Con-Cor Collector sets

[Bob Bufkin]

I've got a Baldwin centipede which I know I bought in the 70's.  Also a 1938 Broaway Limited passenger set.  Have several others also.  Believe I got most of these from Balls of Brass at a show they used to hold at the National Guard Armory in Montgomery County. 

[Mark5]

I've got a Baldwin centipede which I know I bought in the 70's.  Also a 1938 Broaway Limited passenger set.  Have several others also.  Believe I got most of these from Balls of Brass at a show they used to hold at the National Guard Armory in Montgomery County. 

Hey, I used to go to the swap meets at the armory!

Centipede 1983:
http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/centipede.html

Pretty sure the broadway is also from the 80s.

Mark

[Bob Bufkin]

Your right, I'm wrong.  Just checked the dates and they were made in the 80's.  There were only a few brass items made in the 70's and they were crap.  

[Mark5]

That Centipede is cool. Does yours run?

[Bob Bufkin]

Yeah, it still runs.  Never converted to DCC.  Only have one as I didn't realize that PRR ran them in pairs.  Wouldn't run worth a damn on my small layout anyhow, curves are too sharp.  Was thinking of selling it but since they are kind of rare I'll keep it. 

[Nato]

    Yes ! That is a pretty impressive display wall. I started collecting these sets beginning with the first one the "Alton Limited" and have many of the sets including the to be released 2003 Daylight. I was selective in what I wanted,I have never displayed sets,purchased them to run, where else could you get a North Coast LTD train execpt for paint and no existant decals. ConCor was honest and up front pointing out they they were limited by the cars they manufactured and the locomotive types they had in their line. There were honest attempts on their part to make the train look right even if it was wrong. A good example the KCS Southern Belle Train. Lacking an E-6 diesel to pull the train they used their DL 109 with slant nose as a stand-in. I wanted correct KCS E Units so took Undec E-8's uassed modified HO decals and paint to make KCS loco. When Con Cor began offering add on cars Foobs were created like a Monon Dome car. Con Cor's Tie in with Rivarossi helped as they could get heavy weight cars and RR smooth side or corrugated cars for use in sets. I feel responsible for two of the sets being created, the MP Eagle set and the Texas Special set. I sent complete data to Con Cor about both roads trains,I had hoped CC would use the Rivarossi Corrugated Obs car for the Texas special as it matched the prototype, but CC instead created a foob car usuing a fluted side dome obs car body mated to the GN obs car roof. It looks ok.I wish they had used the NYC J3A loco for the Cardinals Train, it ran with a 4-6-4 not the Pacific in the set, The Conrail Inspection took advantage of the ties to KATO and uaed a JNR heavy weight open platform obs car for one of the business cars. Best set in my opinion the Monon, cc used a flat end obs car to try and match prototype,but it came with a copy of a promotional phonograph record from 1949? a song "All along the Monon". Worst set the Grand Trunk Western, the locos were correctly painted, but I could never find any documentation for the paint on the cars which would have been like CN 1954 scheme. Do not confuse these sets with the similar sets in the brown boxes wicch introduced new road names as sets,or used up old stock C&O Rowa cars with E-8's. If one was collecting these sets for their value that was a mistake. Con Cor for better or worse devalued them by deciding to offer alot of cars to match Life Like E-8'S so they re ran some road names with better graphics and car names. They also recognized the popularity of NP Two Tone Green cars and offered them as as regular items. MP also got re done along with better paint on the PA'S.

[bsoplinger]

They also did a complete foobey set for the Lehigh Valley Black Diamond. Made up of the 4-6-2 J3a Hudson and

Hehe, I'm sure many of these were absolutely foobulous! The early Concor Powhattan Arrow also featured that same 4-6-4 Hudson streamlined and painted up as a N&W J. ;D

Mark

Didn't say I didn't have a set and that I ran it cause it sure is purdy, even if its a complete foobie. Just that it was a completely made up set without a single correct car. And I don't mean slightly wrong but rather far off. But that black and red scheme sure does look nice.

[CBQ Fan]

Con-Cor definitely took some liberties, I have a heavyweight Burlington set from CC where you can clearly see where they repainted just enough of the original road name with green and then painted "Burlington" over the new green paint.  The car names and numbers were left the original way even though the paint was just a little off.

[Nato]

   The Monon Expansion set does exist. I was never one to deprive others of the chance to expand their sets since the extra cars were very limited so I always ordered two extra cars or three if there were three types inother words one of each.I expanded my Monon set to get rid of the Foob Dome car,I purchased an expansion coach and sleeper. The sleeper is also a Foobie as Monon didn't own lightweight sleepers, only upgraded heavyweights. But that seemed more aceptable to me than the dome car,the real Monon cars were constructed on the cheap from surplus semi-lightweight WWII Hospital Cars including the blunt end obs cars. John W. Barringer later of KATY fame was president of the road when this work was done. Incidentilly the Rivarossi N Smoothside RPO Baggage Car is a Monon car not a P.R.R. car like some of us originally thought since they did offer a P.R.R. car in HO that was close ,but no cookie.Con Cor is well known for knowing things like Pennsy and N.Y.C. had no dome cars,but yet one promotional blurb said they would offer them anyway as open stock items. Biggest goof by them the nice Lowie schemed 5 car Pennsy sets complete with dome car in that scheme even though they knew better. You had to buy atleast two of those sets to get enough cars to run a decient leingth train as no second set was offered with out obs car, diner ,dome or RPO. Only two 5 car sets with different car names and numbers.         Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake,Utah. 

[Double slip]

Hi,

This is for Trainbuff1 or anyone who can help me.

I see you have posted a pic of your Con Cor collector sets.

Can you tell me the engine used for the  original Pennsy Merchandise set?

Thanks

[brokemoto]

I have a set that had a USRA heavy Pacific and matching HW passenger cars.  All were painted in that light powder blue/grey that B&O never ran.  There was one of each type of RR HW.  The zirmac chassis long past turned to powder, but I still have the shell.

This was not the Capitol Limited set-those cars came in Pullman Green with PULLMAN on all save the baggage.  The locomotive was a USRA heavy Pacific with a high-mounted headlight, which reflects B&O practice.

As stated by another poster., the National Limited came with DL-109s, which the B&O never had, either.

B&O did not have original USRA heavy Pacifics, either, but it did have copies.

[Lemosteam]

Hi,

This is for Trainbuff1 or anyone who can help me.

I see you have posted a pic of your Con Cor collector sets.

Can you tell me the engine used for the  original Pennsy Merchandise set?

Thanks

The original locomotive for the set is a specially painted Minitrix K4. Typically painted all black, the she's locomotive instead has a Tuscan tender deck and cab roof.  It is also commemorially numbered as the then famous and now infamous 1361. 

[Double slip]

The original locomotive for the set is a specially painted Minitrix K4. Typically painted all black, the she's locomotive instead has a Tuscan tender deck and cab roof.  It is also commemorially numbered as the then famous and now infamous 1361. 

Thank you very much for the answer, the ones on ebay are in the box and do not show either the tender deck or cab roof.

Judging by some of the comments regarding the CC collector sets, they were not exactly faithful to the prototype.

The funniest thing I ever saw was a CC Hudson decorated for Amtrak!!

Thanks again for clearing up the mystery.

[Lemosteam]

Well as far as a loco in a concor set goes, the minitrix k4 is about as close to a PRR pacific as you can get. The cars are not correct (no one made an x29 then), but the paint ain't bad.

I may have the set and the add on set available. But if you are looking for true orinality of the set, mine are not in that I have replaced the concor trucks with micro-trains trucks with short shank couplers.  We can discuss price via pm if you like.

[peteski]

Judging by some of the comments regarding the CC collector sets, they were not exactly faithful to the prototype.

You are being so kind to Con-Cor.