Intermountain Western was a real project beyond just buying locomotives. They also had hired an experienced management staff who had an office in Intermountain Gas' Boise headquarters. Just before Christmas of 1992, IW withdrew their offer. The sale had been delayed for months because the numerous shortline sales were being challenged by the unions who insisted that the new spinoff shortlines had to be union. By the time things were going to be settled on the labor front, IW decided that certain conditions had changed making the deal undesireable. I'm not sure what was to be an outright sale or operatin lease.

The Burns branch was eventually sold to Western RR Builders as the Oregon Eastern (div of WYCO?), who ended up abandoning most of it. Supposedly it is real quiet now since their last major customer has closed.

INPR got some of what was to have been the IW. They got caught by Boise-Cascade's implosion and loss of the timber industry. The line to Council (and betond) was scrapped when Boise-Cascade closed their mill. UP actually owned the line from Emmett to Nampa and scrapped it off Freezeout Hill (still serves the sugar plant just outside of Nampa). Some of these are now trails. INPR later got the west end of the Boise Cutoff and the Wilder branch as an operating lease, recently transferred to Watco's boise Valley. INPR owns the track from Payette to Emmett (one train per week) and to Cascade (Thunder Mountain tourist train only). In Oregon, INPR still runs La Grande to Elgin as a UP lease. The track from Elgin to Joseph was abandoned but sold to Wallowa Union RR (counties own it). WURR's last lumber mill was just scrapped, they are storing 1200+ centerbeams from joseph down. It is expected this will be the last year for the Eagle Cap Excursion train as it has never made money.

Some of the Nampa area branches existed primarily to haul sugar beets. In the early 1990's, there were still many beet trains, but all this is now trucked.