William H. Crandall

How did William Crandall die? I read on the Metra forum that he died while starting a locomotive???

Yes, I heard he died while trying to restart a locomotive. I believe the temperature was around 0 F.

If you are talking about the former C&NW mechanical officer, yes I do remember that he died trying to restart a unit on a "Scoot." (As he was instrumental in the rebuild of almost the entire suburban fleet it was fitting, but still ironic. ) However, I do believe that his first name was not William. (He went by the name of "Milt.")

Was he the one that was in charge of rebuilding the E-unit slugs with custom-built cabs?

He designed the E units. Developed the plan for the F7, GP7, GP9, SD7, SD9. Crandall was the go-to guy when it came to rebuilds.