Con-Cor - 0001-003312 - Locomotive, Diesel, GE U50 - Santa Fe - 7501

Series Information: A collection released by Con-Cor

Model Information: Originally, Con-cor contracted with Kato of Japan to produce this model. It was first released in 1973, though it does not appear in the 1973 JMC catalog. Con-Cor later moved this tooling to China and re-released the model in 1997 under their "Rail Baron Collection" branding. The mechanism is shared with the Kato-made Gas Turbine models introduced in 1975.
This locomotive was owned only by Union Pacific and Southern Pacific; Con-Cor however released it in several other paint schemes, that are pure fantasies.
This model has been re-run several times in different road names using the same stock number.

DCC Information: No provision for DCC in either release.

Prototype History: The GE U50 was an eight-axle, in B-B-B-B configuration, 5,000 hp (3,700 kW) road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric. They were twin-engined locomotives, combining two 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) diesel engines.
The U50 was built in response to the Union Pacific Railroad's requirement, issued in the early 1960s, for a 15,000 hp (11,200 kW) 3-unit locomotive intended to replace the turbines. The design was effectively two U25B locomotives on a single frame; each diesel engine and generator powered only the two trucks at the same end.
26 U50 have been produced, 23 for UP and 3 for SP. They were all scrapped by 1977.

Read more on Wikipedia and American-Rails.com

Road Name History: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. Chartered in February 1859, the railroad reached the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, in 1876. To create a demand for its services, the railroad set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that it was awarded by Congress. Despite the name, its main line never served Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the terrain was too difficult; the town ultimately was reached by a branch line from Lamy.

The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport, an enterprise that (at one time or another) included a tugboat fleet and an airline (the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway). Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The ATSF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren & Johnny Mercer's "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", written for the film, The Harvey Girls (1946).

The railroad officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway.

Read more on 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.