ALERT: Long Post.
So, I have briefly told the story above that, Christmas of 1976, my grandparents took me to the store to buy my Christmas present. It was to be a train, an entire set. (We ended up at JC Penny purchasing a TYCO Chattanooga Choo-Choo somewhat contrary to my desire, but Grandpa's heart--if not his sense--was in the right place.)
The first place we stopped was Sears (back when Sears was a retail giant and still presented a full line of toys at its bigger stores). This visit was late, late in the season, and the shelves were largely stripped. Oh, there were some separate-sale rolling stock, some accessories, but no sets. Nada.
Among the odds-and-ends in a display case, however, were a few individual locos. Now, I am going to tell you what I saw. I am also going to tell you why others say that I didn't see it. I will finally give tantalizing hints that I just *may* have been right.
What I saw was a pair of blue-bonnet FA Santa Fe Alco A-units, coupled back-to-back. Since the 8351 was cataloged that year, no problem so far. But one of the pair I saw had an open pilot and a coupler so that the AA pair could pull a train. Lionel experts will tell you that I was mistaken. The D&H blue-bonnets were sold in that configuration, but the Santa Fes were not. They mistrust my recognition or my memory. And I have only a little evidence to support my claim, but this evidence bears some weight with me.
First of all, I had been operating a red Santa Fe FA for four years by that point, and I was familiar with the nose herald and the "SANTA FE" printed on the sides. I recognized the iconography; it made an impression on me. I dearly wish I could say that Grandpa bought them when I told them I would be delighted to have them, but they were adamant that I would have a whole set (and so we were off to JC Pennys and a decade-long detour into HO that I can't say I regret so much as I wish that I hadn't missed out on so much MPC when it was new.)
Remember, I have only my memory to rely on (and I will readily admit that the years have taken their toll). HOWEVER, there is a tantalizing fragment of potentially corroborating evidence from no less a source than Roland LaVoie and Michael Solly's Greenburg Lionel Guide 1970-1991, Vol. 1. Under the Alco listings (pg. 20) for the 8020 FA, we find:
"(D) Powered Alco FA-2 unit; blue and silver body.Reportedly part of department store special and, therefore, scarcer than red version. Reader comments requested." Values listed are $100 Exc and $150 Mint, and these values suggest there had been enough sales recorded to establish them. But, "scarcer than red version" is an understatement: I have not seen such a unit, so I don't know whether it was open or closed pilot: the red versions were made both ways in the early part of that decade.
Or maybe I HAVE seen such a unit--the number on the engines didn't survive in my memory the way the other markings did. Perhaps I saw a leftover pair of blue 8020s, or maybe I saw one paired with an 8351, or maybe it's all wishful thinking. When people ask me where and when I would go if I had a time machine, one of the places/times I list is Sears @ Northwest Plaza in St. Louis County on a late morning just before Christmas of 1976. Not only could I catch a glimpse of Grandma and Grandpa again, but I could grab hold of what might be a chimera but would certainly solve a mystery for me.
In the meantime--time machines being in short-supply and moderately expensive--I have created a pair of AA 8351s, inspired by my memories. One is an utterly common, closed pilot, stock engine:
The other has had the pilot carefully opened and equipped with a front coupler:
I run them together with the E-units locked out to prevent unwanted tugs-of-war. Since both are powered, they will pull a very respectable train. Between them, I run a 8021 b-unit repaint. It had been sadly customized with a very sloppy paint-job, which I stripped and put back into factory colors. (Since it is a repaint, I have toyed with replacing the black and red stripes with blue . . . .)
Anyway, there is my blue-bonnet Alco tale. Long-lost discovery or figment of my imagination: you decide for yourself. But I will continue believing unless someone lets me borrow a time machine. And, if anyone spots a blue-bonnet 8020 or an open-pilot 8351, I *really* want to hear from you!
