One Man and a Mule (OM&M) Pass and Herbert the Mule
Some of the things in the Mount Lowe Preservation Society collection are quite obscure, and this One Man and a Mule (OM&M) Railroad pass from long-time Pacific Electric Passenger Traffic Manager Harry O. Marler is certainly one of them. Note the 1927 pass reads, “Not Good on P.E. RY. System.” Fred Clegg was the President of the OM&M at that time and Herbert the Mule was the celebrated Vice-President. While there are a few of these passes floating around, it is one of the few we have in our collection, recently from the Ken Pragg Collection.
The OM&M Railroad was just a few hundred yards from Alpine Tavern by gravel road and began the journey eastward from Inspiration Point to Morning Glory Point, the top of Eaton Canyon. Herbert the Mule would push the sightseers out for a photo-op and switch ends of the cart for the trip back.
Ed Tobin, the originator of the OM&M Railroad, fought in World War I and subsequently moved to Alpine Tavern for his health. Finding out he could not afford to live at the tavern full time, he built a cabin near Inspiration Point and lived there. His son, Joe Tobin, shared with us some of his memories along with his wife, Peggy, several years ago. L.T. Gotchy, self-proclaimed “Photographic Documentarian” would later purchase the same cabin and live there until the Forest Service hastened its removal.
Mount Lowe Preservation Society Collection
