InterMountain - 6401009-A02 - Gondola, Bathtub, Bethgon Coalporter - Somerset Railroad - 604, 621, 629, 642, 663, 695

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 Somerset Railroad (reporting mark SOM) is a railroad that operates in Niagara County, New York. However, this railroad isn't part of its own company with its own motive power. The railroad is sometimes mistaken as being classified as a Shortline, however it is not a shortline. It is currently operated by CSX Transportation. The railroad was built with the primary objective of providing coal to the Kintigh Generating Station, also known as the Somerset Power Plant, a 675 megawatt coal-fired power plant located in Somerset, New York. The railroad was built in 1983 by the New York State Electric and Gas Co. using new and old rights of way. From Lockport, New York, it runs on the defunct International Railway Co. (IRC) interurban line opened in 1900 under the name Buffalo, Lockport & Olcott Beach (BL&OB) which became part of the IRC in 1902. From Newfane, New York, the SOM sweeps off the IRC (abandoned in 1937) to the Hojack Line in Appleton, New York (Township of Newfane, Niagara County, NY), to West Somerset in the Town of Somerset. It then swings off on new trackage to a series of spurs and a loop at the Kintigh Generating Station.
Although the Somerset Railroad owns 428 rotary-dump gondola cars, CSX provides their motive power and operates the railroad. Prior to the acquisition of Conrail by Norfolk Southern and CSX in 1998, Conrail provided motive power. The Somerset Railroad right of way includes 15.59 miles (25 km) of trackage, known as the Somerset Secondary. Unit coal trains leaving from Youngstown, Ohio, run to Erie, Pennsylvania, followed by Buffalo, then north to the Niagara Branch, where they swing off onto the Lockport Subdivision, and finally in Lockport onto the Somerset Secondary. Even though the Somerset Power Plant owns its own gondolas, CSXT Hoppers are a regular sight at the plant.
The coal cars are unloaded using a rotary car dumper at the power plant. Also on the line in Lockport is a chemical plant, Vanchlor, which receives anhydrous ammonia via the railroad. The first train on the line ran in November 1983. Power was provided by four Conrail GE B23-7s, with 1926 as the lead unit.From 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.