InterMountain - 65759-12 - Boxcar, 40 Foot, AAR 1937 - Chicago & Illinois Midland - 16639

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 Modified 1937 AAR boxcar design was a result of the industries continued search for more freight volume per carload. The real first attempt at a standardized design had been the 1932 ARA steel boxcar with an inside height of 9'-4" . In 1936 the board of the AAR approved the 1937 AAR design with a 10'-0" inside height. This became a standard throughout the industry.

Road Name History: The Chicago & Illinois Midland ran from Peoria south to Springfield (the state capital) and Cimic, then east to Taylorville, Illinois. Total mileage was around 120 (7 miles longer than RF&P by comparison.) For much of its history, the C&IM was owned by utility giant Commonwealth Edison. Most of the traffic was coal. Over the years, coal has moved from mines along the south end of the line to Illinois River docks at Havana and to other carriers at Peoria. As Wyoming coal became more popular, coal moved from connections at Peoria to the docks at Havana.

C&IM was the last Class 1 railroad to order 4-4-0s. A trio of them were built by Baldwin in 1927 and ’28. Later in the steam era, C&IM bought second hand 2-10-2s from Wabash and Atlantic Coast Line as coal traffic increased. We tend to believe that the “Steam to Diesel Transition Era” unfolded over a long period with the first switchers and streamliners arriving in the late 1930s and the last steam road power retiring around 1957 or so. C&IM was unusual in that it remained all-steam through 1954. When they did switch, it was with a suddenness that could strike panic in the hearts of steam fans. The first EMD switchers arrived in early 1955. Then, in the third week of November, the first SD9 arrived on the property. Within FIVE DAYS steam was gone from the C&IM mainline, leaving a few 0-8-0’s in yard service. On December 5th, the 0-8-0’s were gone too.

Brand/Importer Information: InterMountain was founded in 1985 by Fred Brummet. They got started in the model railroad business by producing O-Scale model kits. They got started in the N Scale business almost a decade later when in 1994 they introduced the 40-23 reefer car in kit form. Later, in 1998, they started producing RTR (Ready-to-Run) models. By the early 2000s, InterMountain phased out kit production in favor of the RTR models.

The InterMountain Railway company is located at 1224 Boston Ave in Longmont, CO. They are a manufacturer of HO, N and Z scale model trains. They have produced kits as well as RTR (Ready-To-Run) models. Their N Scale products include locomotives as well as rolling stock. Their rolling stock lineup includes Boxcars, Hoppers, Tank Cars, Reefers, Gondolas, Stock Cars and Flatcars.

Their locomotive releases have primarily been diesel units, with the one major exception being their series of AC-12 Cab Forward steam locos. Their diesel lineup includes F3's, F7's, F9's, SD40's, SD45's and FT units. They are known for quality and detail. They also release their rolling stock in larger varieties of road numbers than most of the other manufacturers.