Con-Cor - 0001-01601C - Tank Car, Single Dome, Taki 3000 - Curtiss Candy - 12578

Model Information: This tank car is a regular inclusion in Kato freight starter sets. It also appears in mixed freight box sets. It is a nice model and sports low-profile chemically blackened wheels. The roof detail is excellent and these are durable and nice looking runners. The model (as explained to me by the Kato USA rep at the last ARS show I attended in January 2018) is of a Japanese prototype. Further research proved this is correct and that it is in fact a model of a Taki 3000 car from the late 1950s.

Despite the fact that it is a model of a Japanese JNR fright car, it has been used both by Kato and by Con-Cor to stand in for various North American prototypes carrying livery for everything from Domino Sugar to Amoco Oil

Prototype History: The Taki 3000 Tank Car was built in the period of 1947-1964 with 1,594 cars and operated all over Japan. It is specialized for loading gasoline. It was not imported for use in North America.

Road Name History: The Curtiss Candy Company was founded in 1916 by Otto Schnering near Chicago, Illinois. Wanting a more "American-sounding" name (due to anti-German sentiment during World War I), Schnering named his company using his mother's maiden name.

Their first confectionery item was Kandy Kake, later refashioned in 1920 as the log-shaped Baby Ruth. Their second confectionery item was the chocolate-covered peanut butter crunch Butterfinger, which was introduced in 1926. In 1931, Curtiss marketed the brand by sponsoring famous air racer, John H. Livingston, in the Baby Ruth Aerobatic Team flying the air-racer Howard "Mike" at airshows, and sponsoring Livingston's Monocoupe racer in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race. The Jolly Jack candy was included in army rations during World War II.

In 1964, Standard Brands purchased Curtiss Candy Company. Standard Brands merged with Nabisco in 1981. In 1990, RJR Nabisco sold the Curtiss brands to Nestlé. Ferrero acquired Nestlé USA's confectionery brands, including Baby Ruth, in 2018. Ferrero folded production of the acquired brands into the Ferrara Candy Company.

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.