Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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On Nov. 18-20, local train store Gold Coast Station held their 7th annual car and train show. The show was put on by Rachel and Hans Kahl, who are the owners/ operators of the store. I was blown away by this event. The Wandering Railroad "G" scale display was there for the first two days. This collection was built and is owned by Matt and Jerry Abreu. I was very impressed with the fantastic detail in the layout. The first two days of the event was devoted to the "G" scale trains and the...
I think this is a good time for a true Christmas story. I call it "Another Day in Paradise." For a lot of us the holidays are hard. I am one of them. I am divorced and my parents are "off planet." A few years back after the death of my father, I was hanging out in a local coffee house at night during the holidays. I usually saw a man wearing a Vietnam veteran's hat and he was always sleeping. I was concerned about him sleeping sitting up – that's not good for you. One time I saw him during t...
It was fantastic to see local Tehachapi residents and car collectors Hans and Rachel Kahl at the California Hot Rod Reunion. The reunion is typically held in October, and the weather was perfect all weekend. They had their Superbird Plymouth on display and the car was getting lots of attention. The Kahls own a sister Superbird, which is blue and is displayed at shows, as well. Hans and Rachel own many collector cars and are active in the car show circuit in Kern County. Larry Warne of Tehachapi...
I had a fantastic experience at the Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show & STEM Expo, the first air show at Edwards Air Force Base in over 13 years. I have been around aviation most of my life as a pilot and big aviation fan. So you would think my story would be all about the mighty aircraft I saw in action at Edwards. But the highlight of this air show experience is the great security troops, pilots, crews and support people at Edwards AFB. Security was at a very high level but getting on...
The USAF Thunderbirds Demonstration Team was in Mojave on Aug. 30 to check out the airport as a possible training location. The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron performs precision aerial maneuvers, demonstrating the capabilities of Air Force high performance aircraft to people all over the world. A Thunderbirds air demonstration displays formation flying and solo routines. The four-aircraft diamond formation demonstrates the training of Air Force pilots, while the solo aircraft...
On Sept. 13 this former Canada National FP9 #1751 was on the side track by the Tehachapi Unified School District's bus barn in Tehachapi....
Race Communication's Thunder on the Mountain Car show was a big hit with over 200 cars and trucks showing up on Aug. 21. I saw many custom hot rods, trucks and muscle cars. The show was a big fundraiser for the greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce. The proceeds from the event will go to benefit the organization and local businesses in the region and admission was free. I would like to center on two of the fantastic cars that were on display. First is Rod Hamilton's 1964 Jaguar E-Type. This car...
I want to look back on a memorable trip to the Sacramento Railroad Museum with my daughter Sarah. This trek was more than 20 years ago and we saw many historic locomotives that powered through Tehachapi in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Some of these locomotives were first generation diesels that were called the covered wagons (because of their appearance) or "F-7 Units." These diesels were made by EMD (Electro-Motive Division of General Motors) and could develop 1,500 horsepower and were capable of...
A rarity! A double headed BNSF Warbonnet 4718 (C44-9W) and 4713 (C44-9W); the units are over 25 years old. Word is BNSF is pulling these out of the stored line in Barstow, California to help out with the extra traffic they are experiencing. This paint job is a favorite of many rail fans that I have talked with at the Tehachapi Depot Museum. This paint job goes back to first generation diesel units when Santa Fe Railroad started replacing the steam locomotives in the 1950s with diesel...
Lindsay and Cedric played to large crowds at the Farmers Market on June 16 in Centennial Plaza. They played a wide mix of original songs and cover songs. Lindsay is the lead singer with Cedric playing lead guitar....
Lots of people that know me know I came to the high desert of California to learn to fly airplanes, sailplanes mostly, and work as aviation photographer at Edwards Air Force Base. Years ago, seated in the front seat of a sailplane, you would not think I would be talking with my flight instructor about hot rod race cars that tow experimental aircraft. His name was Gary Layton, CFIG instructor. Gary worked for NASA as an engineer on many interesting projects. We talked about many wide-ranging...
A quick update on the family entertainment center that's being constructed in Old Town Tehachapi. According to owner Kenny Harrison's family members, things are moving along nicely and they are hoping to have the place open for customers in September. The 31,500-square-foot building will include Mountain Bowling (a 16-lane bowling alley), Tehachapi Mountain Brewing Co. and P-Dubs Brew Pub. P-Dubs will have a built-in, wood-fire pizza oven. I also noticed a new warehouse being built just down...
A friend asked me a few weeks ago if I would like to revisit the Edwards AFB Flight Test Museum. These days you have to be retired military or work there to get on base. It ends up my friend Kerry is a former Air force jet mechanic at Edwards and knows the base very well, so on May 12 we got a fantastic tour. We also had a former FAA pilot and a retired firemen with us on this trek to Edwards. For security reasons, at this time tours at the Edwards Flight Test Museum are not given to the...
The first annual TNAZ Cruisin' Car Show at the Church of the Nazarene on May 14 was a fantastic event for all. They had something for everyone with over 100 hot rods, classic cars, muscle cars and tuner cars. The event also included a variety of food booths, live music, and a bounce house and face painting in a kid's zone area. All proceeds are going to be used for children's outreach activities in Tehachapi. One highlight for me was the 1970 Superbird owned by Hans and Rachel Kahl. They are...
A Lancair aircraft is pictured in the foreground with a lenticular cloud in the background. I have been getting many questions asking about this weather effect. These clouds are caused by mountain waves, which is when stable smooth air crosses a mountain barrier and the air flowing up the windward side is relatively very smooth. Wind flow across the barrier is a laminar (smooth) air flow, that is it tends to flow in layers. The barrier may set up waves in these layers much as waves develop in...
Lots of automotive history can be seen when you're out and about walking the streets of Tehachapi. Pictured is a Plymouth Superbird. They were raced at around 200 MPH at Daytona and these cars are worth anywhere between $200,000 and $350,000. Plymouth Superbirds are a rare bird. Only 1,920 were built, though legend has it Plymouth made several more....
If you were wondering about all the concrete structures on the side of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near the Tehachapi Depot Museum and the Park & Ride, he UP Railroad is upgrading drainage culverts near Cable siding. That is the area where a BNSF train derailed on January 13, 2022. A workman on the project told me that the BNSF train went into emergency stop due to issues with the air brakes, which caused the derailment. Some of the work can be viewed from the Meadowbrook Park walking...
According to the road crew of this train, this is usually a slow time for the railroads but not this year. They are pulling these Warbonnet 1997 Dash 9 (built November 1997) locomotives out of the dead line to deal with the need to move more trains. This is a very famous well-known paint job, used from the 1950s. I shot this by the cement plant in Tehachapi....
Local Tehachapi construction contractor and drag racer Larry Warne participated in the California Hot Rod Reunion. Larry's Chevy hot rod was originally based in Palmdale, California and has a long history of racing in California. Now the car is seen at many nostalgia races at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield where the California Hot Rod reunion is held each year. Larry Warne of Tehachapi qualified number one in the hot rod class. His driveshaft broke at the top end of the dragstrip, but still won...
On Sunday morning, Oct. 10, the students and families of the Tehachapi Build-A-Plane Project got to see a perfect test flight of the Zenith CH 750 Cruzer. The CH 750 Cruzer N19BP is a lightweight sport aircraft and does not need a regular pilot's license or medical certificate to fly; a simple permit is used. The flight went off as planned with no issues reported per Project Director/Test Pilot Paul Nafziger. Some of the students asked Nafziger if he was stressed at all doing the flight test...
Once upon a time my daughter Sarah J. and I made a trek to Eastern Kern County to see a B-29 Aircraft named Doc. Doc was stored at the Inyokern airport, right at the front gates for all to see. It was in no condition to do any flying and was being stored for possible restoration or spare parts for another B-29. We ended up doing many treks to this area back then as a family. We raced Mustangs at a part-time drag strip that was at one time the oldest operating drag strip in California. I also...
The town came out for the Stargazing event at Tehachapi Airport on Sept. 11. They had telescopes from high dollar to homemade gear. Fun for the young and older stargazers, a local pilot, John, had his aircraft out for viewing, as well....
I really miss going to air shows. Two of my favorite warbird aircraft are the P-38 Lightning and the F-86 Sabre. The flybys performed by both these aircraft are real crowd pleasers. The pictures included are at Fox Field, L.A. County Airshow in Lancaster, California. I wish to thank two media directors/event coordinators that gave me fantastic VIP treatment: Patricia Fregoso-Cox and Susie Newman Harrison. If they had not helped me out I would have not been able to get up close with the...
The National Jet Boat Association Racers (NJBAR) were back at Lake Ming on May 15 and 16. The lake is just 35 miles northwest of Tehachapi, located at 13375 Lake Ming Rd. Bakersfield. There are plenty of shade trees, you just need to bring your lawn chairs. Oh, and maybe some ear plugs. Yes, it can get loud. For information on NJBAR visit www.njbaracing.com....
