Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Grandpas Railroad Crummy

Growing up outside of Seattle, WA I fondly remember visiting my Grandfathers home workshop. It was a magic place of wonder. This was not a large space, just a tool shed at the back of his carport in Sultan, WA. But the tools hanging on every square inch of the walls and the ceiling made it seem like a museum of mystery where anything was possible and anything could be fixed. Sitting just outside his workshop sat Grampa's Crummy. 

This 1969 Suburban is similar to my grandfather's Crummy, his definitely had more rust...

Grandpas "Crummy" was a late 60's GMC Suburban in a weather-worn Orange color and had an elegant rusty patina. General Motors made these 3-door workhorses from 1967 to 1972 and they were often used by railroads as crew cars. The idea behind the 3-doors was that the passengers in the backseat could only exit on the safe (non-traffic) side of the vehicle. 

I remember seeing Grandpa one random Sunday morning wearing his denim overalls with his church clothes on underneath. He emerged from beneath the hood of the Crummy with a smile on his face and a wrench in his hand. Who knows? He might have been fixing something or simply giving it an oil change, but the Crummy was ready to go!

How Grandpa's Suburban got Nicknamed the Crummy

We always called Grandpa's Suburban the "Crummy" and I thought it was a unique nickname to his special vehicle but a few years ago I was visiting a car show and spotted a 3-door late 1960's Suburban. I told the owner about my Grandfathers Crummy and he told me that was a common name for these vehicles. He told me the railroads would use these for their road crews and since being on the road crew was the crummiest job on the railroad, that's how the nickname came to be.

Another theory is that on train lines, the caboose was often called a "crummy" because of the sparse accommodations for the crew. Grandpas Crummy might have gotten its nickname for the same reason. His Suburban was no luxury SUV like our modern Suburbans. It was nothing more than a work pickup truck with a roof over the bed and an extra row of seats. Monday through Saturday it could fit all of his tools, and on Sunday it would fit all of his grandkids, whichever was needed.

Whether it was the spartan similarity to a caboose or the job description of the road-crew occupants, General Motors' sales of vehicles to the railroads is well documented and the "Crummy" is another example of one of the vehicles that kept the railroads running.


Monday, June 21, 2021

Santa Fe Freight BA (Dummy) Locomotives

I picked up a dummy locomotive and B-Unit for my Santa Fe freight train consist. The red GM logo on the locomotive indicates this 1/2 of a Lionel 6-38312 Santa Fe F3 AA Conventional Classics set. These reissues were released in 2009 and were based on the Lionel Post War 2343's from the 1950's. 

This set is notorious for the fact that the original red paint was considered too flat and there were replacement shells sent to the owners with a glossier red finish. These body shells have the silver metal mesh (screen) top vents just like the post-war 2343 diesels and will actually fit the chassis from the 1950's. My 6-38317 is in the original dull finish.

  • The powered locomotive would be the Lionel 6-38316 2343P
  • This dummy locomotive would be the Lionel 6-38317 2343T (pictured below)

Note the single headlight consistent with Santa Fe freight trains of the mid-1950's.
  
Dummy units are empty inside except for the lamp that lights the headlight and cab. Typically they are rear-facing in the consist.  

The B-Unit is a Lionel 6-18129 2343C Santa Fe F3 Non-Pwd B-Unit Diesel Locomotive w/ Railsounds from 1996. This is a Made in the USA piece and adds robust sound to the consist.
The Lionel 6-18129 2343C has a volume knob on the top and requires a 9-Volt battery to run the rail sounds after the track power is cut. 


For now, I have added both of these to my Santa Fe El Capitan passenger consist. But the 6-38317 2343T (dummy) will be added to the "Nova" freight train consist when I find a matching 6-38316 2343P to pull it.

The El Capitain with an ABA Locomotive, Passenger, Vista, Diner, Passenger, and an Observation car.




Sunday, June 6, 2021

El Capitan Diner Car added to the Consist

The Hotrod Diner El Capitan consist has just added a second of the three extra cars Lionel produced for the El Capitan. This car is the Lionel 6-25411 Santa Fe El Capitan Diner car (5109). 

Lionel 6-25411 Santa Fe El Capitan Diner car (5109) was produced from 2004-2007

This car represents the modest El Capitan dining experience with a small dining area at one end, a  lunch counter in the center, and a pantry and kitchen at the other end.

The Santa Fe El Capitan Diner Car from a 1940s era Santa Fe brochure. 

Serving economical and selective Fred Harvey table d’hote meals, a la carte meals and special meals for children. In this unique restaurant-on-wheels, there is a lunch counter seating 14 persons; and a formal section, with 6 tables of four places each.

Postcard of the El Capitan Diner car dining room with white linen service.


El Capitan Pulman Standard 1950's era diner car from Amtrack after they updated their 20-year-old Santa Fe Diner cars with a modern "Brady Bunch" color scheme. The dining room was behind the glass panels at the back of the photo.