“CHRISTMAS AND THE WARBONNET “ Now that Christmas is upon us again, I get nostalgic thinking about Christmas trees, the smell of cookies baking, trains around the tree, Christmas dinner and the new train piece I'll be getting for Christmas. I think about waking up on Christmas morning, hoping to see under the tree one of the long, narrow blue and orange boxes that held an "0" gauge Santa Fe F-3 A-B-A Warbonnet, regarded by many as the most beautiful train that Lionel ever produced.

The Warbonnet paint scheme was inspired by the feathered headdresses of Indian warriors. The Warbonnet was the signature livery for the Santa Fe's freight and passenger trains, such as the Super Chief, which was known for its superior passenger service and gourmet dining cars. The popularity of the Warbonnet was maintained by toy train enthusiast Joshua Cowen. Lionel offered the F-3 Warbonnet with its red and yellow livery in "0"scale in its 1948 catalogue under the number 2333. The diesel has remained in the Lionel catalogue to this day and still remains a strong seller. The Warbonnet appeared in advertising, press releases and movies, making it an integral part of the lore of the West.

The real name of the railroad was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company,. often abbreviated A.T. & S. F., but more often simply called the Santa Fe. The company was famous for putting very luxurious trains into service. Its restaurants and dining car serves were considered among the best of all the American railways.

Construction on the line began in Topeka, Kansas in 1868. In 1887, the railroad reached Los Angeles and, shortly thereafter, San Francisco. The Santa Fe's eastern terminus was Chicago. In 1926, the Santa Fe put into service one of the most famous trains in the world -- the Chief – linking Chicago and Los Angeles. The Chief was hauled by steam locomotives until 193 5 when diesel engines took over the route. They were cleaner, quieter, faster, required less maintenance and had fewer stops. Renamed the Super Chief in 193 7 because it was even faster than its steam brother and more luxurious than the Chief, the train linked Chicago to Los Angeles in 39 1/2 hours. Its diesel engines with their famous G.M. "bulldog noses" became a familiar symbol of rail travel.

Built by the E.M.D. (Electro-Motive Division) the Super Chief engines usually consisted of three to five units of the A. B. Type with a single engineer's cab. The best known series were the E- 1's, E-3's and especially the F-3's and F-7's, with which the Super Chief ended its career. These engines produced 1,500 HP per unit with up to 7500 HP in a five unit set. Each unit weighed about 1378 tons. The "A" unit was 50 feet long and had a maximum speed of 102 m.p.h.

Whenever someone sees , dreams or thinks of a toy train diesel engine, the Santa Fe Super Chief Warbonnet comes to mind. Photographs have been taken of them, movies made , postcards printed, Magazines articles and ads featured, and books written about their beauty. Lionel was the first to produce this beautiful engine for the toy and model train world , that we will always remember seeing around the tree at Christmas.

May each of you have a wonderful holiday season with many boxes of trains under your tree !