The latest addition to the freight consist is a Santa Fe High Cube Box Car 6-9626. These were made from 1982-1984 and are taller than a standard boxcar and is about the same height as the triple-deck auto carrier. The freight consist is now:
My Lionel 6-18128 locomotive has arrived as part of a Lionel 6-18130 AB set. This will be the workhorse to pull my Santa Fe freight consist. This locomotive paired with a Lionel 6-18129 B-unit will be the perfect power for my second train.
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| The L ionel 6-18130 AB set was manufactured and sold only in 1996. These were some of the last of the USA-made Lionel Santa Fe locomotives. The set includes the 6-18128 #2343 powered F-3A and the 6-18129 #2343C F-3B with RailSounds. |
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| A Lionel 6-24568 (front w/ dual headlamp) pulls my El Capitan consist. The 6-18128 (back w/ single headlamp will pull my Santa Fe freight consist. |
Neil Young fans will recognize the line from his song "Old Man" which is from his 1972 solo album Harvest. Lionel fans will also recognize Neil as one of the former owners of Lionel Trains. Young has been an avid train enthusiast and collector since he was a child and has said the vast model train layouts at his California ranch helped him connect with his son Ben, who has cerebral palsy.
This video was filmed at Young's California ranch in the mid 1990's around his train layout with his family, Pegi, Ben, and Amber. The segment was broadcast on the Nickelodeon Network and was hosted by Linda Ellerbee.
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.
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| 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.
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.
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| Note the single headlight consistent with Santa Fe freight trains of the mid-1950's. |
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| Dummy units are empty inside except for the lamp that lights the headlight and cab. Typically they are rear-facing in the consist. |
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| 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. |
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| The El Capitain with an ABA Locomotive, Passenger, Vista, Diner, Passenger, and an Observation car. |
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).
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| Lionel 6-25411 Santa Fe El Capitan Diner car (5109) was produced from 2004-2007 |
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| 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.
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| Postcard of the El Capitan Diner car dining room with white linen service. |
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| 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. |
I've come to the conclusion that the Hotrod Diner train route needs a freight train to go with the El Capitan passenger train. I'm thinking of recreating a Santa Fe version of this Rio Grande "Nova train" from 1973. Yep, that's a trainload of 1973 Novas!
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| Lionel 6-9281 triple deck car hauler box has smaller cars pictured like a typical 1:64 Matchbox. |
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| Pictured above is a similar Lionel car in Penn Central livery with 1:64 Matchboxes. |
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| 1:64 Maisto Pro Rodz 1970 Novas come in green, blue and yellow, |
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| The Lionel 6-9281 triple deck car hauler with four Maisto Pro Rodz 1:64 scale cars. |
