SP5103 Wrote:
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> Operates on the former UP Cascade branch that is
> now Idaho Northern & Pacific. Thunder Mountain
> owned by same family that owns Rio Grande Pacific
> (parent of IN&P, Nebraska Central, New Orleans &
> Lower Coast (correct name?), and Wichita, Tillman
> & Jackson.

New Orleans & Gulf Coast


> I rode years ago out of Cascade to Smiths Ferry
> (which is mostly isolated from roads), but it
> looks like everything is now only out of Horseshoe
> Bend.

Right now everything is out of Horseshoe Bend. There is a tunnel near Big Eddy that is in danger of collapse and keeps the operations out of Cascade. A rock slide took out the track north of Banks about a year ago, its been removed but the track hasn't been rebuilt yet.

> With the implosion of Boise Cascade and the timber
> industry, most of the mills that provided the IN&P
> with traffic are gone. There isn't any freight
> traffic left on the Cascade line, just the Unimin
> sand plant out of Emmett for one train a week the
> last I heard. All the branches leased out of the
> Boise/Nampa area are now Watco's Boise Valley.

There is propane in Emmett that takes cars sometime. A new mill opened in Emmett and possibly ships from time to time. There is a scrap yard in Payette right where the line connects to the UP that ships a few cars.

As for some additional info, The Thunder Mountain Line uses INPRs 3 F10 locos (two no-operational F10s were scraped last summer), several old Long Island cars, some home built open air cars. Most of the INPR's cabooses are at the depot in Horseshoe Bend, one is converted into a fancy private car available on any train. Northern Pacific's old business car Clark Fork River is in Horseshoe Bend too, its now Rio Grande Pacific's business car Texan. Seen Here You can charter it too.