Rapido Newsletter Vol. 127

©2020 Rapido Trains Inc.

Probably our most requested scheme - the D&H RS-11.

No, we're not doing chopped noses. Stop asking and buy this one.

Robert Sheridan photo courtesy Greg Sommers collection.

HO Scale RS-11 – New Roadnames!

For more information on our new run of RS-11s, I turn you over to Dan Darnell, our project manager for the RS-11. Dan?

Dan: What, now?

Jason: Sure, why not?

Dan: I’m kind of busy. You wanted those samples finished, remember? And then the factory needs comments on your dumb Balloon Tops, and you wanted your brass CN transfer vans and VIA CC&F steam gennies painted….

Jason: I know, but the customers are waiting.

Dan: Oh, alright.

Hey everyone. We're making more RS-11s. Is that enough?

Jason: No.

Dan: (audible sigh) Fine. Here goes...

Here's a gorgeous shot of Nickel Plate 863 leading a mixed freight at speed.

Photo courtesy Greg Sommers.

So, when we released our first run of HO scale RS-11 locos we were bombarded by questions like “How come you didn’t do the Nickel Plate version?” (Actually, that was mostly Tony Koester.)

Well, as we found out early on, despite carrying the same “RS-11” designation, the majority of RS-11 locos had unique features for each railroad. This makes them really neat for modelers, and a real headache for manufacturers! Maybe that explains why most of these have never been done in plastic before. Hmmm….

Comparing the prototype with the model design: note the air filter arrangement, steam locomotive bell, optional all-weather windows, and narrow fuel tank.

Prototype photo courtesy Peter F. Arnold.

All that customization for each railroad means that for this new run we’ve tooled new hoods, roofs and details for Central Vermont; Delaware and Hudson; Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific; Maine Central (and Portland Terminal); New York Central; Nickel Plate; Northern Pacific (and BN) and Seaboard Air Line. Yes, each one is different! We have a crazy amount of road-specific details like the bell on the BN units, the louvers on the CV short hood, correct carbody filter placements and even the Nickel Plate’s extra headlight (you’re welcome Tony). You can find a full list of the new schemes on our RS-11 web page.

Here's another neat comparison showing the DW&P prototype and model. Note the dynamic brake detail in the short hood, yet another air filter arrangement, and the transverse fuel tank.

Prototype photo courtesy Paul Smith collection and cnrphotos.com .

Those who bought our first run of RS-11 or RS-18 locomotives may have noticed that the factory came up with a... unique… way of attaching the body shell. It was so… unique… that we put out a video to show you how to disassemble the loco. Some of you asked what they were smoking when they came up with that system. Well, we agreed. Have a look at this improved design:

Redesigned chassis/shell connections means it's easy to access your RS-11's guts.

We have completely redesigned the way that the RS-11 and RS-18 locos are put together. Now, instead of twenty screws, fourteen clips, a bucket of glue and three volumes of expletives, the body is held in place by just three screws at each end. One attaches the coupler box to the pilot. The other two hold the body to the frame. That’s it! I don’t even think that we’ll need a video (although Jeremy will probably insist on some five-minute epic with flying star fields, weird lighting and all sorts of special effects).

This image shows all the schemes in this run of RS-11 locomotives. You gotta keep scrolling - it's a tall image.

Wow, that's a lot of paint schemes. But not as many as the SW1200, so we're OK.

Here is a rundown of the RS-11 locomotive features:

Here's the catalog you can download and take to your local hobby shop:

Click here to go to the RS-11 web page. We haven't announced an order deadline yet. As Jason mentioned last issue, we'll let you know about a month before the deadline. We're now doing final reviews of the 3D designs before we start cutting the steel in August. We'll have samples in the fall. So I guess you can expect a late fall order deadline.

Jason: OK Dan, that’s enough. Did you get those samples finished that I need? Jordan needs them for the video like, two days ago. What’s taking so long?

Dan: ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Penn Central's long-lived X72 boxcar

Prototype photo courtesy Penn Central Railroad Historical Society .

New! HO Scale X72 Boxcar!

Jason here again. For years, the team has been bugging me to make more freight cars. I resisted, insisting that the high-end freight car market was too crowded. We had a full-team meeting at Bill's house in January and the guys were insistent that we needed to vastly expand our freight car offering. I never realized that the diversity of freight cars is so enormous that there is plenty of room for everyone, including Rapido.

So we are following last month's out-of-the-blue pair of freight car announcements with another out-of-the-blue pair of freight car announcements! It is with great pleasure that we announce the Penn Central X72 Boxcar in HO Scale in all its jade glory.

3D render of the same car. Our model design is 99% finished and we will start tooling next week. Our own John Sheridan designed this model from the ground up.

Between 1972 and 1973, Penn Central received the first of over 1065 boxcars in the X72/X72A fleet from US Railroad Manufacturing (Evans) Blue Island, Illinois plant. These cars would eventually find their way to Conrail in 1976, retaining their PC numbering series while getting CR reporting marks. Some cars received full repaints, while others received just patch jobs. After their years with Penn Central/Conrail, CN acquired a substantial amount of the remaining fleet, of which in more recent years, many were sold off to leasing companies. There are no significant exterior differences between the X72 and X72A, so our HO scale model represents both classes.

Western Pacific X72 with a healthy amount of weathering...

Photo courtesy Peter Arnold.

The X72 is a general purpose boxcar that can be found in nearly every service, making it a very common piece of equipment throughout North America. Some prototype cars are equipped with DF Belt Loaders for assisting in loading and unloading of special equipment, while other cars are equipped with Dual Air Paks for shock control of goods, and pallets. These specially-equipped cars are in assigned service to specific industries for specific loading.

Here's a selection of X72 and X72A paint schemes from our production. More paint schemes are available on the web site.

The two most popular schemes have 12 numbers available. The rest have three or six.

The Rapido HO scale X72 Boxcar features:

Please click on the image above to download the X72 catalog.

Click here to visit the web site for more info or to order direct, and please show Penn Central how much you truly love her by ordering a fleet of these.

The X72 goes to the tooling shop next week, so we expect samples in early October and the order deadline to be shortly after that. As usual, please keep an eye on our newsletter for each month's order deadlines, or you can click here for our product order deadline and delivery schedule.

Deadlines are always on the 15th of a month, or the following Monday if the 15th falls on a weekend.

It's the Flying P! This car was photographed in service in 2002.

Photo courtesy Keith MacCauley.

New! HO Scale Procor 20,000 Gal. Tank Car!

Rapido is pleased to announce the second of our two new freight cars in HO scale, the Procor 20,000 gallon General Purpose tank car, also called the Procor GP20 (no, not the locomotive).

3D design of the early version of the car

Founded in 1952, Products Tank Line (renamed Procor in 1962) constructed their manufacturing plant in the mid 1950s in Oakville, Ontario. In the 1960s, Procor assembled their own engineering department and crafted a series of standard design tank cars which paved the way for a new generation of equipment, with many modern designs reflecting this new standard.

The GP20 (again, the tank car and not the locomotive) was suitable for lighter density commodities which would not congeal or freeze in cold weather, such as various oils and fuel. The same car could also be equipped with interior heater coil pipes. The same basic design - including tank diameter and length - was manufactured from 1969 until 1984.

This nicely weathered Alberta tank car was photographed in Montreal in 1994.

Photo courtesy Keith MacCauley.

The GP20 was constructed with both 70 ton and 100 ton capacity trucks. Later designs were also equipped with a separate fittings dome (in addition to the manway assembly fitting), which allowed the tank rating to be upgraded from 60 psi to 100 psi. The 100-ton cars also had reinforced drain valves, visible in the render below.

When production of the GP20 tank car was completed in 1984, Procor had built almost 1000 cars of this design. They are in use across North America in both fleet service and lease service to numerous companies. Common reporting marks carried by these cars included UTLX (Union Tank Car), PROX (Procor), NCTX (North American Car Co.), BCOL (British Columbia Railway), and CP (Canadian Pacific Railway).

3D render showing the brake rodding and reinforced drain valve housing

Our new 20,000 gallon General Purpose Tank Car features:

Click on the image below to download a catalogue:

Click here for more information or to order direct. This car is already in the tooling shop so we expect samples in September.

We'll let you know the order deadline about a month before it comes. But play it safe and please order yours today!

Our Meat Reefer is in service on Bill's old layout.

July 15 Order Deadline – GARX Meat Reefer

July 15th is... today! Or yesterday, or a few days ago, if you are reading this newsletter later. It's not too late to order your HO scale GARX Meat Reefers! No good transition-era layout should be without these. And, as I said last time, unless everyone on your layout is vegetarian, you need meat reefers. There ain't no beef in them colorful fruit reefers.

If you haven't yet watched it, please click here to watch Bill's Meat Reefer video, and look out for the cat.

You can click on the image above to download the Meat Reefer catalog.

Then please click here to visit the web site or please contact your dealer ASAP. The production numbers go to the factory any second now...

Janet shows off the F59PH. Why is it that videos with Janet get so many views?

August 17 Order Deadline

HO Scale F59PH – New Video!

Yes, we finally have a fully-decorated and operating sample of the F59PH locomotive, and just in the nick of time! Janet is now becoming a proper Rapido movie star and she was coaxed into participating in our latest video. Please click here or on the image below to watch the F59PH - and Janet - in action!

Jordan and Janet run the F59PH on the Scarborough club layout. Beauty, eh?

The F59PH is a passenger workhorse that started life in Toronto (and shortly after in Los Angeles) and is now used all over the place. Built by GMD in London, the F59PH is equipped with a turbocharged 12-cylinder two-stroke diesel prime mover (12-710G3A), a full-width North American comfort cab, with HEP provided by a smaller 600hp GM 8-cylinder diesel.

For a full locomotive history, please click here to read the F59PH Master Class.

We are doing a wide variety of accurate paint schemes, and here's a really tall image that shows most of them:

A nice selection of F59PH paint schemes. You need them all!

We've received a lot of inquiries about doing the F59PH in NC DOT and the more recent Montreal liveries. We also get inquiries as to whether or not we are doing the slightly offset and recessed headlight on the Metrolink units. Unfortunately those go beyond our budget. The NC DOT and Montreal units were heavily rebuilt, and we've had to compromise on one nose to share between Metra and Metrolink.

If we suddenly get a huge surge of orders between now and August 17th, we will look at tooling an additional Metrolink nose. But at this point the project has not yet broken even so we can't justify any further tooling. The F59PH just doesn't have the widespread appeal of something like a PA-1, which has sold four times as many models despite not entering the tooling shop yet!

I can tell you that the later GO units will have the E-Bell and horn up front and the Metrolink units will have the correct P2 horn recording.

Our pre-production sample of the GO Transit F59PH, hand-painted by Dan Darnell.

He does custom work. Visit his Facebook page here .

Here's a full listing of the HO scale F59PH features:

Please click on the image above to download the catalog or catalogue, depending on where you are. It knows where you are...

Please click here to visit the web site for more information or to order direct. Please remember that order deadline: August 17th!

CN Air Conditioning! Our M420 comes with optional open front door... and it includes the nose interior details! This is a first in our hobby. Another Dan Darnell innovation...

August 17 Order Deadline

HO Scale M420 – New Video, Too!

Leave it to us to include operating air conditioning on our M420 model, eh?

Yes, the order deadline will soon be here for the HO scale MLW M420 locomotive. We're doing TWO videos about this iconic Canadian locomotive and the first one is now online! Click here or on the image below to watch Rapido's own Knobby Allard and John and Dan from TCS record the sounds from the real thing. It was only 38 degrees (100° F) outside, but don't worry - the real M420 also has a working air conditioner!

Near, far, wherever you are

I believe that the heart does go on

Once more you open the door

And you're here in my heart...

Celine Dion sang that song for the M420.

Really. It's true. And you know it's true 'cos you read it on the internet.

We will be uploading a video showing off the model with the first pre-production Rapido-TCS decoder installed. You can expect that sometime toward the end of this month. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel to ensure you don't miss it!

We want you to subscribe so much that we made a nice picture for you to click on:

The M420 was MLW's answer to GM's second-generation GP-series locomotives. It was the first locomotive (by a few weeks) to be delivered with the wide-nose "comfort" cab that was originally a Canadian staple but was later adopted by just about every railroad in North America.

The M420 operated primarily in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Here's a nice shot of a pair of M420s on a mixed freight in New Hampshire:

A pair of M420s leads a manifest freight through New Hampshire in 1979.

Photo courtesy Kaluza-Mueller Collection.

Our HO scale M420 model features a lot of neat stuff:

We had originally announced this with a coreless motor, but we have not yet found a large coreless motor in China that operates to our standards. So we will be using the 5-pole, skew-wound motor that we used in our recent FA-2 and FB-2 locomotives. These are rock solid and our warranty return rate is lower than 1%.

Hood and roof detail on our pre-production M420 samples. We've tooled two different stacks and two different radiator shutter housings.

I'm going to be totally straight with you on the M420 project. Pre-orders are lower than we expected, and it's because of one thing: the RS-18 motor problems. A lot of you are understandably cautious about pre-ordering the M420 and you are telling us "I'll order it when I can see it runs well."

I'm asking you to trust us and place your reservation before the deadline. We spent six months working to solve the RS-18 motor issues and our warranty team has replaced over 1000 motors and motherboards. As you can imagine, this has been a huge expense for Rapido - and I mean HUGE. But we will always stand by our products and we will continue to fix any Rapido locomotive that has a motor burnout. Please talk to your modelling buddies who have had locomotives repaired. Our customer satisfaction rate on motor/motherboard replacements is very close to 100%.

One of my biggest concerns is that we will deliver the M420 models, and then suddenly we'll have demand for another 1000 units from all the guys who are taking a "wait and see" approach. We can make a couple of hundred extra models to anticipate that demand, but we can't make 1000. It could be years before we can fill those late orders.

Close-up of our innovative metal and plastic handrails

As I mentioned above, later this month we'll upload a video showing the M420 in action with the new Rapido-TCS decoder, and we'll show it running with our ESU-equipped locomotives. (You can see Rapido TCS- and ESU-equipped models running together in this video also.) We had planned to take these samples on tour to show them to you in person, but obviously because of COVID that isn't happening.

Before we deliver the M420 we will run our production samples for three days to ensure they can run for 72 hours non-stop without having any problems. The M420 will be guaranteed to pass the three-day test, and I give you my word they will operate well. Please have faith and place your orders by August 17th.

Please click on the image above to download the M420 catalogue.

Please click here to visit the website, and please remember to order yours by August 17th. We'll be in touch with one more newsletter before the deadline so you can see more photos and that video.

Hand-painted pre-production samples of our N scale F40s

August 17 Order Deadline

N Scale F40PH-2D – New Video Is Coming!

We're finally pulling the trigger on the N scale VIA Rail Canada F40PH-2D and Rebuilt F40PH-2D locomotives. The final samples are due to arrive from the factory this week, and we plan to shoot a video with them - and the N scale LRCs and Canadian - before the end of this month.

We made some tooling changes for better detail and more reliable operation. These models feature a metric tonne of separate detail parts, including underbody piping, grab irons, handrails, and more. Check out Josh's fantastic F40PH-2D poster showing off all this neat stuff. You can click on the image to download a high-res PDF.

This N scale model is more detailed than the other guys' HO scale F40 models...

The F40PH-2D comes in DC (silent) or DC/DCC with an ESU LokSound V5 decoder with all of Rapido's custom F40PH-2D sound features. It's available in the three paint schemes shown above as well as undecorated.

Note that the Rebuilt F40PH-2D is just that - the rebuilt model. It's not the standard model painted in "Renaissance" colours. It features the HEP generator housing at the rear of the unit, the extra headlight, remodelled cab windshield area, emergency horns, etc. Sound models include a unique sound file incorporating the VIA rebuild sounds.

Click on the image below to download a catalogue.

Please click here to visit the F40PH-2D web site or click here to visit the Rebuilt F40PH-2D web site. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don't miss the video when it's uploaded.

That order deadline again is August 17th.

Emergency banana storage!

Also... Pine Cones!

Jeremy has produced what is probably our funniest video to date. It's a 1980s infomercial for our 10" display case. Yes, we make display cases. Whether you need one or not, this video is brilliant. Honestly, I was laughing so hard when I first saw this that I couldn't breathe. It is 100% Jeremy.

Click here or on the image below to watch.

You can actually order the display case from your local hobby shop, or directly from us by clicking here.

First engineering prototype of our WMPTE Fleetline.

This photo was taken on my HO scale layout.

We really need a proper Brummy 4mm layout...

Phil Parker, are you listening???

First West Midlands Fleetline Photos!

"Hey! Why is there a British bus in your newsletter?" I'll tell you why... Because

IT'S AWESOME.

The offside details are just as nice.

We're missing two panel lines on the front. They will be added before production.

The 1980s are back with a bang! The West Midlands Fleetline is an iconic bus design used from the 1970s to the late 1990s in and around Brummigum – voted most amazing city on the planet by the guy I passed on Bristol Road in Edgbaston last November. This is the first model anyone has ever made of the West Midlands Fleetline. And before you get you knickers in a twist, we are also doing the later (more common) headlight arrangement:

Here's the more common, later style headlight arrangement.

And that's all we're going to tell you for now. We'll properly announce the bus, with liveries, product numbers and pricing in the next couple of months. We are open to destination, livery and bus number suggestions! Stay tuned...

Jordan is excited by the Ski Train passenger car arrival!

The order desk is still open for the locomotives. It will close later this year.

We have some ski train cars in stock, but most of our extra stock is already gone.

Click here to order yours.

Production sample N scale Dash 8 locomotives are here!

The full shipment is expected to arrive next month.

Delivery Update

The floodgates are about to open.

Just arrived:

Arriving next month:

Even more to come in September.

New HO scale Canuck RDCs are in the printing room!

Factory Photos

Our factories have been busy! Have a look at these production photos and enjoy!

It's the HO scale El Debarge Flexi Flo !

Oh, to the beat of the rhythm of cement!

A better hopper we can't invent!

Forget about the pressure on your mind

You can leave it all behind

I really have to stop doing this.

Gosh that writing is small. Five will get you ten someone will magnify this photo and then go onto a model railroad forum and complain that we got a number on the 1/32" high writing wrong and therefore we are the devil's spawn.

No more spending big money on eBay!

More HO scale New Haven 8600 coaches in the print shop!

The amount of Penn Central in this newsletter is shocking. Shocking, I tell you!

No, it's not Raggedy Ann. It's HO scale CP F7B and F9B locomotives in the paint shop!

HO scale VIA RDC-2 in the printing room. Beauty. I think we might own that RDC.

Did I mention we own five of them now?

Could this be you?

We're hiring... A NEW NORTH AMERICAN SALES MANAGER!

With Craig moving over to product design, we are now hiring a new sales manager. Do you have what it takes to be in sales for Rapido? More importantly, can you stand being around us for more than a few minutes without wanting to drop an anvil on your head?

Here's what we're looking for:

In all seriousness, this is a full-time position and we really need someone who is experienced in sales. Driving a "Dickie Dee" ice cream bike when you were 14 isn't considered sufficient sales experience. The job is open to applicants in the USA and Canada, though 99.9% of Americans don't know what Dickie Dee ice cream is.

Please reply to this email to submit your resume and cover letter. And yes, we will send you a real job description once you apply. It's like the above description, only it's not.

I think this photo speaks louder than any caption could...

We're also hiring... A UK OPERATIONS MANAGER!

We are in the process of opening up our UK limited company and we are looking for an operations manager. This is a manager, right? Who's in charge of operations, right? Hence the name...

If you are the right person for this job, you have experience in the following areas:

If you have experience in the following areas, you need not apply:

We have to say that we are an "equal opportunity" employer. If you refer to yourself as "one" in the interview, we will absolutely consider you fairly and then absolutely not hire you.

Please reply to this email to submit your CV and cover letter, and we will send you a real job description. If you wish to apply by fax, please remember that our pages are shorter and fatter than yours so we can't read the teensy-tiny writing at the bottom of your page.

Incidentally, if your preferred method of communication is fax, please bear in mind that we are an "equal opportunity" employer.

Join us on Facebook Live - Monday July 20th

We will be doing another of our periodic "Ask Me Anything" sessions on Facebook Live. This time Jordan will be joined by John Sheridan, Dan Darnell and me, Mr. Dressup. OK, I'm not Mr. Dressup. But I do wear bellbottoms all the time. And I wear glasses. And I have a dog.

Dan is the project manager of two of the three new announcements this month, as well as the F59PH and M420. He will be pleased to tell you about how many times he's hit his head against the wall designing the "anything but standardized" RS-11.

The Facebook Live event takes place Monday at 7 p.m. If you are reading this after Monday, you can still watch it. Please ask us some deeper questions about our hobby and not just "Can you make product X?" or "When is this coming in N scale?" We really want to have an engaging discussion.

Click here to visit our Facebook page.

The Turbo is in the newspaper!!!

Adam De Souza's fantastic illustration for the Globe and Mail article

Jason's Article On Model Railroading and Mental Health

In today's edition of The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, I have an essay about model railroading and mental health. For you guys this is preaching to the choir... especially if you read my version of the same article in RMC. (The G&M article was written first and I thought it would be published first!) But I think it is important to introduce our hobby to the broader population. Specifically, I want to reach more older men and show them how our hobby is a pathway to an enriching and fulfilling retirement.

Please click here to read the article, and please share it with your non-modelling friends. Fellow nerds please note that I take no responsibility for the comma splice that was added to the article....

If the article is behind a pay wall in your region, click here to read the printed copy. It is a large image, so you can zoom in to read the print.

That's all for now. We actually had to cut out some stuff because this issue was getting too long. So we already have three pieces waiting for the next issue of Rapido News. It's our delight to keep you entertained, if even for a few minutes.

Until next time,

Jason

Jason Shron

President

Rapido Trains Inc.