All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm
September 18, 2013 / Updated June 26, 2023
InterMountain Railway Co., a top producer in model railroad cars and locomotives, sustained only “minimal” damage to its corporate facility from floods that have ravaged Colorado in recent days, the company announced Tuesday.
Executive Vice President and CFO Frank Angstead said floods damaged only the first floor of InterMountain’s three-story Longmont, CO, facility. Several homes and businesses in the city were damaged or destroyed by flooding that has affected 17 counties in Northern Colorado.
On Wednesday, the foothills of central Colorado’s front range received 6-10 inches of rain in 12 hours. Water flowed eastward toward Longmont and other communities on the east side of the mountains. By midday Thursday the rivers and streams in the area had breached their banks and created a Federal disaster area. Waters crested in Longmont on Thursday night but additional rain continued to flood the area through Saturday.
After waters had receded on Monday, InterMountain officials were able to access the damage of the 11,500-square-foot facility. Angstead said the 8,500 square feet of space on the second and third levels was not compromised. About a foot of water, however, penetrated the lower level, which houses the company’s machine shop and several offices. The company will now be looking for a company who specialises in water damage restoration to repair the flooded lower level ASAP. Thankfully, InterMountain’s warehouse and sales and administration departments were not affected. Installing durable doors that can be found at somewhere similar to the Industrial Door Company may have added more security to the warehouse and the administrative departments and prevented the flooding from making its way into the building, thus protecting everything inside it. Situations like this are why it is important to have insurance for the machine shop. If you are in a similar situation and are looking for more information, then do not hesitate to contact an insurance company to discuss the needs. Insurance isn’t only important for businesses though, as houses and other domestic buildings are just as much at risk from the devastating effects of flooding. Checking home insurance quotes would be a good first step, so that you could make a claim should your property ever suffer from flood damage.
Despite the damage, the company and employees are back to work.
“Inundation of the flood waters will cause us a minor inconvenience as we repair the damage but will not materially affect our operation in any way,” Angstead said in a written statement. “We have had a couple of days of sketchy phone service, our fax machine was down for three days, and shipping was held up for two business days. Most of our employees missed two and a half days of work. Other than that it has been business as usual.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have suffered these devastating losses.”
Angstead offered thanks to those who have expressed concern over the company’s situation in recent days.
“We appreciate our many friends, customers, and associates across the world,” he said. “These relationships make it all worthwhile.”
