Concor locomotives

[KlickyMobster]

Hi all,

I have a few questions on concor locomotives.  I have read that they were some of the best a couple of years ago, but I'm interested in their MP 15.  The one I am looking at is DCC ready.  I need a lower priced switcher, and is this a good route to take?  How does it run compared to say Bachmann Spectrum?  And whats a good price for one of these?  Thanks for your help!!

[beegle55]

I haven't had any experience with ConCor, but I've heard there pretty good. You might want to check ebay because stewart hobbies S-2 switchers have been going for cheap in various roadnames. Good luck, sorry I couldn't help more than this. -beegle55.

[KlickyMobster]

thanks for your help.  Come on, someone  has got to own one of these!!!!

[GearDrivenSteam]

I cannot say about the DCC ready version, but I have an MP15 chassis powering a scratchbuilt On30 box cab that I built about a year ago. It is about a 1996 or so model, and one of my smoothest and best running.

[AntonioFP45]

ConCor?

Are you certain?  Not trying to be a party pooper, but Concor locomotives....at least the ones from a few years ago were not high in quality as far as performance.

A friend of mine purchased a pair of Con Cor HO high nosed EMDs in the orange Great Northern paint scheme.  The body dimensions and paint job were good, detailing was not bad but the unit was very light in weight and the performance not smooth.  Athearn blue boxes were better runners.

I'm assuming that since then Con Cor has made some improvements.  I could mistaken, but at one time it seemed that they were using the old Atlas molds from the 1980s.  I recognized the "split fuel tank" on some of their HO EMDs which Atlas was notorious for back in the 70s.

I am now curious and would like to hear more about the latest Con Cor units from some of you that are familiar with them.

 

[GearDrivenSteam]

Yes. I'm certain. The Con Cor units that were made in Japan (which mine is) were very nice. Almost as good as some of the Kato units. They were made in several different places. I think the Korea run of them are the crummy ones. Although I may be mistaken. I know the Japanese made ones are good, because I have more than just the one, and I know a buddy who has two and they are all excellent runners.

[AntonioFP45]

Yes. I'm certain. The Con Cor units that were made in Japan (which mine is) were very nice. Almost as good as some of the Kato units. They were made in several different places. I think the Korea run of them are the crummy ones. Although I may be mistaken. I know the Japanese made ones are good, because I have more than just the one, and I know a buddy who has two and they are all excellent runners.

Thanks for that info!  I wasn't aware that there were also Japanese made Con Cors as well.  Makes sense that the quality would likely be good.

Do they have a website?

[trainfan1221]

Be careful, Antonio.  I wrote the same opinion a few weeks ago and had the guy from the concor company telling me I had no clue.  I have heard they aren't so great and know some of their older models had problems, but they apparently have got their act together and come out with some favorable models.  I guess as with anything we won't know until it comes out.   As for the split fuel tank, I know some models seemed to be shared with different companies for awhile, I had an Atlas SD35 which I recognize as the more recent IHC model.

[GearDrivenSteam]

I don't profess to be an expert on it. I just know mine and my buddy's are the Japanese versions, and they all run very well. Better than any of his PK2s. All of the ones I am referring to have one piece fuel tanks.

[jwils1]

I have a Con-Cor MP15DC (HO).  I bought it at train show in California almost 3 years and it was equiped with a TCS T2 DCC decoder (no sound).  The decoder was installed by the show vendor.

This is a very smooth running quiet loco.  Starts and stops very smoothly.  It's as good as any of my Atlas or PK2 units.  The box says it was made in China.

Jerry

 

[Super Chief Rules]

yup, they do http://www.all-railroads.com/.   

 

I am planning on buying some passenger cars in N scale from them.  I have some old HO Scale rolling stock kits that have done well.  I know they are not locos, but they are Con Cor.

 

hope this helps!!!

 

 

[TrainFreak409]

I have a Con-Cor N scale Veranda Turbine. It is one of my finest locomotives. The flanges are a bit large, but it runs like a dream and has great pulling power to it. The long chassis of the four truck Veranda is almost filled with weight. It is an excellent piece.

And the reason that some Japanese made Con-Cor units are comparable to Kato is that Kato made some units for Con-Cor.

[GearDrivenSteam]

"And the reason that some Japanese made Con-Cor units are comparable to Kato is that Kato made some units for Con-Cor."

Well, that explains a bunch.

[ericsp]

I wonder when they will actually produce (or import) another batch of the MP15s. It seems like they were originally supposed to come out in late 2004 or early 2005, now their website says late 2006.

[cjcrescent]

And the reason that some Japanese made Con-Cor units are comparable to Kato is that Kato made some units for Con-Cor.

Quite true, quite true.
Don't know if anyone remembers, but the original Con-cor PA-1 in N-scale, from over 20 yrs ago, (maybe longer?), which has been described as the best N-scale loco of the period, was made by Kato.

Kato also made Con-cor's DL-109 of the same period.

[Soo Line fan]

My experience with Con Cor HO locos has all been very positive. I have the MP 15 and it does run very well. On the bottom of the tank it states "Made in China". My model is not DCC ready. Con-Cor also did 2 runs of the Atlas/Roco GPs. I have 4 of these and they run great, much better than BB. I wish I had some info on the different versions of the MP but I only own the one. Perhaps others will chime in with some additional information. Here is a link to some info I posted a while ago and also some methods others have used for filling in the slotted fuel tank on the GP models.

 

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1/770217/ShowPost.aspx#770217

 

Jim

[beaver3365]

Don't know about the MP-15's , but I have a 2-10-2 N scale steam engine and it's by far one of the strongest pullers and climbers in my fleet. Not the most detailed one, but a work horse for sure.

[Pathfinder]

Well, I will jump in as well.  I have a Kato MP 15 (HO) bought new and it is a typical Kato runner.

However, I am rather disappointed in the shell.  Very heavy paint (yellow and blue Chessie) and what appears to be rather heavy detail underneath.  I plan on stripping it some day and making it a logging loco.

[Anonymous]

I have a GP40 Royal American Shows from around 1990. I love the smoothness and the quietness, and it pulls well. Since it is older, it is a power hog. Does anyone actually know if Kato made the motor? The shell is pretty typical of that year, not bad, and I have definately seen worse even today. In short, I love it.

[Anonymous]

I only own one Con-Cor unit, a DL109 which I purchased back in the early 80s when I was abandoning HO and going to N-Scale - it is an extraordinary runner and puller although lately it has been doing most of its running in its box; it looks like that is where it will continue to run for the next few years until I can get a new layout designed, built, and up and running.  It was built on essentially the same mechanism as their PA/PB; this was a Kato mechanism.

Con-Cor had a long standing relationship with Kato starting with their first N-Scale import in about 1967.  They were advertised as being manufactured by a company called Sekisui - it wasn't until some years later that it was revealed that Sekisui and Kato were one in the same creature.  In the early '80s (?) Con-Cor and Kato/Sekisui had a falling out.  The reason for this makes a rather interesting story:

In the late '70s JC decided to introduce an F3 to his N-Scale line and he went to Kato and ask them to develop an EMD BB mechanism to fit under this new F3 body.  Kato complied and came out with what was considered to be the best running BB mechanism in the business, something not lost on Kato who decided to use that mechanism under an F7 which, I believe, was Kato's initial offering under their own name.  Con-Cor cried foul considering the BB mechanism to be theirs; Kato retorted that they may have developed it at Con-Cor's request but that was all that Con-Cor had done and there was nothing in their agreement that specified that the mechanism belonged to Con-Cor.  I don't know how far the legal argument went in this matter but Con-Cor took their business to other places.

Con-Cor has been a respected member of the model railroad industry over the years; I do understand that his "Chinese" mechanisms are not considered to be in the same league as his old "Kato" mechanisms but then what has???  If Con-Cor has had one problem over the years it is a tendency to promise delivery on a rather ambitious timetable; back in the late '70s he had a 4-6-6-4 Challenger coming out; it was "due in time for Christmas"; then "due in March"; then "for Summer delivery", then................................. I think you get the idea.  It took years for that Challenger to show up on the dealers shelves; had it been delivered when it was initially promised I would probably have gotten into N-Scale three years earlier than I (eventually) did; by the time it was finally released I had decided to stick with HO for a while longer; when I did shift to N-Scale I no longer wanted one.  I admit that this MP15 makes my mouth water but I'm not in a purchasing situation at this particular moment and things are likely to remain that way for a few years.  I believe Con-Cor's promises when I physically see it; I would never, ever,  place an advanced reservation for a Con-Cor locomotive.

[Vail and Southwestern RR]

I think the reason for the differing opinions is that over the years ConCor has imported from many different sources, some very good, and some less so, so trying to generalize is not really possible.  I think you need info from folks who have the loco you are looking for from the time period you are looking from to get accurate info.

[Soo Line fan]

I have a GP40 Royal American Shows from around 1990. I love the smoothness and the quietness, and it pulls well. Since it is older, it is a power hog. Does anyone actually know if Kato made the motor? The shell is pretty typical of that year, not bad, and I have definately seen worse even today. In short, I love it.

All of the old Atlas and Con-Cor GP38 and GP 40s have a Roco motor. Here is a link to a previous post on how to ID these engines.

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1/770217/ShowPost.aspx#770217

Jim

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info. This is a bit clearer now. My RAS GP40 does have the Austria scraped off and the Mexico sticker on the tank, as well as the primitive circuitboard, but it has two flywheels and two screws. Anyway, no matter. It's just like all the plastic model companies (ships, cars, planes etc.)  bought from eachother and bought out eachother at different times, this is usually helpful when interchanging parts.