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N Scale - Con-Cor - 0001-004171 - Railcar, Gasoline, Galloping Goose - Rio Grande Southern - 5
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Stock Number0001-004171
Secondary Stock Number001-4171
Original Retail Price$179.98
BrandCon-Cor
ManufacturerCon-Cor
Body StyleCon-Cor Galloping Goose
Prototype VehicleRailcar, Gasoline, Galloping Goose (Details)
Road or Company NameRio Grande Southern (Details)
Road or Reporting Number5
Paint Color(s)Silver
Print Color(s)Black
Wheel TypeChemically Blackened Metal
Wheel ProfileSmall Flange (Low Profile)
DCC ReadinessNo
Announcement Date2005-12-13
Release Date2007-01-01
Item CategoryPassenger Trains
Model TypeGasoline
Model SubtypeRailcar
Model VarietyGalloping Goose
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraEU Epoch II (1920 - 1945)
Years Produced1931-1937
Scale1/160



Model Information: Introduced in 2006 (DC - $179.98) and 2007 (DCC - $198.98). No other runs since then. Packaged as "The Rail Baron Collection. A Collector's Edition"

Despite being really tiny, this model runs very smoothly.
All eight box trailer wheels provide pickup (no traction tires). Propulsion is provided solely by the two axles on the forward box trailer truck. The cab wheels are electrically neutral.
This is a N gauge model, not a Nn3 narrow gauge like the prototype.

This model is a replica of Rio Grande Southern (RGS) Motor #5 in its original configuration (freight). All other roadnames but RGS are fantasy, as the prototype was only built and used by the RGS. All non RGS versions are marked with road number X-105 and MoW (Maintenance of Way).
DCC Information: First release was DC-only. Second release was with a built-in DCC decoder. Note that both versions are using similar stock numbers (difference is a 0 or a 9 as 2nd character) and can be distinguished by the mention "Standard DC Version" or "Dual Mode DC+DCC Version" on the sticker on the side of the package.
Prototype History:
Galloping Goose is the popular name given to a series of seven railcars (officially designated as "motors" by the railroad), built in the 1930s by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS) and operated until the end of service on the line in the early 1950s.

Motors #1 and #2 were built from a Buick "Master Six" four-door sedan.
Motors #3 and #4 were built from a Pierce-Arrow 1926 body and Pierce-Arrow 33 engine.
Motor #5 was built from a Pierce-Arrow 1928 body and Pierce-Arrow 36 engine.
Motor #6 was built from a Buick body and a Buick-6 engine.
Motor #7 was built from a Pierce-Arrow 1926 body and a Ford 1936 V-8.

All but #1 have been preserved and are visible in various museums in Colorado. All the surviving units have been restored and are operational.
From Wikipedia.
Road Name History:
The RGS was incorporated in Colorado in 1889 by Otto Mears who had previously built the Silverton Railroad in an attempt to close the distance between Denver & Rio Grande’s Silverton Branch and the line to Ouray to the north. The Silverton had closed to within 8 miles but the route beyond was impassable by a steam road. Mears built a wagon road between them but it was blocked by snow or slides much of the time. He chartered the RGS to link the two lines via a longer but easier route. The RGS built from Dallas Junction (later renamed Ridgeway) on D&RG’s Ouray line generally south to the mines at Telluride. Construction west then north from a connection with the D&RG at Durango began the following year. Along the way, the RGS would serve the silver producing cities of Placerville and Rico as well as other small communities. The first through train from Durango to Ridgeway ran on the second day of 1892. Total mileage was 174 (making it slightly longer than the Akron Canton & Youngstown), all of it 3’ gauge.

RGS had just two years of prosperity. In 1893, Congress repealed the Silver Purchase Act and the bottom dropped out of the Colorado mining industry. RGS fell under the control of the Denver & Rio Grande where it would remain until 1929.

The early locomotive fleet was largely made up of former Rio Grande Western narrow gauge engines that became available when the RGW was standard gauged. By that time, the RGW engines were mostly worn out (in fact more than one of the purchased engines would never turn a wheel for the RGS.) RGS continued to buy secondhand power from lines such as the D&RG, Florence & Cripple Creek, and Colorado & Southern. In fact, RGS would never buy a brand new locomotive.

For many years, RGS made a narrow profit from operations but it was never enough to cover the interest on the debt incurred from construction. The company never paid a dividend. The busiest times were during the fall livestock rush as ranchers hurried to get their animals off the high grazing lands before the first snows set in. RGS trains between 30 and 40 cars were run during these times. (That may seem like a lot for narrow gauge but both D&RGW and C&S ran freights twice that length.) Washouts and mudslides plagued the line. Derailments were a weekly occurrence (although the trains were so slow, little damage was usually done.) In 1929, D&RGW gave up control and the RGS slipped into receivership.

With passenger traffic declining, RGS first resorted to mixed trains and then built the Galloping Geese. The first was fairly small and built from a Buick. Several others were built using larger Pierce Arrow limousine bodies followed by Geese with bus bodies. These could carry several passengers and tons of LCL cargo and mail in the back. The Geese were easy and cheap to repair and only required a one man crew.

RGS had their own freight car fleet but most of the cars seen on the line at any given time belonged to the D&RGW. When the Colorado & Southern abandoned their narrow gauge lines in 1938, RGS picked up a slew of freight cars on the cheap. Those cars had steel frames and Bettendorf style trucks.

The receiver had applied for a loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation but was turned down because the RGS’s prospects were too dim. Once America entered the Second World War, the loan suddenly became available. In addition, a subsidiary of the RFC bought the RGS for $65,000 and leased it back the the receiver. Not long after that, RGS began hauling “yellow cake” from old mine tailings in boxcars south to Durango and interchanging them with the D&RGW. They didn’t know it at the time but RGS was moving the raw material used to make the first atomic bombs.

The RGS would operate in receivership until 1951 when their application to abandon the line was accepted by the ICC. No one along the line had protested the abandonment. In 1953, the rails were pulled up.
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.
Item created by: Alain LM on 2018-08-15 15:50:15. Last edited by CNW400 on 2019-05-02 09:09:56

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