Con-Cor - 2091A - Locomotive, Diesel, Alco PA/PB - American Bicentennial - 1776B

Specific Item Information: Dummy (unpowered)

Model Information: Con-Cor introduced these Kato-made locomotives in the late 1960s. Kato revised the mechanism in 1972 and in 1994 Con-Cor had a new mechanism made for Chinese production. In 2003, the engine was re-tooled again to be DCC-Ready.

2003 release: features of the powered PA-1 Unit.

• DUAL flywheel drive
• Comes with factory mounted Genuine Micro-Trains couplers
• Runs on “DC” right out the box.
• Factory installed DCC friendly PC 8 pin NMRA board.
• High Torque / Quiet 5 Pole skewed armature motor
• Reversing headlight
• Heavy die-cast chassis for superior pulling power
• Highly detailed body casting
• Detailed paint and printing
• Multi cab numbers available for Powered and non-Powered units
• Old bodies interchangeable with new units, so it will be easy to upgrade your older Con-Cor N PA-1 units to this new drive if you choose

DCC Information: All versions prior to 2003 are not DCC capable, but 2003 and later are DCC-Ready.

Prototype History: ALCO PA (DL-304/DL-305) refers to a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul high-speed passenger trains that were built in Schenectady, New York, in the United States by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric (GE) between June, 1946 and December, 1953. They were of a cab unit design, and both cab-equipped lead A unit PA and cabless booster B unit PB models were built. ALCO's beautiful PA-1 is one of America's most famous locomotives. It was ALCO's entry into the passenger train diesel craze, competing directly with the E-Units from EMD. The first PA1 celebrated Alco's 75,000th loco to roll out of the erecting shop.

The PAs, as well as their cousins, the ALCO FAs, were born as a result of Alco's development of a new diesel engine design, the Model 244. In early 1944, development started on the new design. In 1946, this new locomotive made its debut on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. Southern Pacific PA's #6055 and 6056 were later put into service on the SP's coastal division, pulling trains such as the Morning Daylight.
Having more horsepower than their leading competitor, Alco felt that they had a fleet-ready competitive product. PA1's were sleek, stylish, powerful, and were very well suited for America's passenger and fast freight trains. Additionally, their 65' 8" bodies became excellent billboard advertising for the railroads that they served with pride.
The PA-1/PB-1 were rated 2,000 hp (1,490 kW) and the PA-2/PB-2 2,250 hp (1,680 kW). A total of 297 PA/PB have been built between 1946 and 1953.

ALCO locomotives were also used in service with the famous "California Zephyr" passenger train, adopting a number of paint schemes, the most famous of which was perhaps the "Prospector" paint scheme. This paint scheme was a striking two-tone silver and gold arrangement, highlighted by a series of four black stripes going down the side of the body.

Read more on Wikipedia
and on American-Rails.com

Road Name History: The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memory of the American Revolution. The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

The plans for the Bicentennial began when Congress created the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission on July 4, 1966. Initially, the Bicentennial celebration was planned as a single city exposition (titled Expo '76) that would be staged in either Philadelphia or Boston. After 6½ years of tumultuous debate, the Commission recommended that there should not be a single event, and Congress dissolved it on December 11, 1973, and created the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration (ARBA), which was charged with encouraging and coordinating locally sponsored events. David Ryan, a professor at University College Cork, notes that the Bicentennial was celebrated only a year after the humiliating withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975 and that the Ford administration stressed the themes of renewal and rebirth based on a restoration of traditional values, giving a nostalgic and exclusive reading of the American past.

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.