SoundTraxx’s corporate entity, Throttle Up! Corp., was founded in 1989 in Pocasset, Massachusetts. Our first product was a powerful little lighting system called the Hyperlight. The Hyperlight was the first lighting system to use a microprocessor, not only to provide brilliant lighting effects but also to allow the user to select the desired effect from within one model. This allowed model railroaders to purchase one item, but one that could be configured into a multitude of different lighting systems. It also allowed for multiple effects to be used at the same time! Although we no longer sell the Hyperlight, the effects we designed for this wonderful lighting module have been rolled into our Digital Sound Decoders and continue to be enjoyed by modelers everywhere.

In 1994, the company moved to Broomfield, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. The DSD-2408 Digital Sound Decoder was the first DCC decoder to be integrated with sound and lighting functions. Model Railroaders heard, for the first time ‘polyphonic’ sound – no longer did the playing of one sound interrupt another. Along with the introduction in 1996 of the DSD-2408, came Dynamic Digital Exhaust, a method of adjusting the sound volume and ‘cutoff’ of steam exhaust chuff automatically, further enhancing the illusion of a steam locomotive ‘coasting’ into the station. In 1997, the DSD-050 and the DSD-150 Digital Sound Decoders were released. In this same year, SoundTraxx forayed into the large-scale sound market with the introduction of SoundTraxx Sierra. In addition to being the first large-scale sound system with realistic lighting effects built in, Sierra was also the first sound system to incorporate a coupler-activated sound effect.

In 1999, we introduced a varied line of Digital Sound Decoders meant to be easier to install, many following a ‘plug and play’ format. Known as the ‘LC’ line, many of these decoders were lower in cost and included such items as speakers and baffle kits. This line continued to grow and became a popular addition to our repertoire of decoders.

In 2004, we announced a new division, Blackstone Models, which we created to further diversify the company product line and to fill a need in the marketplace we knew and understood. It was time to marry our sound technology to a model from the beginning in a way that we felt only we could do. At that time, we announced our first project, an HOn3 K-27 Mikado.

Our first Blackstone Models K-27s shipped in 2006, which were highly anticipated and received with great enthusiasm. Followed the next year by both HOn3 Boxcars and Stock Cars, we began to develop a hungry following for these terrific models. That same year, we upgraded our manufacturing line with two new SMT machines, which were a magnitude better and faster than our previous equipment.

In 2009, we introduced two additional plug-and-play format Tsunami decoders for Athearn Genesis and Kato HO diesel models, helping to expand our customer base beyond the technologically savvy.

In 2012, we released the first DCC Digital Sound Decoder with separate sound channels for the three prime movers used by NRE GenSet locomotives, which makes the prime mover sounds kick on independently based on the throttle setting. This decoder is available in a plug-and-play format for Atlas models.

In 2014 we introduced the Tsunami SoundCar Digital Sound Decoder, the first-ever 16-bit DCC decoder for rolling stock. We also developed Intelligent Consisting, a new method for quickly adding and removing trains in a consist without tricky programming. That fall, we broke ground on a new building to expand our manufacturing capabilities.

In December 2015, we moved into a new manufacturing facility at 141 Burnett Drive, which is near the former location in the Durango Tech Center. This new facility provides three times the manufacturing and product development space.