Con-Cor - TST CCG 41 - Boxcar, 50 Foot, Steel - Texas Mexican - 3083

Model Information: This model was originally manufactured by Kato for Con-Cor. Manufacturing was later moved to Con-Cor's Chicago facility. The model sort-of resembles the PRR C41 prototype.

These models have issues, and I would advise most modelers and runners to stay away. First, they use a wonky clip-in truck that is not easy to swap out for MTL (or other knuckle-coupler equipped) trucks. For all of the samples of this model I have seen, the metal underframes, though nicely detailed, arrive out-of-the-box scuffed. The early Kato versions come with some very nice low-profile nickel-silver plated wheels, but the Con-Cor made version have some of the WORST wheelsets I have ever seen. They are plastic, low-profile jobs which have casting flaws that make them run horribly. Since you cannot swap the trucks easily, you simply cannot run this junk. Perhaps Con-Cor improved their wheelset quality in later runs, but the ones I looked at (VNOR 7739) are awful. Furthermore the Con-Cor releases have LOWER quality pad-printing than the earlier Kato releases. Unfortunately, the Kato releases used a high-gloss paint that looks terrible. So no matter which version you get, it will be disappointing.

Prototype History: While the 40-foot boxcar was a standard design, and it did come in different setups depending on the type of freight being transported, it was not large enough for efficient mass commodity transportation. The 50-foot boxcar made its first appearance in the 1930s and steadily grew in popularity over the years, which further improved redundancies by allowing for even more space within a given car. Today, the 50-footer remains the common boxcar size. After the second world war ended, and steel became once again readily available, steel became the go-to choice for construction of boxcars. Pullman Standard and ACF were some of the most prolific builders of these cars.

These cars came in many variations. For instance, double-doors became practical for large/wide loads, end-doors useful for very large lading such as automobiles, and interior tie-down equipment was helpful in keeping sensitive products from being damaged in-transit. In 1954 the Santa Fe developed its "Shock Control" (and later "Super Shock Control") technology for new boxcars with upgraded suspension systems to further improve the ride-quality and reduce the chance of damaging freight.

In the 1960s, the flush, "plug" style sliding door was introduced as an option that provides a larger door to ease loading and unloading of certain commodities. The tight-fitting doors are better insulated and allow a car's interior to be maintained at a more even temperature.

Road Name History: The Texas Mexican name first appeared in 1881 during a reorganization of a previous three foot gauge line linking the Gulf port of Corpus Christi, Texas and the city of Loredo on the Mexican border. The line was 157 miles long putting it between Spokane International and Duluth Winnipeg & Pacific in relative size. The TM was standard-gauged in 1902.

Since 1900, TM was owned by the Mexican government through a trust administered in New York. The TM acted as a funnel for traffic to and from Mexico, in fact the end of the line was half way across a bridge over the Rio Grande west of Loredo. The bridge, which was completed in 1883 was the first direct railroad connection between the U.S.A. and another country (the first connection to Canada that didn’t involve a ferry followed six years later!)

TM completely dieselized in 1939 with a fleet of 7 Whitcomb boxcabs. These strange little diesels had four axels set in a rigid frame. That sounds a little, well rigid, by diesel standards but think of it as a diesel powered 0-8-0. A few years later, TM built a few diesels themselves with 4 powered axels in a rigid frame plus a pair of un-powered leading wheels – essentially a diesel 2-8-0. They even built another diesel from an old baggage car.

TM did go on to buy more sensible locomotives including Baldwin switchers, EMD F7’s, and 7, 9, 18, 28, and 38 series geeps. By the 1980’s, there were 16 various geeps on the roster. For a while in the 1980s, TM provided passenger service under the name TexMex Express between Corpus Christi and Loredo with some success.

In 1982, the Mexican government sold their stake in TM to a Mexican company. As the privatization of the Mexican National Railways (FNM) loomed, Kansas City Southern was assembling a system to take advantage of new traffic moving north and south due to the passage of the NAFTA treaty. KCS was positioning itself to acquire a large stake in the “Northeast Concession” (that would become TFM) in the privatization of FNM. Over a period of several years, shares in Texas Mexican were traded back and forth between KCS and companies in Mexico. KCS officially took control of TM in 2005 when they also purchased all remaining shares of TFM. That left a gap between Corpus Christi and the end of the KCS at Beaumont, Texas. KCS had already leveraged trackage rights over Union Pacific to bridge that gap in exchange for not fighting UP’s acquisition of Southern Pacific. Today, TM is a wholly owned subsidiary of KCS and operations are largely integrated into those of KCS.

Brand/Importer Information: Con-Cor has been in business since 1962. Many things have changed over time as originally they were a complete manufacturing operation in the USA and at one time had upwards of 45 employees. They not only designed the models,but they also built their own molds, did injection molding, painting, printing and packaging on their models.

Currently, most of their manufacturing has been moved overseas and now they import 90% of their products as totally finished goods, or in finished components. They only do some incidental manufacturing today within the USA.

Important Note: The Con-Cor product numbering can be very confusing. Please see here in the article how to properly enter Con-Cor stock numbers in the TroveStar database.