Flutterby™! : Tehachapi Pass

There's a disparaging term for model railroad track layouts that cram a whole bunch of track in a small area. Model railroads need to have selective compression, even at the 1:160 of N scale a mile ends up as being 33 feet, but those who aspire to recreating real railroads look askance at the 4x8 sheet of plywood with as many loops and squiggles stuffed in as possible.

Which is why so many railroad buffs come to the Tehachapi Loop, because if there's a "bowl of spaghetti" trackplan in real life, this is it. The first photo on the left shows the same train emerging from the tunnel as the tail end passes across the top. The second photo is an attempt at an overview, but it doesn't really capture just how convoluted the line is as it climbs over Tehachapi Pass, because there's a strange "S" curve an other zig-zags below.