Lionel Santa Fe El Capitan Consist Complete!

6-38204 - Non-Powered FT Deisel B-Unit #160

It took me almost 18 months to find the last car to complete my El Capitan set. The 6-38204 Non-Powered FT Deisel B-Unit #160 has arrived!

First appearing on page 22 of the Lionel 2005 Volume 1 Catalog, this set was offered from 2005 to 2010. The Lionel 6-30001 Santa Fe El Capitan starter set included a classic conventional FT Diesel locomotive with road number #158. The locomotive was equipped with realistic sounds from the TrainSounds sound system. The FT would hurtle down the “Route of the Warbonnets” from Chicago to Los Angeles with three streamlined passenger cars—two illuminated coaches and an illuminated observation car—that follow the westbound locomotive. The Lionel starter set also included a CW-80 Transformer and a loop of FasTrack track.

 Lionel 6-30001 Santa Fe El Capitan starter set - $349.99:

1. 6-24568 - FT Deisel Locomotive #158
2. 6-25130 - Coach #3103
3. 6-25131 - Coach #3105
4. 6-25132 - Observation #3198

To complete the El Capitan consist Lionel offered five add-on cars sold individually:

1. 6-35102 - Diner #5109 - $64.99 (produced in 2007) 
2. 6-35129 - Vista Dome #3153 - $69.99 (produced in 2008)
3. 6-35128 - Baggage #2103 - $69.99 (produced in 2008)
4. 6-28905 - Non-Powered FT Deisel A-Unit #160 - $119.99 (produced in 2009-2010) 
5. 6-38204 - Non-Powered FT Deisel B-Unit #160 - $119.99 (produced in 2010) 

Prices noted show the original catalog price as supplied by FindMyLionel.com. As of 2023, you can still buy the starter set aftermarket (used with a box) for ~$350, the add-on cars typically sell at a premium for ~$170 - $200 each.

El Capitain B-Unit Holy Grail?

Featured in the Lionel 2010 Signature Edition Catalog, this Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) B-unit PN 6-38204 was a one-year-only offering and was listed as road number 160 but does not have any actual road numbers on the unit. 

How did the simplest car in the El Capitan family become my holy grail? This car has no interior, no lights, no sound, and no power. But they must be fairly rare because I've been watching for a while and have not found a single one for sale on eBay. It might be time for me to start attending train shows.

The El Capitan 3103 and 3105 Chair Cars

Two new passenger cars were added to the garage El Capitan. Another pair of Lionel 3103 and 3105 Chair Cars. These passenger cars are based on the pre-Hi-Level cars purchased by Santa Fe from Pullman-Standard for use on the El Capitan line. The 3103 and 3105 were included in the Lionel 6-30001 El Capitan set and were not sold separately.

What makes the chair cars so special is the El Capitan was America’s first and only deluxe all-chair-car transcontinental train. The train ran from Chicago to Los Angeles in only thirty-nine hours and forty-five minutes. The term Chair Car was intentionally used in place of the term "coach" because a chair car was specifically designed for long-distance travel. It had full extending leg rests and the seat backs reclined fully. The cars made by Pullman featured 44 Ride-Master seats (the earlier Budd cars featured 48-seats.) The reduced seating in the coaches was given over to improved leg room for passengers.

Between 1946–1948 Santa Fe increased the length of the El Capitan and added new cars built during and after World War II. The new El Capitan consist included a storage mail car, baggage-dormitory, eight 44-seat "leg-rest" coaches, two lunch counter-dining cars, a club-lounge, and a coach-observation car.

The El Capitan was the only all-coach or "chair car" (non-Pullman sleeper) to operate on the Santa Fe main line between Chicago and Los Angeles. It ran on the same 39 3/4-hour fast schedule as the Super Chief. In-car amenities included radio and recorded musical programs. A Courier-Nurse, Porter service and free drinking cups!

The seats on the El Capitan chair cars were specially ordered with foam rubber cushions molded to body measurements; full leg rests (some made by Heywood-Wakefield) tucked under the seats when not in use. The seat arms were upholstered with fingertip controls releasing the seat backs to three different reclining positions. The window spacing in these coaches was rearranged for better vision than in previous coaches. The floors were carpeted with tones representing the desert sands of the southwest. The walls and ceilings were of pastel tones, which varied from car to car to avoid monotony. Contrasting shades were used subtly; old rose with red, buff with tans, olive with gray-greens, all highlighted by stainless steel and chrome trim. The sidewalls of all of the cars were finished in Flexwood veneers. The colors were accented by soft indirect lighting as well as individual lights over the seats.

The #160 A-unit has arrived with a bonus.

I just added one more piece of my El Capitan set the rare (probably because no one really wants them) non-powered 6-28905 A-unit road number 160 (seen in the back of the picture below). These locomotives were manufactured to be an add-on for the 6-30001 El Capitan set and were sold in the 2009-2010 catalog.

However, this #160 unit came as part of a $200 eBay bundle that included a complete 6-30001 set. The set included the standard powered #158 6-24568, 2 Chair Cars, and an Observation car. The extra set of passenger cars will definitely be added to the garage consist because I've always felt my "all chair car" El Capitan was seriously lacking chair cars.

My intention was to swap the shells and run the powered 6-24568 with the #160 6-28905 shell so I can have two power units pulling my consist. The extra power will be helpful as my El Capitan consist is now 11 cars. But after further review, I've determined it will be easier to simply re-number the 6-24568. Both use the exact same shell as the cast numbers are identical but the 6-24568 shell has all the lights and engineer figurines hot-glued in place. Rather than hacking them all up, I will work on making a new set of white-on-black number decals. Maybe the decal project will motivate me to make new numbers for the duplicate 3103 and 3105 cars as well.

The last piece of the puzzle is to replace my 1996 6-18129 RailSounds B-Unit with one or two matching 4-window 6-38204 B-Units. I really like the rail sounds, but the 6-38204 is the correct B-Unit to complete this set.

Santa Fe Baggage Car

Lionel Santa Fe El Capitain 6-35128 Baggage Car

A few months back a listing for a 6-35129 Vista Dome car came up for sale on eBay. The seller stated he was selling off his recently-passed Father's train collection and would be listing other trains in the future. Since he had a Vista Dome from the El Capitan set, I emailed him and asked if he had a Baggage Car. The response was "maybe". He indicated he was working his way through a collection and was unsure of exactly what he would have for sale. Six months later and his father's El Capitain 6-35128 Baggage surfaced in his father's collection and this Santa Fe Baggage car has a new home. Sadly someday this story will likely repeat itself.

The Baggage car is representative of the "support" cars that operated with the passenger cars. As the name implies this car would be loaded with passenger baggage and could also carry freight or mail as an RPO (Rail Post Office) car. Baggage cars were always run directly behind the locomotives so they could be switched quickly in and out of a train. Railroads included these in what they referred to as their "head-on equipment" which included the A and B locomotives.

A baggage car is easily recognizable in the consist due to its lack of windows and pair of sliding doors fore and aft. Like the Vista Domes, these cars represent a bygone era, because the newer modern passenger cars like the Santa Fe El Capitan Hi-level had additional baggage storage built into the car typically eliminating the need for extra baggage cars. Another blow to the Baggage car came in the late 1960s when the Post Office canceled its rail contracts, and the profit for railroads associated with carrying parcels evaporated.

As far as the story repeating itself, it's a typical tale. Will I pass someday? Most certainly. Will my kids sell off my train collection? Most likely. Will someone else pay too much for a baggage car to complete their Santa Fe El Capitain consist? Probably. That's the hobby, the people come and go and the trains live on forever. Now, who has that 4-windowed B-Unit I have been looking for?

 

Time to Complete the Consist

My New Year's Resolution is to complete my El Capitan 9-car consist. This is the list of the cars in the consist order. 

1. 6-24568 - FT Deisel Locomotive #158 (only available in the Santa Fe El Capitan set) 
2. 6-38204 - Non-Powered FT Deisel B-Unit #160 (produced in 2010 sold individually) 
3. 6-28905 - Non-Powered FT Deisel A-Unit #160 (produced in 2009-2010, sold individually) 
4. 6-35128 - Baggage #2103 (produced in 2008, sold individually) Done!
5. 6-25130 - Coach #3103 (only available in the Santa Fe El Capitan set) 
6. 6-35129 - Vista Dome #3153 (produced in 2004-2007, sold individually) Done!
7. 6-35102 - Diner #5109 (produced in 2004-2007, sold individually)  Done!
8. 6-25131 - Coach #3105 (only available in the Santa Fe El Capitan set) 
9. 6-25132 - Observation #3198 (only available in the Santa Fe El Capitan set)

Yep that's me I'll be the guy on eBay bidding against you for the following:

Update: 7/1/2022 the #160 has arrived.

Update: 4/1/2022 the #2103 has arrived.

Ride Santa Fe Streamliners

This El Capitan ad is using a reprint of an early black and white postcard image. Note the front end of the Electromotive E1A locomotive is different than the later F7 units modeled by Lionel for the 6-30001 El Capitan set.

Early El Capitan postcard with the same Electromotive E1A locomotive pictured as above. 

EL CAPITAN — This Santa Fe day-saving, dollar-saving transcontinental streamlined train is dedicated entirely to the service of chair-car passengers. It makes the 2227-mile journey between Chicago and Los Angeles twice-weekly as swiftly as the fastest luxury streamliners—in just 39 3/4 hours. El Capitan, behind a 3600 H.P. Deisel-electric locomotive, capable of 120 miles an hour, carries 6 or more ultra-modern air-conditioned lightweight streamlined stainless steel cars—including beautifully appointed 52-seat chair cars with spacious dressing rooms; a modern club-chair car; and a unique Fred Harvey lunch counter-dining car.