Hello all. A friend of mine who is an N scaler has purchased several Intermountain locos over the years and they’ve all had issues. They not only have very fragile detailing such as railing and so forth but also came apart in his hands with the frame just falling out of the shell. They look nice and run fairly well but they just don’t hold up like other brands. Anyone else out there with a story like this ?.
My experience with InterMountain HO has been excellent! They have gone above and beyond what was necessary to solve the few minor problems that I have had.
I bought a used FP7A on eBay and it came with a squeaky motor. I asked them if I could but a new motor. They sent the motor complete with flywheels for free including shipping.
I bought a Loksound decoder from them to convert another FP7A from DC. I wanted to add a reverse light but the decoder, being designed specifically for their locomotives that did not have reverse lights, did not come with a reverse light function. I contacted then to see if it was possible to set the decoder up with a reverse light. They didn’t know, but they offered to contact ESU on my behalf to see what could be done. I declined the offer because I figured out a work around that accomplished what I wanted.
I asked if I could order some winterization hatches for my Fs that didn’t come with them. They sent me what I needed, painted in the proper CP maroon, and didn’t charge a cent.
The HO F series locomotives have not proven to be fragile. There was an issue with a couple of the long side grills coming loose but a little CA solved that easily.
That has been my experience with InterMountain. I would certainly suggest that your friend contact them about the issues to see what they will do, although if the locomotives are several years old I wouldn’t fault them if they declined.
Dave
No experiance with N scale, but their HO products are among the best in the business.
BUT, like all the newer high detailed products, they are fragile. So if the N scale models have similar detail, they must be fragile but definition do to their size and scale.
I have heard this kind of complaint before about many brands, even in HO. You can’t have fine scale detail and “train set” durablity - take your pick…
Sheldon
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My only complaint about HO scale Intermountain diesels is that they are geared to run too slowly compared to that of other manufacturers for the same types of diesels.
Rich
I guess some folks are harder on details than others. I’ve had no issues of fragility with my few HO-scale IM locomotives.
Tom
Fragile details has always been a problem for me. Guess thats why I have so many Bachmann locos
No complaints about my HO IM GP10…It’s a far better runner from the box then my Geneses GP9 was.
I have a pair of HO-Scale InterMountain F7s. One with Tsunami sound and the other just DCC. Once they were set up with DecoderPro they have been great runners. I’ve had no problem with the details so far.
I’m pleased with them.
I have 3 Intermountain F units in HO. They all came out of the box with some details laying in the bottom of the box. Two had windshields missing, and one had a coupler missing.
I could never get the decoders to work right. Leap frog starts and poor speed control. I eventually got that frustrated with them that I replaced all the decoders with TCS decoders. Now they run fine. To add insult to injury, the factory decoders have the goofy 23 pin connections. At the time that really limited replacement options.
Maybe they have improved??
Did you contact Intermountain about the loose or missing details? They have great customer service.
As for the DCC issues, or speed issues with DCC, that is a decoder issue. My DC versions run the same speed as my other brands within a reasonable margin.
Sheldon
Rich, it is not the hard gearing, it is a decoder issue, voltage issue. My DC versions run plenty fast.
Sheldon
22 pin decoders are common as chips now. It’s more or less the new standard, since the 8 pin is entirely inadequate for anything remotely modern with more than just basic headlights. All of the major decoder makers have 22 pin decoders now.
Tsunamis never had had the best motor control. Intermountain now uses ESU, much superior. They now use Lokpilot motor only decoders in many of the non-sound versions.
–Randy
I like Intermountain freight cars but their locomotives not so much.
I’m a big fan of IMRC’s HO freight cars and have quite a few, and plan on buying more.
My complaint with Intermountain is that all new releases are sound DCC or non-sound DCC, no DC version available. The jumper plug you need to remove the non-sound decoder is not included. You have to contact Intermountain to get one. I’ll see how that works from Germany. Even Bachmann was able to include it.
I don’t know if IM made a good business decision with about half of the modellers still running DC.
A few years ago I got an IM FT A-B set that was a real lemon. I contacted IM but never got a response.
Regards, Volker
Addition: I just receive the invoice for the DC-jumper-plug for the ET44AH. The costs are $5.00 plus international shipping. The plug is free if I return the LokPilot non-sound decoder. I would still pay 2 times international shipping.
I love the HO Intermountain PS 5277 boxcars…the second to last production model boxcar Pullman Standard ever had (last being the flat top PS 5344). They are nice models, and I’m collecting all the colorful schemes of both models mentioned even though I run them behind steam.
My family and extended family worked for Pullman Standard in Butler, PA and also the power plant construction subsidiary…
John
My one IM loco is a good puller, has great motor control, and good detailing.
Yes, fine details are fragile, but that comes with the territory.
No complaints from me on it.
Marksrailroad,
I have several N scale Intermountain loco’s and freight cars. I have had no issues to speak of. I love the slow speed control of their locomotives and the detailing. I did buy several IM freight car kits several years ago and they were a bit of work (more than I wanted to do!) but they look great! I bought a couple of used IM locomotives on eBay a couple years ago and was disappointed with their pulling power (I have 2.25% grades on my mainline). I decided to contact IM and they couldn’t have been nicer (I was even up front with them and told them it was a secondary market purchase). They helped me diagnose the issues (simple maintenance) and they now run and pull great. Since then I have purchased several IM loco’s and am a big fan of the company.
Tim
My experience has been light on weight, light on lighting detals, and parts that fall off easily.
If I can buy from another manufacturer, I will, but if I can’t, I’ll buy I-M. I don’t boycott them like I do MTH, and with some CV tweaks they run well enough.
But seriously, check them over well before buying, or be prepared to send them back. My last diesel from them was an U18B that had a broken cab chair and no cab window (it wasn’t even in the box), 3/4 of the radiator grills had popped off, and one of the handrails was both popped off and broken in two.
I only have HO Intermountain diesel engines and they are all DCC with sound. I did have an issue with one of the diesel engines, conntacted IM and they sent me a replacement unit. Really impressed with their customer service.
I also use their metal wheel sets in all of my rolling stock, excellent poduct as well. Had an issue with a couple of older Athearn trucks and IM sent me a bunch of their trucks to replace the old Athearn trucks which were an odd size and not standard at all.
As I mentioned, best Customer Service I ever had.