Con-Cor - 0001-008766 - Aerotrain - Rock Island

Specific Item Information: Aerotrain 4-Car Set, Santa Fe (The Sandiegan, 1956)

Model Information: Con-Cor introduced this model in 2008. The models feature highly detailed bodies, with separate add on parts where appropriate. They have diaphragms between cars. They feature full interior details with LED interior car lighting. Each car has a circuit board for electrical pick-up with metal wheelsets. The mechanism features a dual flywheel drive with a 5 pole skewed armature motor. The model has functional reversing front headlights, and tail of observation back up lights. The Loco cab has a detailed interior. It comes in a Special Edition Collector's Box with reprints of articles from the 1955 Popular Mechanics, and 1976 Rail Classics Article on the original AeroTrain are included with Basic 4 car Sets.

DCC Information: Will come in DC mode, with 8 pin NMRA Socket set mounted inside lst coach car for adding any brand small N Function Decoder, or Sound Decoder (Decoder not included).

Road Name History: The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RR) (reporting marks RI, ROCK) was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was better known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end of 1970 it operated 7183 miles of road on 10669 miles of track; that year it reported 20557 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 118 million passenger-miles. (Those totals may or may not include the former Burlington-Rock Island Railroad.)

Its predecessor, the Rock Island and La Salle Railroad Company, was incorporated in Illinois on February 27, 1847, and an amended charter was approved on February 7, 1851, as the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. Construction began October 1, 1851, in Chicago, and the first train was operated on October 10, 1852, between Chicago and Joliet. Construction continued on through La Salle, and Rock Island was reached on February 22, 1854, becoming the first railroad to connect Chicago with the Mississippi River.

In 1980 Rock Island was liquidated. The railroad's locomotives, rail cars, equipment, tracks, and real estate were sold to other railroads or to scrappers. William Gibbons (the trustee) was able to raise more than $500 million in the liquidation, paying off all the railroad's creditors, bondholders and all other debts in full at face value with interest. Henry Crown was ultimately proven correct, as both he and other bondholders who had purchased Rock Island debt for cents on the dollar during the low ebb in prices did especially well.

Read more on Wikipedia and Rock Island Technical Society.

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.