InterMountain - 6401008-A01 - Gondola, Bathtub, Bethgon Coalporter - Central Illinois Public Service - 501, 521, 536, 544, 577, 590

Model Information: This Intermountain model features some excellent detail work. Of particular note is the handrails at each car end, brake details, and grab irons. The underframes don't have much detail but we suspect that this is true of the prototype as well. Some of the brake components seem to be molded on whereas other parts are separately applied details. Overall the car ends are the highlight of this model. Being an older model, the couplers are truck mounted and plastic wheels are present on the trucks. That being said, InterMountain used MTL Barber truck/couplers and the result is a car that tracks and runs very well. Now, it is possible to swap the wheels with nicely made blackened wheels supplied by Fox Valley, InterMountain and (coming later in 2017) MTL OEM wheels.

On the negative side, the factory-supplied plastic coal loads are a total write-off and should be swapped at your earliest convenience with a Hay Brothers (or equivalent) resin cast load. Please look at item for an example of one of these cars with a Hay Brothers Load

Prototype History: Since 1982, the BethGon Coalporter has been hauling "black diamonds" across the United States. The largest selling Coal Gondola in the world, the car's double tub design increases hauling capacity while reducing maintenance requirements. Tubs below the car lower the center of gravity, providing a smoother ride.

Today, coal is no longer sold at the volume it once was in the United States, and many coal carrying railroad cars have sadly been left to rust. Bethgon Coalporters could transport 44,000 pounds of these “black diamonds,” a necessity for the railroad in the era of a coal-driven country; therefore, a need of recycling these cars had to be found!

Since the use of grain for animal feed is popular for farmers in the western part of the United States, Bethgons proved up for the challenge and some were converted for use as a Protein Gondola. These covered gondolas are used in freight trains in the western and southern parts of the states in long, endless fleets providing useful feed for farm animals. Since the load of feed is biodegradable and therefore needs to be delivered as quickly as possible, trains carrying these long loads are given top priority on the rails.

Road Name History: The Central Illinois Public Service Company was an electric streetcar holding company and power utility first organized in 1902. Under its later quarter billion dollar holding company, CIPSCO Inc. (formerly NYSE: CIP), it merged in 1997 with the larger neighboring Union Electric Company of Missouri (formerly NYSE: UEP) to form Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) based in St. Louis, Missouri. Now a subsidiary, AmerenCIPS is headquartered in Springfield, Illinois.

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.