InterMountain - 69571-01 - Engine, Diesel, SD45-2 - Trona - 3002

Model Information: InterMountain first introduced this model in 2008, and has produced several additional runs since then.

The design of the chassis is very much similar to the Atlas SD50/60 mechanism. It sports all the features one normally associates with "modern" diesel models - IE, DCC-Ready / split-frame / all-metal chassis, 5-pole / skew-wound / "slow speed" motor, dual flywheels, low-friction drive, bi-directional LED lighting, all-wheel drive and pickup (no traction tires), blackened / low-profile wheels, shell-mounted magnetic knuckle couplers, all-plastic gearing, etc.

Assembly instructions from Intermountain: SD40T-2 / SD45T-2 / SD45-2 (or on company website)

DCC Information: From the run announced in 2015, this model is proposed factory-equipped with either a non-sound DCC decoder (models suffixed by "D") or a sound DCC decoder (models suffixed by "S"), both from ESU. The new associated design induced significant delays, and the new models are now announced to be released in 2017.

Models produced up to 2009 accept the following plug-in decoders (non-sound):
- Digitrax DN166I0: 1.5 Amp Decoder for Intermountain N scale SD40T-2 / SD45T-2.
- TCS IMD4: BEMF decoder designed to fit Intermountain N scale SD40T-2, SD45T-2, SD45-2.

Road Name History: The TRC was built in 1913 by the American Trona Company from a connection with the Southern Pacific at Searles, California to Trona, 31 miles away in the Mojave Desert. The railroad, the town and the company are all named for the trona form of soda ash deposited on an ancient dry lake bed. Also found in abundance in the area and carried by the railroad are potash, salt cake, and borax. The mineral processing facitity burns coal which constitutes most of the inbound traffic. Most of the outbound minerals move in covered hoppers.

Over the decades, ownership of the mines and railroad have passed from company to company including Kerr-McGee, North American Chemical, IMC Chemicals and they are now owned by a relatively small outfit called Searles Valley Minerals.

What really put Trona Railway on the map was their long lived all-Baldwin diesel fleet. These included a pair of rare DT6-6-20 center cab transfer engines and AS-616 road switchers. The Baldwins lasted well into the 1990s before being replaced by rebuilt EMD’s. These days, the line is run with rebuilt second generation EMD’s.

The Trona Railway (reporting mark TRC) is a 30.5 mi (49.1 km) short-line railroad owned by Searles Valley Minerals. The TRC interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad at Searles, California (Mojave Desert). The railroad was built by the American Trona Company in 1914, to serve the mining company's shipping from Searles Station to a junction with the Southern Pacific Railroad. The company and its Trona Railway has had various subsequent owners, including American Potash & Chemical Corporation, Kerr-McGee Corporation, IMC Global, Sun Capital, LLC, before the current ownership of Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.

Read more on Wikipedia and on American-Rails.com, as well as on Trona on the Web.

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.