Intermountain Engines

[thpbears]

Just got a NS Heritage Norfolk and Western engine ordered. Looks like it is really detailed. Anybody had any dealing with this company? This will be my first intermountain engine..

[Badhorse79]

I love em ! Gonna have a great loco Bears .... pictures when ya get it

[thpbears]

Thanks I got it for 120 new in the box. If I could get all  the Heritage units  at that price my bare roundhouse would look like Spencer did a time back. ;D

[NSMoWandS]

Only have one IM loco(Originally a KCS AC GEVO). Runs greats and has good pulling power. The only issue I had was when I took it apart. Lot harder to remove shell than a normal Athearn or Walthers loco. 
Enjoy! DE Dan

[Ronzzr11]

  I bought two Intermountain Heritage locos last year, the Pennsylvania,and the Nickel Plate Road,both of which I managed to see for real around Altoona.
  I found the IM locos tend to run slower than my Athearn locos, so I run them together,that way I have no issues with mis-matched pulling or pushing.
  The quality of the locos, is great, nicely detailed, and well finished.

  Ron

[NSTopHat]

I have a few IMRC Gevo's of various colors, including some of the Heritage units. They are weighted well and are good pullers. IMRC adjusted start-up values and speed curves for the non-sound units to run with their sound units. Keep in mind that their non-sound units actually have a DCC decoder pre-installed in them. I don't have the info handy, but if you adjust a couple of CV values, all of these units, both sound and non-sound, will run well with every other model out there.

In regards to details, they are well done, however, there are some sever issues with the fuel tanks and side frames on these units.

Regards,
Russ

[NSTopHat]

I got a PM asking if I could post some images of the GEVO's that I have. There will be a couple of entries to cover them.

First is the line-of of IMRC NS Heritage GEVO's

Second and third are of the Conrail unit

More to follow....

Regards,
Russ

[NSTopHat]

Next up is the Southern unit #8099. To me the Dulux gold lettering is a little dark.

More to follow....

[NSTopHat]

Images of the CG unit. The grey on the pilot faces is different from the upper grey of the car body as per the prototype.

Still more to follow...

[NSTopHat]

Images of the Interstate unit.

'Old Skool' NS Heritage unit is next....

[NSTopHat]

The 'Old Skool' NS Heritage unit.

Last of the Heritage units, but more GEVO images to follow....

[NSTopHat]

This set of images is of the Athearn CP ES44AC #8738, the Athearn UP #5252 ES44AC, the Tower 55 UP #5460 and the IMRC UP #5382. The Athearn model is better overall model. I do prefer the IMRC handrails over that of the Athearn model. They are a little beefier and they are made of a plastic that is glue-able with conventional liquid styrene cements and will take easily paint. The Athearn handrails will not. IMRC failed to use a dark tint on the side windows of the cab, where both Athearn and T55 are properly tinted. My biggest beef with the IMRC units is that the fuel tank has the wrong cross sectional shape and that the side frames are too thin, the axle 'bells' are too short and that the overall transverse width of the truck including the side frames is too narrow. I have measured all three items on the real units and the IMRC is too far off for acceptance. The Botchmann models have the same fuel tank issues and their trucks are grossly short.

Weathering not factory installed, or shop completed....

Images comparing the Athearn side frames & fuel tank vs. IMRC's offering to follow....

[NSTopHat]

Up close shots of the Athearn roller blade side frames and fuel tank, followed by the IMRC offering.

I did manage to get some side frames and fuel tank parts from Athearn to upgrade a couple of IMRC units. Initial test fits are positive and show a minimal amount parts modification. I'll post images of those later on.

If you have any Q's, feel free to ask.

Regards,
Russ

[NSTopHat]

Forgot to post the NW Heritage unit...

Any Q's please feel free to ask.

Regards,
Russ

[NSMoWandS]

Man... those IMRC trucks DO look really bad next to the Athearn. Also, you have a small fortune tied up in GEVOs! LOL! All look great! Thanks for sharing! DE Dan