HIGH SPEED ON THE “HIGH IRON” is the next problem. An elusive legend concerns the fantastic time of a locomotive and two cars whichit is alleged-got here from Los Angeles after a run two hours and fiftysix minutes, half a century ago. It was, so the legend goes, a train carrying a special edition of the Los Angelev Tunes, and the engineer is supposed to have drawn a 30-day suspension for his feat. The hero of the piece, oldtimers have said, was old No. 48 of the Santa Fe, a Manchester 4-4-0. If the story is true, it should be preserved, with definite dates and names.
NOW THAT THE AGE of our old stagecoach has been established — it was delivered August 17, 1866 — there are still a few gaps in its history. The first owner was a New York hotelman named Herr, and its arrival in San Diego County is reported as “somewhere around 1885.” In the interim, there are vague reports that it was used on the Santa Barbara-Los Angeles mail and passenger run, by a man named Ahlmann or Altman. Can anyone verify this-as well as supplying a firm date for its arrival in San Diego County?
