small hill that you can easily walk up to the edge for great afternoon in summer photos of downhill trains as they go over the bridge.  Up hill trains are also featured as they curve around a curvee and appear before they also cross the bridge.  These photos are best in the early mornings of winter or the mid mornings in summer.

For the next mile the tracks are in a couple of broad curves around the cliffs on the other side of the roadway.  There are several photo locatiions in this immediate area next to Bena Road and from on top of the cliffs.

There are a couple of paths that lead up to the dirt road that curves on the top of those cliffs.  From up there you can get a great overhead angle of the trains in either direction.  Uphill trains are best in the mornings and downhill trains are best in the afternoons.

I found the easiest way up to that road is park in a dirt area on the south side of Bena Road located .3 mile from the Bena bridge area.  From here it is possible to climb over a barbed wire fence and walk a very short level distance through the field to the road itself.

Once on the road, turn to the right and climb up to the top of the hill.  It is a steep climb but the view is worth it.  Again, remember that you are now on private property. 

Before you climbed over the fence, you should check to see if there are any cows in the fields at the base of the various hills that this road goes up and down.  If there are, do not venture up to the hill tops on the road.  It is used for the rancher to travel around his fields, but more importantly for the cows to go from one field to the other.  If you are on the top of the cliffs, and the cows find you, you might anger a bull and you have NOWHERE to go.  No cows...Photo time.  Cows...go to the next location for now.

BENA

From the Bena Bridge, continue on Bena Road for another 2.2 miles to an old retired ore loader.  This is where Bena is.  There is a grade crossing and that rusting old building.  That's all.  Bena Road parallels the tracks the entire way and offers no real dramatic photos except the possible "pacing" shot.

SANDCUT

This is the location 2 miles farther down Bena Road toward the platues where the tracks rise out of the valley in a large "S" curve.  Bena Road continues on its parallel course somewhat next to the tracks, until just before the "S" curve where it moves slightly away and starts its own "S" curve up the hillside.

In this "S" curve there used to be a siding where the railroad staged some of the helpers that were used on the pass.  This "S" curve area was called Sandcut.

At the top of the hill, there is a dirt road that will be between Bena Road and the tracks that will go back toward the "S" curve.  Dramatic photos of trains in the "S" curve can be taken in the late afternoon in winter.  They are downhill by Tehachapi Pass, but here they are actually traveling uphill in the "S" curve.

EDISON

From now on till the road arrives in Bakersfield, Bena Road will be flat as a piece of paper and next to several orchards and/or vineyards.  About 1.5 miles past the "S" curve, Bena Road will have an intersection with Tower Line Road and become the Edison Hwy.   In the 5.5 miles to the town of Edison, there will be a couple of roads that will now intersect with a road that will lead you to Route 58 that is only .2 miles away to the south.

Photos of trains in either direction are possible along the streatch of roadway from the "S" curves to Edison.  Just work your sun angles.  The photo is rather uninteresting compared to other places in Tehachapi Pass, but the nearby orchards are just as much a symbol of Tehachapi Pass as the wind farms near Cameron and Mojave so you might as well get a photo or two while you are here.

All along the Edison Hwy is a good location to get a "pacing" photo.  It is very easy to pace along the side of a train and get a side photo.  There are few obstructions.  Just do this photo with a friend driving please. 

Just 1.7 miles from the "S" curve, you will find Tower Line Road which is the first road to Route 58.  Then 2.1 miles later will be Comanche Road that will also take you to Route 58.  The small town of Edison is another 1.6 miles with its large processing plant and Edison Road which will again take you to Route 58.

Just over another 2 miles along Edison Hwy and you will be at Weedpatch Hwy where you can again reach Route 58.  I advise you to take note of this exit because it has a large truck stop and a couple of food and hotel choices.  This is the closest area to Tehachapi Pass from Bakersfield with amenities for the traveler and are in a affordable price range.