Celebrate 25 Years of Innovation with Us!

January 2015 marks the launch of our year-long celebration of 25 years in designing and manufacturing innovative electronics and sound systems for model railroads. 

Throughout the year, we’ll be offering “Silver Specials” to thank you for your support. Check our 25th Anniversary Web page on the 25th of each month for a special offer, contest, raffle, or giveaway.

It all started when...

Owners Steve Dominguez and Nancy Workman launched SoundTraxx’s corporate entity, Throttle Up!, in 1990. On February 4, 1990, they debuted their first product, the Hyperlight HPL-75, at the Big RR Hobby Show (now known as the Railroad Hobby Show) in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hyperlight was the first lighting product on the market that used a microprocessor to allow users to select and control multiple lighting effects from within one module. Modelers were able to select from more than eight effects, which included Mars/Gyralite, oscillating headlight, rotary beacon, xenon strobes, and a fire flicker effect. They also could set directional lighting and flash rates. The heritage of this product is still evident today in our line of Tsunami Digital Sound Decoders.

Our first product, the Hyperlight

The Hyperlight is one of many industry “firsts” that we have developed over the past 25 years. In 1996, we released our first Digital Sound Decoder – the DSD-2408 for steam. This revolutionary product was the first DCC decoder that included both sound and lighting functions, as well as the first to feature polyphonic sound channels and Dynamic Digital Exhaust. 

Today, we’ve continued to push the envelope for what’s possible with DCC to add more realism and fun to model railroading. Our Tsunami line of Digital Sound Decoders still feature many of the technologies we’ve developed and built upon since the beginning. What innovations will we bring to 2015? Stay tuned…