Kato - 8013-x - Tank Car, Single Dome, Taki 43000 - Producers Grain Co - 12002

Specific Item Information: Japanese prototype with car number. Usual high quality Kato product.

Prototype History: JNR Taki 43000 (Kokutetsu Taki 43000) is a gasoline-only freight car (tank car) manufactured from 1967. It is a privately owned freight car owned by Japan Oil Terminal or Japan Oil Transportation, and has been incorporated into the Japan National Railway (JNR) initially, and after the privatization of JNR in 1987, it has been registered on the Japan Freight Railway (JR Freight).
This description also applies to the Taki 44000, a dedicated tanker for petroleum products, manufactured simultaneously with the same body structure.

Road Name History: The Producers Grain Corporation (PGC) was a regional grain marketing cooperative headquartered in Amarillo, Texas. It was organized by twenty-nine country elevators in April 1938. It opened international trade markets for the Great Plains sorghum production primarily to Japan (Zen Koren) and Mexico (Conasupo) during the 1950's and 1960's. PGC collected grain from Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, and New Mexico. It had corporate operations in Lubbock, Fort Worth, Plainview, Corpus Christi, Texas and Colton, California. Feed mill operations beginning in 1945 served the ranchers and farmers of West Texas, western Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1988. After financial difficulties in the early 1980's, PGC sold to Agri Industries.

Brand/Importer Information: Kato Precision Railroad Models (関水金属株式会社 Sekisui Kinzoku Kabushikigaisha) is a Japanese manufacturer of model railroad equipment in N and HO scales. The Tokyo-based company manufactures models based on Japanese prototypes (such as the Shinkansen bullet train) for the Japanese market, North American prototypes for the North American market and European high-speed trains for European market.
The Kato (pronounced kah-toe) model railroad companies were founded by Yuji Kato, father of current president Hiroshi Kato, of the parent company Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd.

The design and distribution of models for the North American market are handled by their U.S. subsidiary, Kato USA, located in Schaumburg, Illinois.
The design of special models for the European market is handled for some of them by their partner, Lemke, whereas the general distribution of Kato products in Europe is handled by NOCH; both companies are located in Germany.
As a result, some Kato European models are sold as Kato Lemke and others as Kato (alone).