Con-Cor - 1051G - Boxcar, 40 Foot, Steel Plug Door - Anheuser Busch - 5412

Model Information: This model was originally produced by Kato for Con-Cor. Since Con-Cor owned the tooling, they were later able to move the tooling to Chicago for later runs. It has been marketed as a "40' Steel Box Car[sic]" as well as "40' Steel Reefer". We believe current runs are being made in China. Pictures of this model were available as of May 2017 on the Con-Cor website being sold with two options for couplers: Rigid-Face and Micro-Trains.

Prototype History: Plug-Door boxcars are usually insulated and typically carry products such as canned goods that require protection from extremes of temperature but do not require refrigeration. Plug-style doors were normally used to ensure a tight seal in the insulation. Designed for transport of both perishables and large loads, plug doors allowed box cars to be sealed from outside dust and dirt. Cars like these were manufactured during the 50s and 60s.

Whether you consider this a reefer or a boxcar is a matter for angel-pinhead-counters. There seems to be a bit of a blurry line during the transition era between the idea of a steel ice reefer and an insulated boxcar. I guess an ice reefer was meant to hold ice for cooling but I doubt this is a cut-and-dry distinction. Modern "mechanical" reefers are a different breed as they contain a refrigeration unit which quite distinctly sets them apart from "boxcars".

Road Name History: Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is a brewing company based in St. Louis, Missouri USA and headquartered in Leuven, Belgium. Since 2008, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) which also has its North American regional management headquarters in St. Louis.

The original Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) was formed through successive mergers of three international brewing groups: Interbrew from Belgium, AmBev from Brazil and Anheuser-Busch. Hence, since 2008, Anheuser-Busch has been a division of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, now (September 2017) the world's largest brewing company.

The company employs over 30,000 people, operates 12 breweries in the United States, and until December 2009, was one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, with ten theme parks through the company's family entertainment division, Busch Entertainment Corporation.

From Wikipedia

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.