Richard and Shirley Mangum are well known to those who walk the streets of downtown Flagstaff. On weekends, they can often be found leading a platoon of tourists on walking tours, talking of ghosts in ancient bars and underground passageways—and of course Route 66, which is one of Flagstaff’s main streets.

In Flagstaff, eighty trains a day cross the city, dividing it north-south, and giving new meaning to the phrase, "Across the Tracks," when motorists must sit for twenty minutes at a time when Amtrack pulls into town. "When we grew up, ‘Across the Tracks,’ was almost always the lower class, the real hard-working folks. And a lot of them had to live on the south side," says Shirley in her turn of the century, ankle-length dress. Richard, kitted out in a leather vest and hat, agrees.

"Well, race entered into it, too. The Hispanic barrios were on the south side of the tracks. In the early days here, we had prostitution taking place opening in bars along Front Street. When we became incorporated as a town, one of the early city councils said, ‘We’ve got to confine this to a red light district.’ Well, guess where they put it? South of the tracks. I mean that kind of thing gave that part of town a stigma." The Mangums are serious local historians, with a half-dozen books—including one about Route 66 in Arizona—under their belt. The Route 66 visitor should stop in at the old depot in the center of town to find out when the next tour begins.