I started a post about the Con-Cor passenger cars sometime ago. They do lack some what in detail, but I lack good eye sight so that is a wash. Color is good and paint is fine.
I have 4 that are 21 years old that I bought new still in the box from my LHS K-10 Model Trains in Maryville IL. I have 2 72 foot Baggage cars, 1 RPO car and one Express Baggage car. Older Con-Cor have metal wheels and axles and trucks use a press pin to hold on the trucks.
New cars all are 72 foot cars.
1 Diner Car
1 Sleeper
2 Dome Cars
1 Coach Car
1 OB car, one for the rear of the train.
Newer ones use Walther’s axles with metal axle and plastic wheels. There trucks uses a screw with a threaded weight that is a column style. You can see it sticking up in the car if you look close.
All the cars came with truck mounted couplers, new cars have springs on the knuckle style coupler. All needed weight to meet NMRA standards. I have body mounted all but 3 of the cars with Kadee’s .505 raised shank couplers. Only one was a bad rolling car, it got PK 36 inch wheels. All of the cars either body mounted couplers or truck mounted couplers will take 18 inch turns, look OK on a 22 inch and look just fine on a 26 inch. All track well with no turn out picking forward or back wards. At higher speeds (80 sMPH) truck mounted cars will come un coupled sometimes.
I have been pulling them with a pair of PK 2000 E-6’s with sound. Look better with E-7’s but mine are DC only.
I have one more coming, when I get it I will do a step by step on up grading.
you replace the trucks with IHC’s metal trucks, Kadee couplers, and Jay Bee body mount pads.
(2) the actual ‘Valley Plyer’ was an all heavyweght train pulled by a Steam 4-6-2. These smooth sided ConCor cars never never ran on the ATSF. ‘Corregated’ lightweight’s, yes
Don, I did wonder about the smooth side cars. I looked on line and all I could find is a steam verson of the Valley Flyers. As far as the trucks go, after 40 hours on some of them they are fine.
As was stated before replace the trucks with better quality ones. If you retain the Con-Cor trucks I recommend Kadee 522 35inch wheels. Metal axels in the plastic frames lead to excessive wear. Aldo add some weight the cars are very underweight.
Anymore photos of the E6’s? You mention the train looks better with E7s. What E7’s are you referring to? Did you mean F7s? Santa Fe never had any E7s…although warbonnet E7s with those Con-Cor cars sure would make an interesting what if consist.
For more info on what the real Valley Flyer cars looked like here’s a great link:
I have a request for clarification here. Are you really modeling the Valley Flyer or are you modeling the Golden Gate? The reason I ask is because your pictures look more like early diesel era equipment rather than the steam and heavyweight equipment that were used on the short-lived (1939-1940) Valley Flyer.
The Athearn’s (heavyweight) cars are more reprensentative of the the actual ATSF ‘Valley Flyer’ , because they’re ‘Heavyweights’, The train was pulled by ATSF 1700 class 4-6-2’s*.
The ‘Golden Gate’ (which later replaced it) was an all ‘lightweight’ train with fluted (corregated) sides, and pulled by Santa Fe’s E2 & E6’s. *A 4-6-4 or 4-8 4 (like BLI’s 3751) might be suitable substitutes,
The “Valley Flyer” paint scheme (offered by ConCor & Athearn) was made up for $ales, and never existed except in their product. Pullman’s green was the actual - if you care.
85’ cars may look better on straights, but 72 footers work better on curves.
Santa Fe inaugerated the ‘Vally Flyer’ for the San Francico Worlds Fair. The ‘Golden Gate’ I believe was post war to compete with S.P’s San Juaquin route, and Santa Fe Trailways Buses did the mountainous ‘Tejon’ (LA-Bakersfield) portion to shave time off of SP’s winding 'Soledad Canyon/‘Tehachapi’ route.
The Valley Flyer scheme that Con Cor used is based on the actual scheme that Santa Fe used for a period. That is not just some paint scheme made up for sales. Somebody better tell The Coach Yard they really screwed up.
You have a nice passenger train - IF it makes your 18"r. curves.
Someday you can put a P2K E6 /Walthers or ConCor ‘corregated’ cars on it and call it the ‘GOLDEN GATE’. (I sound like a rivet counter, don’t I? - I’m not). ConCor modeled 85’ ACF corregated cars which Santa Fe used.
IHC, Rivarossi, ConCor, & Uncle Irv took ‘liberties’ sometimes.
Southwest Chief, yes I meant F-7’s, slip of the keys there. Reason I like the F’s better is they stand out more with them being shorter than the cars. I am pulling them with two units. B is a powered PK-2 E-6, front is a PK-2 E-7 that I bought new with sound but no shell. Shell is a Train Line shell E-7 I got off E-bay for $6.00. I wonder why Santa Fe did not do all there passenger cars in the War Bonnet paint? If you want a few PIC of the engines I be happy to post some.
As far as modeling either Golden Gate or Valley Flyer’s, I would say neither. I buy what tickles my fancy at that time. To model is art form, to run is to have fun.
All so thanks to clarifying that there was no smooth side Valley Flyer’s. Owner of K-10 Model Trains and I could not find any information on them! We now know why.
Don, yes there are 2 last 18 inch turns on the current bench. Same area, one on the A line and one on the B line. Booth are hidden from view from where I run the bench. 18 inch turns are not a problem if!
1 Track is installed well, in my case OK.
2 Cars are up to snuff, free wheeling and weight to NMRA standards.
My passenger cars work great with no tracking problems on the turns. I all so have no problems with bigger engines as follows.
PCM Big Boy
PCM Y-6b
BLI Class J
BLI GE AC 6000’s
Athearn Dash-9
Proto 2 E-6 and E-7’s
Proto 1 Erie Built
Athearn SD-50’s
With your and other help I have concord the tight turn problem. If I start feeling better the new bench will have no smaller than a 32 turn. For now I am happy with what I have, and on the B Line I am pulling 42 50 foot cars with a Dash 9 and a GE AC 6000 so life is good. A line is runing the PCM Big Boy and the Valley Flyers.
I bought a seven car set of those a few years ago not knowing any better and thinking I was getting some kind of special Santa Fe smooth side passenger train I’d never heard of. Anyways, I also bought an E-8 A&B set to pull it with. A few weeks later and after getting really attached to it, I found out that it never existed in the way I had it which really burst my bubble, but after thinking it over I remembered someone saying that even the most hard core modeler should allow himself at least one “fantasy train”, so this is mine…
