InterMountain - 66514-17 - Covered Hopper, 2-Bay, ACF Centerflow - Winchester & Western - 4117

Specific Item Information: BLT : 9-80

Prototype History: The 2-bay covered hopper first entered service in the 1950s. The cars handle loads such as cement, sand and similar denser bulk commodities. In the 1960s, American Car and Foundry introduced the Centerflow design. The Centerflow relies on the car's rounded body to provide structural strength without the added weight of bracing, as well as making gravity unloading easier. This 2-bay car came in a 2,970-cubic foot capacity.

The first ACF covered hoppers were rib-side cars, like many others of the time. In the 1960's ACF eliminated the supporting ribs and started building what they called the Center Flow(R) hopper with a smooth, rounded side. The cars were built at several ACF plants, but the Huntington, West Virginia plant built only Center Flow cars since their inception and was the primary builder.

Road Name History: The WW appeared in 1940 when the Winchester & Wardersville was reorganized (that line had been reorganized in 1929 from an earlier Winchester & Western.)

The WW ran for many years from Gore to Winchester, Virginia. In 1986, WW bought the old Pennsylvania line from Winchester to Williamsport and Hagarstown, Maryland from Conrail. WW is owned by mineral producing giant Unimin, who is a major shipper on the line. When Conrail moved to dispose of 40 miles of former CNJ and P-RSL trackage in New Jersey also in 1986, Unimin snapped up those lines (which also served Unimin facilities.) A year later, Unimin bought the Jersey Southern as well. All of the New Jersey routes are also operated under the Winchester & Western name.

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.