Model Railroading > what is Intermountain up too ?????????

what is Intermountain up too???????????
it seem that are releasing the GP 10 then
checking there web site and found out they
are releasing there GP 16..........
so what am I too believe ?????????

Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/24 15:27 by Frisco1971.

What did Intermountain say when you phoned them and asked the same question? They would be the ones to answer you accurately.

Jeff Johnston
thesugarpineshop.bigcartel.com
 

Intermountain has a page on their website updated roughly 7-10 times a year with the current status of their announced projects.

https://www.intermountain-railway.com/newshocomingsoon.html

Latest update (27 March) shows about half their GP16s Shipping Now and the other half In Production. 14 roadnames of Paducah GP10s are Queued for Production.

Or, as the other Jeff indicated, you can call them at 1 (800) 472-2530

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

Posted from iPhone

Chris P came to Intermountain from Athearn and I wonder if he is responsible for igniting Intermountain to get stuff done? What it *seems* like to me. I do know when Intermountain sends out the email and you click on an item you want to see, it then sends you somewhere else on the website. 
Hope to see my Family Lines GP16's soon! I had to switch hobby shops with my order because the other one closed, it's been that long. LOL!

Chris is awesome and a lot of fun to work with, bouncing ideas off each other is a hoot.  He is definitely a great addition to the company.  All of the projects in production or in transit pre-date his arrival however.
For what it's worth, I'll explain the last few years production-wise and hope that it makes sense.  When AFFA shut down 5+ years ago, a bunch of us manufacturers needed to find a new supplier(s).  I can't speak for others but we tried/used 5 different factories over a 3 year period to produce rolling stock that we are no longer using.  Primary reasons were quality of work and the time it took them to produce.  Another issue we had to deal with was getting existing tooling out of the remnants of AFFA, not always an easy process. Covid certainly delayed the process of finding new factories as well, hard to sit down with someone, look at their facility, and judge abilities when you can't go visit them. We are now using factories 6, 7, and 8.  The two primary are quite good, very responsive, and the amount of rework required on items received is substantially less (YAAY!).  We delivered 24 projects in 2023 so it's not like we've not been doing anything.  The ridiculously delayed GP16 seems to be the project that everyone has been waiting for and the one which they judge whether we're producing or not.  We are way more happy to see them here than modelers are, we paid for the tooling, injected the plastic, shipped it all to China, and did all the artwork about 7 years ago with zero return on investment.  Until now.  The focus going forward is to continue working through the backlog of previously announced projects while introducing some new items as well.  Chris and his knowledge and expertise will be a huge part of this.
 

Seems that indeed a few fires have been lit under a few laggards.  Great, now if I could just get someone motivated in a car I have been pushing for at least ten years now.  Only like 18 possible paint schemes with only two modifications for three of them, and those are only minor changes.  Even at 45 years of age, there are cars from the orginal 248 still out there working.  Just my pipe dream I guess.

RR

Intermountain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Chris is awesome and a lot of fun to work with,
> bouncing ideas off each other is a hoot.  He is
> definitely a great addition to the company.  All
> of the projects in production or in transit
> pre-date his arrival however.
> For what it's worth, I'll explain the last few
> years production-wise and hope that it makes
> sense.  When AFFA shut down 5+ years ago, a
> bunch of us manufacturers needed to find a new
> supplier(s).  I can't speak for others but we
> tried/used 5 different factories over a 3 year
> period to produce rolling stock that we are no
> longer using.  Primary reasons were quality of
> work and the time it took them to produce. 
> Another issue we had to deal with was getting
> existing tooling out of the remnants of AFFA, not
> always an easy process. Covid certainly delayed
> the process of finding new factories as well, hard
> to sit down with someone, look at their facility,
> and judge abilities when you can't go visit
> them. We are now using factories 6, 7, and 8. 
> The two primary are quite good, very responsive,
> and the amount of rework required on items
> received is substantially less (YAAY!).  We
> delivered 24 projects in 2023 so it's not like
> we've not been doing anything.  The ridiculously
> delayed GP16 seems to be the project that everyone
> has been waiting for and the one which they judge
> whether we're producing or not.  We are way more
> happy to see them here than modelers are, we paid
> for the tooling, injected the plastic, shipped it
> all to China, and did all the artwork about 7
> years ago with zero return on investment.  Until
> now.  The focus going forward is to continue
> working through the backlog of previously
> announced projects while introducing some new
> items as well.  Chris and his knowledge and
> expertise will be a huge part of this.
>  

Love hearing straight from the source about what it takes to get our models built.  I know the AFFA fiasco certainly threw a wrench in things.  While I'm glad to see the models you've been working on finally making it here, my CFO is not!

Nathan

". . . we paid for the tooling, injected the plastic, shipped it all to China, and did all the artwork. . ."  Does this mean you mold the parts here and ship to China for assembly (and decoration?)?

CPR_4000 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ". . . we paid for the tooling, injected the
> plastic, shipped it all to China, and did all the
> artwork. . ."  Does this mean you mold the parts
> here and ship to China for assembly (and
> decoration?)?
------------------------
I was wondering the same. 
if that is how it should be understood then I am curious as to what percentage of the final cost to those who buy these products are from the shipping. 

Jon Fink
Schenectady, NY

We currently produce the plastic for roughly 40% of our products here and ship to the factory for painting and assembly.  While you'd think the shipping expense would make this more expensive, it actually adds very little to the finished product.  Typically, we can get all the plastic required for a couple projects on only a couple pallets, sometimes one.  When you spread that cost out over the number of cars that will be produced, it's extremely small.  The other advantage is that we have those tools here, safely in our hands.  Should production ever move elsewhere, we at least have some of our tools!
Since the AFFA closure, the price increases at the factory have come primarily in the painting and masking aspect.  Surprisingly, transportation and actual assembly don't add that much given the sheer volume of cars/locos that are being handled.  The transportation sector has become very good at moving large quantities over great distances for a reasonable price.  Economies of scale.
If anybody is coming to the Denver Show this weekend stop by our booth and say HI.  
Kirk