Con-Cor - 0001-02013N - Boxcar, 40 Foot, AAR 1944 - Merry Christmas - 2013

Series Information: In traditional festive legend, Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The commonly cited names of the eight fictional reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen, although Donder is often called Donner. They are based on those used in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly called "The Night Before Christmas") by Clement Clarke Moore, arguably the basis of the reindeers' popularity.
From Wikipedia

Con-Cor released the 8 cars of series between 2010 and 2017, as part of their annual Christmas car program. A ninth car featuring Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer was released in 2018.

Model Information: Originally, these models were produced in Japan by Kato for Con-Cor. However, since Con-Cor owned the tooling, they later decided to move the molds to their Chicago factory and later releases of the car were produced in the United States. This tooling may have been eventually moved to China when Con-Cor moved their production to China in the 1990s. ESM has produced this model in assorted paint schemes.

Prototype History: The Association of American Railroads had been establishing design standards for freight cars since the early part of the century. Each new design standard meant higher capacity, lighter, more durable cars. The 1937 standard 40' box car featured an interior height of 10'. Just prior to America's entry into the war, there was a push for an even larger interior height for the AAR standard. The first cars that would eventually be termed 1944 AAR, were actually built in 1941 but the war delayed its declaration as the standard. The new taller cars required a new design of end. Corrugated metal ends had been used since the days when wood side cars dominated for a very good reason, shifting loads would burst through wooden ends during sudden starts and stops! These corrugated panels were stamped in two sections, split horizontally down the middle. The 1937 standard had 5 ribs on one half and 4 ribs on the other -- creating what is called a 5-4 Dreadnaught end. The slightly taller 1944 model required something a little different. The lower panel has 4 ribs while the upper panel has 3 then a space and a final rectangular rib at the top. Called a 4-3-1 (or R-3-4) Improved Dreadnaught end, this design would dominate new box car construction for years.

Road Name History: Well, it is not really a company, but there are a ton of model railroad cars which sport Christmas as the Railroad.

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an Octave. The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the New Testament says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies; when Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds who then disseminated the message furthermore. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated religiously by the vast majority of Christians, as well as culturally by a number of non-Christian people, and is an integral part of the holiday season, while some Christian groups reject the celebration. In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family.

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.