|
Rapido Newsletter Vol. 179
©2023 Rapido Trains Inc.
| |
|
Dear Rapido Customer,
Welcome to the Christmas Day 2023 newsletter! Check out the contents below, then get ready for some exciting news! If you're reading this after Christmas – in fact, if you're reading this in January – it's still full of goodies for you!
| |
|
In this 179th issue...
- The Rapido Mystery Box
- January 15th, 2024 Order Deadlines
New Announcements...
-
HO Scale AND N Scale items
Even more announcements...
- Upcoming Shows
- New Video
- Product Updates (make sure to keep reading for N Scale updates!)
2023 In Review with Jason
- Looking Ahead to Rapido's 20th Anniversary!
If you are using a web-based email service such as Gmail, be sure to click on the link near the bottom of the email that says something like "[Message clipped] View entire message". That will ensure you don't miss any of this newsletter.
Please note that all renders and artwork are subject to change before the final product release.
| |
|
The Rapido Christmas Mystery Box
The famous Rapido Mystery Box will only be available until January 3rd. Just one week left to order these awesome boxes! So get your orders in NOW! And don't forget to tag us in your unboxing videos and photos. #rapidotrains
| |
|
HO Scale C30-7 Locomotive
The HO Scale C30-7 order deadline is fast approaching! We're working on a video so keep an eye on our YouTube channel to see that early in the new year. Don't forget that January 15th is the last day to guarantee your preorders!
| |
|
HO Scale Northern Pacific "Day-Nite" Coach
The conditional order deadline for the Northern Pacific Day-Night Coaches is just a few weeks away on January 15th, 2024. Remember to please order these and get your 5% preorder discount so we can make this model a reality.
| |
|
NEW! HO Scale EMD FT Locomotive
General Motors’ FT Locomotives were true game changers. They were known as "the diesel that did it," the first successful diesel locomotive. The success of the FTs signaled the end of the steam era in the United States. The FT introduced EMD’s iconic bulldog nose to the world, a design that would carry over onto thousands of E- and F-series locomotives, as well as others worldwide.
Check out the video by clicking here or the photo above.
| |
Flying! Photo courtesy of the Kevin EuDaly collection. | |
|
Check out those later style "rebuilt" number boards as well as the twin Pyle headlight in the door.
We're tooling that! Photo courtesy of White River Productions.
| |
Red and silver never looked this good! | |
Rapido’s all-new HO Scale FT Locomotive will have many features never offered before on an FT model! These include a close coupling system to keep the A and B units close together on straights, yet still allow operation on model railroad curves. Units will be coupled with either a drawbar connection or couplers, mimicking the prototype. This feature alone is worth the price of admission, as many HO scale F-units look too far apart in a consist. | |
Check out the close coupling system. Also note, this is the later style without the drawbar. | |
|
The Rapido’s FT Locomotive features:
- * Close-coupling system for great appearance on straights and curves
- * Drawbar or coupler connections between A and B units
- * Multiple styles of number boards, installed as appropriate
- Correct nose and windshield contours
- Three styles of dynamic brake hatch, installed as appropriate
- Steam generator hatch installed as appropriate
- Etched side and fan screens
- Heavy, die-cast chassis
- 5-pole motor with dual flywheels
-
* Working headlights, ground lights, number boards and back-up lights
- * Full underbody details including piping and draft gear
- Separate grab irons and handrails
- * Numerous road-specific details
- * Full, multi-color interior
- DC/Silent (21-pin DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/Sound (ESU LokSound) options
- Accurate sounds
* For the first time ever in plastic!
Below are the schemes on the initial offering. Note all those neat oddball numberboards!
| |
The order deadline is TBA. We expect samples in the spring. Please reserve yours today! | |
|
NEW! HO Scale Toronto's First Subway
Here comes Toronto's First Subway in HO scale by Rapido! Coinciding with our new model, Canada’s First Subway will be celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2024! A must for modellers, transit enthusiasts, Torontonians and all those Canadians who don't like Toronto but secretly think subways are cool — don’t miss out on this limited opportunity to own a little bit of classic Toronto in your home!
You can order your subway as a working model or as an unpowered display two-car set that comes with a slice of the original St. Clair station platform. How cool is that?
Click here or the photo above to watch the launch video. (It's all one launch video, so why don't you watch the whole thing and then come back here to read the rest of this exciting newsletter?)
Our Toronto's First Subway project is a conditional announcement, which means we must get enough orders to advance on this awesome project. Order by April 15th, 2024, through your preferred hobby shop or our website to help make this project a reality! In addition, all orders placed by this date will include a 5% early bird discount!
|  | |
|
Sweet looking G cars!
Please note the roof weld lines look exaggerated and straightened in the 3D render.
They will be much less pronounced and the correct radius on the model.
| |
|
These unique rapid transit cars featured bold red paint with yellow stripes both above and below the large picture windows.
It all started in 1951, when the TTC contracted the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company in the UK to build the cars for Canada’s first subway. The original line ran under Yonge Street from Union Station in the south to Eglinton Avenue in the north, opening on March 30th, 1954. This line is still in service today as the southern half of TTC’s Line 1.
But we want to see more 3D CAD renders! Scroll down to be blown away.
| |
These cars are impressive. | |
Whoa! The interior and underbody details set these models apart. | |
|
Each Rapido Toronto Subway Car features:
- Design created from original factory drawings and field measurements
- Fully detailed interiors including seats, hand holds and lighting
- Working lights: headlights, interior, rear marker lights, destination sign
- Fully detailed underbodies
- Wire grab irons
- DC/DCC ready or DCC/Sound (Display models are unpowered)
- Display models include lighting powered by an included 12V DC power supply
But wait, there's more! As mentioned above we will also be offering a two car unpowered set WITH the original St. Clair Station platform and a bit of TTC-inspired trackwork. What a deal! What a perfect display for your desk, mantel, award or retirement gift. Check out the render of that, below.
| |
The display version has all of the bells and whistles except actual bells and whistles as this is an unpowered model! St. Clair never looked better. | |
|
NEW! N Scale Budd RDC
Alright N Scalers, you've been asking for a new Rapido N scale announcement! So here we have it: introducing the N Scale Budd RDC!
Built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia in their hundreds between the late 1940s and early 1960s, the single-car RDC (Rail Diesel Car) fleet was ubiquitous on passenger services throughout Canada and the United States on any routes that could not justify loco-hauled operation. These 85ft long vehicles were powered by a pair of Detroit Diesel Series 110 engines which could be employed in single formation or coupled together with other units - all controlled from the lead RDC cab.
N scalers! Click here or the photo above to watch the video. We promise you WON'T be disappointed.
While we want these cars to succeed, the N Scale Budd RDC project is a conditional announcement, which means we must get enough orders to advance this project to the tooling phase. Order by March 15th, 2024, through your preferred hobby shop or our website to help make this project a reality! In addition, all orders placed by this date will include a 5% early bird discount!
|  | N scalers, you know you want these RDCs. | |
Of course you could buy one or two, but the RDCs ran in groups.
Photo courtesy of John Eull.
| The Rapido N Scale RDC is designed from the ground up based on the success of our HO scale version, as well as feedback from the N scale community on what they look for in a model. These units feature a hidden drive system and great interior detailing, allowing for maximum performance and realism. For the inaugural release, the all-coach RDC-1 will be available in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 body styles (as appropriate). Phase 2 RDCs have NEVER been made in N scale! | |
These are impressive and built to run.
SP10 will have the funky numberboards on the roof! They had not been designed yet when these renders were generated.
| |
The Rapido N Scale RDC features:
- Designed from original blueprints and a 3D scan!
- Accurate Phase 1 and Phase 2 body details
- Both fabricated and cast trucks, as appropriate
- Single-motor, all-wheel drive for unparalleled reliability
- All-wheel electrical pickup
- Directional headlights and red marker lights
- LED interior lighting
- Tinted windows and fully detailed interiors
- DC/Silent (DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/Sound (ESU LokSound)
- Factory-installed couplers mounted at the correct height
Here are the paint schemes for the N Scale Budd RDC:
| Remember that conditional March 15th order deadline for early-bird pricing! | |
|
Upcoming Shows
In early January we'll be at the Prototype Rails RPM at Cocoa Beach, Florida. Grab your flip-flops and join Bill on January 4th through the 6th. Check out the many new samples on display and have your pressing questions answered.
| I think Trainland's banner speaks for itself. See you in Long Island! | Later in January, the annual Amherst Railway Society's Railroad Hobby Show will take place on the 27th and the 28th in "sunny" West Springfield, Massachusetts. Pack your hats and scarves when you come on down and see nearly every sample we have in the arsenal, as well as engage in witty repartee with our friendly Project Managers. | |
|
Shipping and Arrival Updates
LOTS of new items are arriving soon!
| |
The original: CP N Scale caboose. | |
The red and the Beaver logo look sharp. | |
Note the separately applied AC units. | |
The N Scale Rohr Turboliner is taking shape. | |
The Capitol Dome logo is striking on this HO GP38. | |
The B&O version with the unique hood-mounted bell. | |
Note the different Santa Fe exhausts. | |
GP9RMs almost ready to ship! | |
Dash 8-40CM frames, note the inlet for the Draper Taper. | |
N scale BC Rail Dash 8-40CM bodies. | |
The HO Scale 53' Husky Stack car, before paint. | |
|
Now I'm handing this newsletter over to Jason. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
Bobby
| |
|
Looking Back and Looking Forward
By Jason Shron
Thanks, Bobby.
With 2023 coming to a close I thought I’d share with you some thoughts on the year and on our future. Firstly, my Uncle Michael keeps asking for photos of my kids in these newsletters, so here are a couple of photos of my kids:
| |
Left: Boaz volunteering on a farm in Israel earlier this month. Right: Isaac, Dalya and Daddy making a junk food stop in Hornepayne in August. We did not have a room in the Park Car, but it makes for a good photo… | |
While COVID was a very difficult time for all of us, it was actually a very good time to be in the hobby business. Every model train manufacturer, distributor and retailer saw a huge boost in sales. In contrast, 2023 has been a lot slower for a lot of companies on this side of the counter.
We’ve worked to overcome the slower sales by diversifying. You’ve probably noticed that Rapido has been announcing and shipping a very large variety of models, from HO transition-era freight cars to N scale turbine-powered trainsets. By reinvesting most of our profits back into new tooling, we actually managed to grow by over 10% in 2023.
| We haven’t given up on N scale yet! N scale Amtrak Turboliner shells in the printing room. | |
In addition to this month’s announcements, we have numerous not-yet-announced projects in various stages of development. We’re hoping we can continue to grow in 2024 and 2025, though we know this will be a challenge. The main reason for my optimism is my amazing team. We’ve come a long way from the days when Rapido was just Dan Garcia, Bill Schneider, Janet Golfman and me.
Now our North American team numbers about 30 full-time people, including our new project coordinator, Thibi Siva, and our new marketing manager, Natasha Shaikh. With Thibi helping our project designers keep track of all of our projects and Nat helping Jordan and team plan and execute our marketing campaigns, I feel that Rapido has grown up. We’re not just a bunch of model railroaders (and Janet) tossing ideas around; we’re now a real company.
| Thibi and Nat are discovering the ins and outs of the madcap world of model railroad manufacturing! | |
With all that in mind, 2024 is a big year for us. November 8, 2024, is officially our 20th anniversary. Many of you have been with me (and later, us) for most of those 20 years. For all of you OGs, thank you for riding with us on this amazing journey. Thank you for celebrating our successes with us and thank you for sticking with us even when we’ve screwed up.
We are planning a number of events in 2024 to celebrate our anniversary, and these newsletters will of course be the place to read about them. Also please follow us on Facebook and Instagram as we often drop hints or announcements there. Like this one:
| Here’s a new project that is near and dear to my heart. More info to come… | |
I remember when Doctor Who celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1983 there was a worldwide celebration: a coffee table book, an exhibition at a stately home in England that half the country tried to visit, a 90-minute TV special, a massive convention in Chicago, and more.
I don’t think we’re going to go quite that far to celebrate Rapido’s 20th, but a guy can dream…
| |
Rapido’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, in true Doctor Who 1983 style… | |
|
The eight Doctor Who fans reading this will recognize the logo above. Note to the BBC: this is not actually our 20th anniversary logo. It was just me having some fun. Please tell your lawyers to stop calling me.
We hope you will take part in some of our planned activities in 2024. I can’t promise a coffee-table book or a 90-minute TV special, but it should be fun nevertheless.
I want to thank you again for being a Rapido customer. Without you, Rapido would just be an idea. You have made it a reality.
Sidura and I would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and all the best for 2024! And a special thanks to Bobby for doing these awesome newsletters. Bobby, you are truly the Grand Poobah.
Best regards,
Jason
Jason Shron
President
Rapido Trains Inc.
| |
|
Have you noticed how I keep getting older while Sidura doesn't?
I am counting my blessings...
| |
|
USA: PO Box 796, Higganum, CT 06441
Canada: 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, ON L3R 5H5
| |
Check out our YouTube channel, Facebook page and Instagram! | | | | |
