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Concor locomotives
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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.<BR><BR>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:<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.
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