Con-Cor - 0001-003075 - Locomotive, Steam, 4-6-4 Hudson - Southern - 1380

Model Information: From 1969 to 1994 this model was made for Con-Cor by Kato under contract. The early Katos were a bit sketchy, but they were extensively re-designed in 1975 and the newer version runs a lot better. While not of the same caliber as Kato's later 2-8-2 Mikado, this 1975 steam engine engine is nevertheless an impressive model, much better than its contemporaries from Lima and Rivarossi. In 1994, Con-Cor started production of a new model in China that is of similar quality to the 1975 Kato model and also runs quite well. The Kato-made models are stamped 'Con-Cor Japan' on the bottom.

Prototype History: Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as the Baltic while it became known as the Hudson in most of North America.

The 4-6-4 tender locomotive was first introduced in 1911 and throughout the 1920s to 1940s, the wheel arrangement was widely used in North America and to a lesser extent in the rest of the world. The type combined the basic design principles of the 4-6-2 Pacific type with an improved boiler and larger firebox that necessitated additional support at the rear of the locomotive. In general, the available tractive effort differed little from that of the Pacific, but the steam-raising ability was increased, giving more power at speed. The 4-6-4 was best suited to high-speed running across flat terrain. Since the type had fewer driving wheels than carrying wheels, a smaller percentage of the locomotive's weight contributed to traction, compared to other types. Like the Pacific, it was well suited for high speed passenger trains, but not for starting heavy freight trains and slogging on long sustained grades, where more pairs of driving wheels are better.

The first 4-6-4 in the United States of America, the J-1 of the New York Central Railroad, was built in 1927 to the railroad’s design by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). There, the type was named the Hudson after the Hudson River.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: The Southern Railway (reporting mark SOU) (also known as Southern Railway Company) was a US class 1 railroad that was based in the Southern United States. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.

At the end of 1970 Southern operated 6,026 miles (9,698 km) of railroad, not including its Class I subsidiaries AGS (528 miles or 850 km) CofG (1729 miles) S&A (167 miles) CNOTP (415 miles) GS&F (454 miles) and twelve Class II subsidiaries. That year Southern itself reported 26111 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 110 million passenger-miles; AGS reported 3854 and 11, CofG 3595 and 17, S&A 140 and 0, CNO&TP 4906 and 0.3, and GS&F 1431 and 0.3

The railroad joined forces with the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in 1982 to form the Norfolk Southern Corporation. The Norfolk Southern Corporation was created in response to the creation of the CSX Corporation (its rail system was later transformed to CSX Transportation in 1986). The Southern Railway was renamed Norfolk Southern Railway in 1990 and continued under that name ever since. Seven years later in 1997 the railroad absorbed the Norfolk and Western Railway, ending the Norfolk and Western's existence as an independent railroad.

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.