Con-Cor - 1231 - Tank Car, No Dome, 2-Axle - Undecorated

Model Information: Arnold introduced these cars in the 1960s. They appear in the 1966 catalog and are described as follows: "These tank cars are models of privately owned cars belonging to various oil companies. The model of four wheel tank cars have plastic super structures and burnished metal chassis. There are sprung automatic couplers at both ends. The needle point steel axles run in journal boxes with imitation steel springs."

Herkat has used this body style to manufacture track cleaning cars which have been imported by both Kato and Con-Cor.

Personally, I find the glued-on placards to be really cheesy, and make an otherwise nice model to look quite amateurish. Arnold could have done better.

Prototype History: Tank cars are a railroad staple. They have been around since the first half of the 20th century. These railcars carry a wide array of commodities, including liquid fertilizers, chemicals, fuel oils and asphalt, and food-grade oils. Tank cars can be pressurized or non-pressurized, insulated or non-insulated. Single dome cars carry only a single commodity at once. Food-service tank cars may be lined with stainless steel, glass, or plastic. Tank cars carrying dangerous goods are generally made of different types of steel, depending on the intended cargo and operating pressure. They may also be lined with rubber or coated with specialized coatings for tank protection or product purity purpose. The tank heads are also stronger to prevent ruptures during accidents.

Road Name History: Although they may be molded in color, unpainted and unlettered, undecorated products are marketed to modelers who seek to custom decorate their models for private roads and/or road and/or company names that were not commercially produced by any of the major manufacturers.

Undecorated models are frequently also unassembled or only partially assembled and required modelers to be comfortable with glue, paint and sometimes solder in order to prepare their models for display. Materials for these models can vary but often include plastic, pewter and resin. Models may or may not come with decals or other decorations such as plastic signage, railings and ladders to enhance the appearance of the final product.

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.

Manufacturer Information: Herkat Modellbahn is a German manufacturer of specialty modeling parts. They produce reed switches, cabling, electronic parts as well as specialty rolling stock for track cleaning. Their track-cleaning cars in N scale have been imported by Con-Cor with branding from both companies.