How well do the intermountain FT's perform? Good runners/bad runners? They are being sold on ebay at what I woukd call rediculously low prices. Maybe I should have asked how do they compare to Kato F units?
I have owned and run an IM FT AB set since February 2004, and I love them. They have been quiet slow runners, with good traction. I feel they are better runners than my Kato F7 ABBA set bought in the mid-90's, and draw much less current. However, a word of caution....they can be very tricky to reassemble. If the previous owner took them apart for any reason, you may have to correct some re-assembly problems. Both my A and B units got pieces of ballast in their gear trains. They were easy to disassemble and remove the ballast, but it took me several tries to get them re-assembled and operating correctly. It's possible that your seller has given up trying to re-assemble them and is just trying to get rid of them. If you are careful, analytical, and confident at working with delicate items using tweezers and dental tools under a magnifying lens, then I would say go for it. BTW, I paid $150 for the AB pair in 2004, just to give a frame of reference.
They are very good runners with very crisp details. The only thing IM forgot to do was to illuminate the number boards. They are also pretty strong. I used an ABBA set to pull a 100 car train on the club NTrack layout, they didn't have any issues with the load, and they probably could have pulled another 20-30 cars.
I have a set that runs like a top. I paid around $150 or so but they go for much less on auction sites if you watch for them.
theres been a lot of discussion about these. i agree 100% what hytec said. i have a new cotton belt set that cost me $55 and change to my door. they run perfect and are excellent pullers. the last two sets i've had needed the truck frame snapped into place so they wouldn't drag on turnouts. not realy an issue, very easy fix. i just came from the trainroom running these along with some micro trains FT's. i also have some of the older heavy kato F7's. their ride height is the big discussion. the space between the bottom of the shell and the top of the trucks is noticable. however, im really not seeing this as much, or maybe i dont want to, as i have on other FT sets i've had. im beginning to think that the truck frames may be a tad wider(up and down) in size than the MT and kato engines. another thing is the end of the trucks on the IM's are flush with the end of the shells, where as MT trucks are set in more, with a slight overhang on the body for a different look. i may be way off base here, just my thoughts.
Thanks guys. I'm going to get me a pair for grins. There doesn't happen to be a drop in sound decoder for them is there?
I just bought a set from the auction site at a very low price compared to list price. Also got drop in decoders from Digitrax, the one for the A Unit requires a quick solder for the headlight LED, but not a real problem. They run great, and pull like there is no tomorrow. Am actually looking to get another set when funds are replenished in the railroad coffers!
Unfortunately no sound decoder available for these (yet). I've got four ABBA sets of these, and they run great, and pull even better. I also have several sets of the F3 and F7 as well, and they all run great. The only problem I've had is that the steps are pretty fragile and you need to be careful handling them because the etched metal grilles have a tendency to come off a little easier than I anticipated. After comparing the Kato to the Intermountain, I prefer the Intermountain. I also have an ABBA set of the Micro-Trains FT, and I like the looks of the Intermountain better, though the MT runs pretty well too. And you are right, they are on eBay at ridiculously low prices! How can you go wrong?
Having both the IM and the MT FTs I find that they are both great runners. I give a slight edge to the IM units on detail. Other than a slight body heigth issue that was due to the machine screws on top, an easy fix, and some coupler heigth issues again a slight problem, no other issues. I don't even rate Kato F7s in the same ballpark as these. Mine all have American Limited Diaphragms installed so spacing between the units is not an issue. I would compare thier release to the LL FA units back when which raised the bar on detail and performance. These notched the bar up again.
I have 5 AB sets of Milw FT's and I'll agree with what everyone else said.....but......I've had 2 of the B units stop working. I checked the usual contact issues, and it's either the boards or the motors. I haven't had time to check further. I got the 5 sets for less than the list price for a single set, so I'm still very happy. I just wish there were couplers on the A units rather than drawbars. Gotta make a decision.......fix the B units (if I can get the parts), Dummy the 2 dead B units (an ABBA set with 2 powered A and one powered and one Dummy B would still pull a ton), or rig a connection for the 2 A units back to back.
A-A wouldn't be that hard, remove one of the drawbars and your most of the way there. As for me, I love my ABBA set. I paid full price for an AB set when I first became aware of them, not too long after they were released. That was big money for me at the time (I think I was 18). Picked up another AB set off ebay a couple of months ago for <$60. I get the feeling that there may be a hobby shop or two that bought a lot when they first were released which for whatever reason didn't sell and now they are just trying to move them and recoup their losses.
HEADS-UP to you fellow Intermountain FT owners!! Does your FT derail (A-unit rear or B-unit front truck) often? Problems on steep grades or sharp curves? Does your rear truck not sit flat? Lay her down, and note how some units have the drawbar pin literally rubbbing on the top of the trucks? Use an X-acto to give the pin a trim, it'll let the truck's end pivot up/down vertically (and some of them are bad enough to cause the front wheels of the truck to lift off the rails!), giving them more tractive effort to scramble up those hills! Similar issue: tight radiuses a problem on your Intermountain F7 and F3 A units? Note that the stepladders contact a small molded-in "hose" on the top corner of each truck when swiveling. Trim that hose casting back, and VIOLA! You can take those puppies around about an 8" radius, and graded/superelevated curves will no longer "kick" a wheel off the tracks as mine did before they all received the clearancing. ________ Having said that? These are fantastic runners/lookers, and IMO the paint colors are notably better than Micro-Trains' FT's (which don't share above fitment issues). I have a "fleet" of Intermountain FT units (F3&7 ABA's, FP's, FT's, B's, etc....) and with special attention each one can be a stellar runner. That mesh grill on the side looks especially nice when weathered!
