New Product Announcement:  "Galloping Goose" Railbuses

Railbuses had their origins in the 1920's and 1930's when mail and passengers had to be delivered to remote branch line areas. On "slow" business days or in the off-season when business was light they took the place of an expensive steam locomotive and crew. Many railroads had Railbuses in one version or another. They were used on both the branch lines of the major railroads and on the local smaller railroads and narrow gauge lines.  When Con-Cor decided to do research for a model of a Railbus, they found that some of the most famous of all Railbuses, the Rio Grande Southern's "Galloping Geese" were still around and some are still running in tourist service

Con Cor's model of the Galloping Goose is a faithful representation of the original freight and passenger version of Goose #5, which first hit the rails in 1933. Number 5 was virtually identical to Geese #3 and #4 which were built a bit earlier. Goose #5 presently lives in Dolores, Colorado, and is in full operating condition. Other Geese can be found in Telluride, Colorado, at Knott's Berry Farm and at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden Colorado.

Amtrak Viewliner Cars

By the mid 80's no major builder of passenger equipment was left in the USA and Amtrak was desperate for new equipment as the "Heritage Fleet" was rapidly approaching the end of it's useful lifespan.  Amtrak had purchased the new Superliner cars in the 70's for use on their Western trains but their high profile meant they could only run west of the Mississippi where the clearances allowed.  In order to build the new Viewliners Amtrak set up their Indiana shops.  These new cars were built from the ground up.  The Viewliners have two basic body styles, a sleeping car and a diner-lounge.  CON-COR's models will follow the the original Amtrak blueprints