@Guttersnipe posted:Favorite Diesel Freight Locomotive, bar none, maybe there is a difference, can't see it in the pictures unless you are talking about the cab color of Yellow and the hand rails, That could have happened at different times the real loco's were in the paint shop
Good eye, Guttersnipe. This diesel has special meaning to me too, as explained recently in another thread. Now I can't even remember which thread. 
Anyway, my young son and I used to watch these come in from Oceanside when we lived in Escondido (California) and do some switching there in the 1980s.
The main differences besides the different color hand rails and stanchions, are that the large Santa Fe letters are broader on the Lionel and the multi-chime horns are on the correct right-hand side of the roof above the cab on the Lionel. On the MTH one, they're mounted in the center of the roof above the cab. MTH's Santa Fe yellow is also slightly brighter than Lionel's yellow. I did install the "Barstow" (where they were serviced, about 150 miles north of Escondido) decal on the front, as I had on the Lionel.
Again, I got as close of a match as I could with what was available on eBay, as I was just looking for an unpowered dummy. So, by disconnecting the motors and Proto 1 wiring, it does the job. 
I miss the real-life Santa Fe freight diesels. 😔
