InterMountain - 69102-03 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD F3 - Southern Pacific - 300

Model Information: InterMountain introduced this model in 2005, and have since followed up with several subsequent runs. The model shares the same chassis as Intermountain's F7s. The PC board was re-designed in 2014 with motor contact "shoes" replaced by wires.

In December 2014, a new run of several road numbers was announced which introduced new factory DCC-equipped versions, sound and non-sound. These models come with a brand new design that incurred significant delays. First batch is expected to be delivered mid-2017.

These locos sport all of the niceties one normally associates with "modern" diesel models, e.g. - split-frame DCC-Ready metal chassis, dual-flywheels, low-friction drive, plastic truck assemblies, plastic gearing, blackened wheels, all-wheel drive / pick-up (no traction tires). The motor is an open-sided 5-poler. Directional lighting on A units is controlled by a PC board mounted on top of the chassis, and with the LED headlight mounted on the front of the chassis (with wires running between the two).

DCC Information:
Models released up to 2014: These locos are qualified as "DCC-Friendly" and not "Ready" because installing after-market decoders requires de-soldering and re-soldering a few wires. Not too complex, but you'll need a soldering iron...
- For locos released before 2014: front light of A units needs to be re-soldered to the decoder board.
- For locos released after 2014: in addition to the front light, the motor contacts are performed by two wires that need to be re-soldered to the decoder board.

Accepts the following decoders (non-sound):
- Digitrax DN163I1C: 1.5 Amp N Scale Mobile Decoder for Intermountain F3 / F7 Units. (discontinued)
- Digitrax DN166I1C: 1.5 Amp Decoder for Intermountain N scale F3 and F7 A & B units with motor contact "shoes".
- Digitrax DN166I1D: 1.5 Amp Decoder for InterMountain N Scale F7A & B units with wired motors produced after Jan 2014.
- TCS IMF4: 4 Function Decoder for Intermountain F3A/B, F7A/B and F9B N-Scale locomotives. (Installation for Intermountain F3A)
- TCS IMF4-NF: 4 Function Decoder for Intermountain F3A/B, F7A/B and F9B N-Scale locomotives produced after Jan 2014. (Installation for Intermountain F7A)

Models released as of 2017: 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 - LokSound Select Micro or LokPilot Micro.

Prototype History: The EMD F3 was a 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) B-B freight- and passenger-hauling diesel locomotive produced between July 1945 and February 1949 by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant. A total of 1,111 cab-equipped lead A units and 696 cabless booster B units were built.

The F3 was the third model in GM-EMD's highly successful F-unit series of cab unit diesel locomotives, and it was the second most produced of the series. The F3 essentially differed from the EMD F2 in that it used the “new” D12 generator to produce more power, and from the later EMD F7 in electrical equipment. Some late-model F3's had the same D27 traction motors, along with the heavier-duty electrical cables, used in the F7, and were referred to as model F5 by EMD's Engineering Department.

From Wikipedia
Read more on American-Rails.com

Road Name History: The Southern Pacific Transportation Company (reporting mark SP), earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually called the Southern Pacific or (from the railroad's initials) Espee, was an American Class I railroad. It was absorbed in 1988 by the company that controlled the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and eight years later became part of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The railroad was founded as a land holding company in 1865, later acquiring the Central Pacific Railroad by lease. By 1900 the Southern Pacific Company was a major railroad system incorporating many smaller companies, such as the Texas and New Orleans Railroad and Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad. It extended from New Orleans through Texas to El Paso, across New Mexico and through Tucson, to Los Angeles, through most of California, including San Francisco and Sacramento. Central Pacific lines extended east across Nevada to Ogden, Utah, and reached north through Oregon to Portland. Other subsidiaries eventually included the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt), the Northwestern Pacific Railroad at 328 miles (528 km), the 1,331 miles (2,142 km) Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico, and a variety of 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge routes.

In 1929 SP/T&NO operated 13848 route-miles not including Cotton Belt, whose purchase of the Golden State Route circa 1980 nearly doubled its size to 3,085 miles (4,965 km), bringing total SP/SSW mileage to around 13,508 miles (21,739 km).

By the 1980s route mileage had dropped to 10,423 miles (16,774 km), mainly due to the pruning of branch lines. In 1988 the Southern Pacific was taken over by D&RGW parent Rio Grande Industries. The combined railroad kept the Southern Pacific name due to its brand recognition in the railroad industry and with customers of both constituent railroads. Along with the addition of the SPCSL Corporation route from Chicago to St. Louis, the total length of the D&RGW/SP/SSW system was 15,959 miles (25,684 km).

By 1996 years of financial problems had dropped SP's mileage to 13,715 miles (22,072 km), and it was taken over by the Union Pacific Railroad.

Read more on Wikipedia.

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.