Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-11
Col Crocker of the Southern
Pacific Coming.
He Is to Extend His Lines. to
Mexico.
A Description of the Company's
Mexican System.
A Pretty Lancaster Girl Who Has Nerve.
The Southern Pacific's Right
of Way. Fight in
Redlands.

Brum, all Of the Southern Pacific COM
pany, will arrived here this morning on
their way to ElPaso. The San Francisco
Chronicle has the following to say OF
their trip:
Vice-P President G. F. Crocker, of the
Southern Pacific company, win leave
the city for Mexico today on business
connected with an important railroad
enterprise in that country. The lead
ing officials OF the Southern Pacific COM
pany own 400 miles of road running
from Spoford, Tex, on their New Or
leans line, to Torreon on the Mexican
Central railway. That portion of the
line, 1884 miles in length, running from
Cuidad Porfirio Diaz, formerly known
as Piedras Negras, on the Rio Grande,
to Torreon, is called the Mexican Inter
national railroad, good paying prop
erty, Of which G. P. Huntington is pres
ident and j. @. Stubbs is general traffic
manager.
1t is to project for the extension of
the Mexican International from Tor
reon through the state of Durango to
the city OF Durango that Mr.. Crocker
will devote his attention while in Mex
leo. Not only will he look over the field
for this extension, but he will also con-
slider the plan for the building of the
line on from Durango to Mazatlan, on
the Pacific coast. This plan, if carried
out, will give the Southern Pacific
road running diagonally across northern
Mexico from northeast to southwest.
s'This," said Mr.. Crocker to Chron-
icle reporter yesterday, lis the most
important project that we have had un-
der consideration of late years. The
distance from Torreon to Durango is 1856
miles, which, with our other track,
would give us over 800 miles of railroad
In Mexican territory, for, with the short
spur lines running from the Mexican
International, we already have about
400 miles of road in that country.
1.-THE road from Torreon to Durango
will not be very expensive to construct,
except in certain places where the coun-
try is rather rough. For the greater
portion the surface is of rolling ma
ture. It is rich country, there being
some very good mines in it, while not a
little of the soil is cultivable."
Mr.. Crocker had little to say about
the extension of the lines to Mazatlan,
but from the direction the road has
taken and the great distance it will have
covered by the time it will have reached
Durango there can be no question that
it will push on for the comparatively
short remaining distance-200 miles-to
the coast. The fact that this line would
be short cut through Mexico for pass
engers and freight from the east to
Mazatlan would give it great Importance
as through line. San Frsncisco's in
terest in the construction of the road is
also considerable, as the time of travel
to the Western Mexican coast would be
greatly shortened, and as line of tele-
graph would be built along the road and
there would also be good mail facilities,
communication would be a much easier
matter than at present.
Mr.. Crocker will go to the City of Mex
leo and also to Vera Cruz. In about
one month he will be in New York,
where he will meet G. P. Huntington
what he has learned regarding the pro-
iected line. The Mexican government
has Offered liberal concessions for the
building of the road, and Mr.. Crocker's
trip to the City of Mexico will be partly
LANCASTER BELLIES NERVE.
There are few towns in America
which can boast of possessing a young
lady with the nerve of one of Lancaster's
beauties, says the Gazette of that town.
This week Mr.. A. j. McPhail, who runs
the engine to pump water for the
Southern Pacific water tank here, was
~ A1.l ~
and could not attend to his work. He
has daughter, Miss Rena, who is but
is years of age, who, on Monday last,
went to the pump house, fired up the
engine, and has since been keeping the
tank Of the Southern Pacific supplied
with water. Mr.. McPhail is Justly
proud of his daughter, for there are few
of her sex who possess the ability or
have the nerve to run an engine. Miss
Rena, being an only child, was with her
father much of her spare time while be
was at his work, and thus acquired
thorough knowledge of the workings of
the engine, and her knowledge, though
she likely never expected it would be of
any use to her, fits her to fill her fathers
place at time of necessity.
SANTA FE VS.. SOUTHERN PACIFIC.
The Southern Pacific company and
Southern California Railway company
have got into difficulty the past week
over the title to the right of way over
the land between Judson and Church
streets, says the Redlands Citrograph.
The Southern California, when the road
was built, secured deed from Cook q
Park, who held the land under contract.
The Southern Pacific recently secured a
deed to portion OF the same right OF
way from Mr.. Somers, in whom the IT,
tie TO the land under contract is vested.
The roads run parallel over this land
and close together. The Southern Pa
cific had graded bed for its track on
the extension to Grafton, and on New
Years day the Southern California put
ON y force of men and laid quite q
stretch of sidetrack near Eastberne sta
ton on the granding done by the South
ern Pacific. The question as to which
company controls the right OF way is one
for Che courts to settle, and the matter
will be straightened out in due time.
ON TO SANTA MONICA.
Captain Barrett was interviewed re-
Gently at San Diego by Union reporter,
when be stated that the electric road
was to be extended to Santa Monica.
The interview reads as follows: Maj. A.
w. Barrett. superintendent of the Los