InterMountain Railway Co makes changes to delivery announcements

[reinhardtjh]

If you look at the 2nd page of the document you posted (titled Product Status Definitions), you will see "Taking Reservation" and  "Needs More Reservations" (in red text).  That was the source of my confusion.  That page doesn't have a "Needs Reservations" status defined.

Ah, I see what you mean.  I was going off the web page "Product Status Definitions" that's linked at the top of the Upcoming Products Page.  Comparing the two it looks like they changed it and "Needs More Reservations" on their letter is the same as "Needs Reservations" on the web page.

[sirenwerks]

I can't reserve something that is not showing up on my internet retailers web page. Lest they want me to pre-order directly from IMRC and pay the premium price. Frustrating, this is turning into work, not a hobby...

[ek2000]

At some point, they would need to substitute queued for production and confirmed production with month/year or the next status in the workflow. Otherwise the statuses quickly get out of date/context.

Still I appreciate their attempts to clarify. Atleast I know the cab forward is not cancelled. But when can I expect QFP to change to confirmed so im not left holding on to those $s for too long.

[Mark5]

A good attempt at transparency.

I gotta wonder how well the "reservation" thing plays out, since some very major etailers (MBK) don't do reservations. They indeed might have some unseen "network" feeding information about "reservations", but I have to admit that I'm skeptical of the idea that they are getting an accurate feel for product demand.

That said, I always let my train supplier know that I'm interested in product when its announced.

We need an eight ball smiley!

Mark

[peteski]

We need an eight ball smiley!

Mark

[thomasjmdavis]

since some very major etailers (MBK) don't do reservations.

MBK does not take reservations from us, but they still place reservations/preorders/orders with the manufacturers and marketers in order to have product to sell.  I am sure the manufacturers are more than happy to get "reservations" from MBK.

[Mark5]

MBK does not take reservations from us, but they still place reservations/preorders/orders with the manufacturers and marketers in order to have product to sell. 

Yes, and they miss the mark sometimes. Don't ask me how I know ...

[eja]

I have never purchased any new Intermountain Product and probably never will.  I have several grain cars that I purchased used or via an auction site.

For years I have looked at Intermountain's web page and found many items I would like to have.  However, I usually cannot discern if the item is available, has actually ever been available or will (might) be available in the future.

Their new latest announcement does not make me believe this situation will change in the future.

Sigh ...

eja

[nscalbitz]

I have never purchased any new Intermountain Product ... does not make me believe this situation will change in the future.
Sigh ...

eja

And yet 10's of thousands have and probably do.
No matter how much someone tries, there's always the denigrators to the fore... perhaps becoming a professional model-blogger is your forté..? 
_____

[nkalanaga]

Looked at their updated page.  Most of the remaining items on my "reserved" list are now gone, so it looks like I won't be sending them much money.  Over the last six years I've had more IM reservations cancelled, or simply vanish, than I've received.  In particular, all of the 12-panel boxcars are gone, including the undec version. 

And no, I won't reserve them directly from IM.  If dealer reservations aren't enough to get the product made, reserving direct won't make any difference, as I still won't buy more items.

Tom L:  You've had just  the opposite experience I have.  I've quit buying most of their passenger cars because the colors are wrong.  In particular, their GN Big Sky Blue is closer to a dark Conrail Blue, and looks hideous.  Which is very disappointing, because some of their prototypes were used by the GN.

[mu26aeh]

I think a large part of cancellation problem with IMRC is the fact that when they announce a run of a car, they announce 12-20 roadnames at a shot, each with 6-12 numbers available.  Unless you're running a unit train, it's too much too fast for the common modeler and numbers get spread out because we want a little of this and little of that.  While they might have a high number of reservations, some roadnames might not have enough numbers to save it and gets cancelled.  Announce a run of 6 roadnames, with 3-6 numbers, and maybe 6-9 months later, do another 6 roadnames.  If a previous run was popular, re-run it with new numbers.  And make sure the first announcement is released before the next run announcement, as in with the 3281 they announced 2 runs and now have 20+ roads coming out at once

[coosvalley]

IMRC is a company I just don't understand. Sometimes, they knock it out of the park, and other times they seem to drop the ball. The 53' flats, the 8000 gal tank cars, and the old reliable cylindrical covered hoppers are some excellent freight cars, (when assembled well that is).

..And then there's the SD40-2s....which I think have beautiful shells, but, for some reason, IM likes their locos to sit too high  , which for some is no big deal, but, for me, is a non starter. It becomes more obvious when coupled to locos that sit at the proper height. The EMD F units have this problem, too, but is an easy fix on the F's. 

So, does that mean the GP10s will have the same issue?.(if they get made ). Since I do not trust IM to pay attention to the proper loco ride height, I would not preorder one sight unseen, period. And lots of Atlas GP7/9s are out there, if the frame heights don't match, it's going to look silly in lashups, IMHO...Since they don't seem to be concerned with the walkway height problem of the 40-2s, why would I expect the next loco to be any different?

Interestingly, ALL of the freight cars I would actually seek out are still lacking reservations ..It can't be a fun game to play, but their "announce everything and see where things land" strategy might need some tweaking, and this letter seems to indicate they know something needs to change. But they seem to be missing some of the other major issues , such as incredibly long times between announcement and production, poor assembly issues, and paint matching issues too..When "MFR X" makes a loco or car, I don't worry whether it will be correct or assembled well, with IM, it's buyer beware, at least for me..

[thomasjmdavis]

I would recommend Bluford's system to them.  For their hoppers, at any rate, they will generally offer 6 numbers per road in a run, packaged as a set of 3, a set of 2, and a single car.  This allows the modeler a lot of flexibility.  They will occasionally do only 3 cars (a double and a single) for more obscure roads, or where the marketing does not support a larger number.  But this has certainly worked well for me, and although not as populous as reefers and boxcars in my "fleet", when the next batch of CEI hoppers arrive, I will have more Bluford hoppers than all other brands combined.

As for Intermountain- back in the days when their cars were $10-12, and often available as kits, it was not unusual for me to buy them in batches of 6 or 10.  Nowadays, I am more likely to buy 1 or 2.  For a couple reasons.  First, obviously, is price.  The second is that, in terms of 1956 and earlier cars, what they produce are boxcars and reefers, tankcars and, IIRC, flatcars.  I have a ton- many of them made by Intermountain (and purchased per above).  But when buying one or two, I am content to choose from whatever happens to be in the hobby shop I am visiting, or online when I have enough stuff to justify an order.  And I have discovered resin kits- which yield some unique cars that stand out, like the Rocket Express Rock Island boxcars, or GHQ CN 8 hatch reefers.

[Scottl]

Looking through the lengthy IMRC list linked at the beginning, I see a lot that interests me.  Those T4 units look pretty nice, I'll admit- even the ride height looks fine.  I have had good experiences with their freight cars and would always consider buying more. 

Having said that, I have basically given up on pre-ordering anything from anyone.  The risks of a sub-par experience from smaller companies are too high in my view, and the waits are too long now to budget or plan for.  I've realized that I can usually get what I would like from a retailer and if it is sold out, well, that is life and no great loss.

IMRC, if there is one message I could politely convey to you:  promise and deliver less.

[unittrain]

Not looking good for the ACF 2927 Covered Hoppers (pending cancellation) or the 4785 PS2-CD Covered Hoppers - all versions (needs reservations) 

Mark

I really hope to see the 4785s, the undecorated ACF 2927 says confirmed for production but all the others say needs reservations, this is probably an error as I don't think the undecs would fair better than the decorated cars.