So far the HO Scale Fruehauf Trailers have been a big hit, but we have seen a fair amount of requests for unlettered trailers. We also like this idea and are happy to announce seven versions of the Fruehauf trailers, painted silver and unlettered. The list of trailers are as follows:

Further below in the March order deadlines we'll discuss the rest of the trailers. For now, here is the color photo of the varieties being offered!

We made a snazzy one-page sales catalog for the trailers. Click the photo below to get all of the pertinent info needed to make your order.

Don't wait to order these HO Scale Unlettered Fruehauf Trailers! You know you need at least four or twenty!

Rapido Trains Inc. is proud to offer another Ultimate Canadian freight car! This time it is the HO Scale Canadian 62' Bulkhead Flatcar. This beauty of a car is the FIRST ACCURATE model of a Canadian 62' bulkhead ever produced. No more American prototypes painted for Canadian roads - this is the real deal!

This car was a staple in the 1970s and '80s right on up to today's railroading. Two manufacturers supplied these cars: Marine Industries (MIL) and National Steel Car (NSC). British Columbia owned the largest fleet of MIL cars, with over 500 examples, while CP came in second with 400 of these 62' Bulkhead Flatcars. National Steel Car would build 500 cars for Canadian National to go with their 74 MIL cars previously ordered. But wait, there's more! Procor ordered 20 cars from MIL in 1973, which would later be sold to BNSF Railway. So yes, this is also an accurate car for the Americans, too!

Now what's better than a new car announcement? How about a sample of that car; the HO Scale Canadian 62' Bulkhead Flatcar. Yes, we have physical samples to show off! Check them out!

Now we want to mention that these Bulkhead Flat Cars aren't just all Canadian roads. BNSF Railway and Iowa, Chicago and Eastern owned some of these cars, too. That means in addition to the Canadian roads crossing the border, the American roads can serve either side, as well! A multinational car, this is!

Curious what the 62' Bulkhead Flatcars hauled? Besides the obvious wood-type products such as logs or finished wood, they also carry; sheet steel, pipe, structural steel and heavy equipment to name a few. Some cars were outfitted with stake sides for coils of wire and canvas tops for cargo cover.

Our car's features include:

Now ready to see a graphic of every scheme being offered on the first run? Scroll down for a sneak peak.

It's a classic: Rapido's freight car catalogue! Click the image below to learn more about road numbers and item numbers so you can place your order.

Usually we say we'll announce an order deadline when we have samples to show - but we actually have a sample shown! So here's the order deadline: April 15th. You have just about two months to place your orders for the HO Scale Canadian 62' Bulkhead Flatcar. Don't dilly-dally!

The HO Scale Union Pacific 40' "ACR" Boxcar is here. “ACR” is short for “alternating center rivet”. These cars used lighter-weight side sheeting to lower unladen weight, which required an extra row of side support posts for added support. These in turn required an extra row of rivets to attach the sides to the posts, giving a unique pattern. We're making three classes of these unique cars: the B-50-39, 41 and 42.

These 40' ACR Boxcars make up a particularly interesting group for historians and modelers. They span a period when standard boxcar ends and roofs were undergoing design changes, as were the UP’s paint and lettering practices. This created interesting variations from one group to the next.

Want to know what features go into an HO Scale UP 40' ACR Boxcar? You're in luck! Check them out:

There are five Union Pacific schemes being offered on the initial run. Scroll down to see them.

Ready to look through the UP ACR Catalog? It has everything you need to know when placing your orders. Click the photo below to check it out!

Excited for the UP 40' ACR Boxcars? Once we have a few good samples, we'll show them off and announce an order deadline for these cars. Until then, order away and keep a close eye to our newsletters and Facebook for more updates!

They're back! The HO Scale Horizon passenger cars are making a triumphant return to the grand stage. And this round brings a few new additions. NPCUs would also go great with these. 🤔 ...maybe we ought to run them again? Let us know. Anyway, back to the Horizons!

In addition to all-new car numbers, we are also offering an all-new car: the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) cars! These feature a second smaller window on the left side of the car where the normal sized window would be. They also have a 72-seat capacity, whereas normal coaches have 82 seats.

Here are the rest of the HO Scale Horizon Car features:

All the schemes? Why, of course! Scroll down to see a graphic containing every scheme being offered on the second run of HO Scale Horizon Passenger Cars.

Do you like catalogs? Do you like reading numbers that are helpful for ordering? Well you're in luck! Click the image below to see everything you need to know about the Horizon passenger cars

We'll be giving you a bit of a window to get your orders in before we close out the HO Scale Horizon Passenger Car's ordering period - three months! The order deadline is May 16th. So please make sure you get your orders in on time!

Two BIG order deadlines for February: The HO Scale E8 A and B Units and the HO Scale Rohr Turboliner. Let's jump right into it.

This is it! The moment everyone's been waiting for - the big HO Scale E8 A and B Unit order deadline announcement. This takes place in just a few days on February 15th, 2022. We meant it when we said we'd only give a short notice.

Check out the new video by clicking here, the photo above or below.

3D scans, months of research, hundreds of photos, numerous blueprints and measurements of UP 942 and just countless hours staring at computer screens. If there's anything that can be said about this HO Scale E8 A and B Unit project is that there was no shortage of effort and dedication put into it.

But this means details such as ditch lights on the Canadian models, blanked-out or reversed portholes and multiple nose details will finally be produced on a plastic model.

That's a lot of features!

BUT WAIT! We can't forget the Canadian versions, with a grand total of three. And of course, they’ve never been produced correctly. That changes NOW. Our models have a host of accurate spotting details, such as the correct horn, proper dual steam generator, era-specific pilot, and unique CP nose grabs. But we’ve gone further. VIA’s two E8 locomotives will have operating ditch lights – the only E8 locomotives in our first run to use them.

Then there's CP E8 #1800. When CP 1800 was painted into Action Red in 1973, the front porthole panels were reversed. This made 1800 – and later VIA 1800 and 1898 – a unique, “one of one” E8 variation. And… you guessed it: we’ve tooled 1800’s unique portholes.

All of the schemes and variations on the HO Scale E8 A and B Units are shown below. Pick one, pick them all!

Otter Valley Railroad has commissioned a custom run of VIA's renumbered 1898 and 1899. Click here or the photo below to reserve yours.

Possibly one of the most extensive sales catalogs we have: The E Units. Click the photo below to check it out.

February 15th, 2022. That's the HO Scale E8 A and B Unit order deadline date to remember and it's VERY soon, so mark that calendar and set an alarm if you have to.

Ready for a new video? The HO Scale Rohr Turboliner sample was hand-painted by Dan Darnell and it sure looked, sounded and ran NICE! Check out that video by clicking here, the photo above or below to watch!

But wait, there's more! Check out the Turboliner's visit to Dave Abeles's fantastic Onondaga Cutoff layout. This is prime territory for the Rohr Turboliner, as Dave models the Conrail Chicago Line through the heart of New York State. Click here, or the photo below to watch THIS video. Then check out some of the photos on his layout.

Check out the schemes on the RTL Turboliner sets below. The X2000 power set might be the most unique!

Go on! Open up that catalog to check out all of those wonderful product numbers and info for the Turboliner! Click the photo below.

The HO Scale Rohr Turboliner was one amazing train. It ran with high speeds, comfort and class. In just a few days the order deadline will hit, so don't let it leave you behind! This model has been Jordan Smith's dream since he joined Rapido. Kudos to Jordan for getting 'er done.

Six order deadlines this month. It might be the most we've ever had, so right into the first one we go.

We're just about a month away from the MLW M420 Locomotive conditional order deadline of BC Rail and P&W. Since we have not collected the full order totals yet, we are not sure what they are right now. What does that mean? Keep up the ordering! As a fan of both of these unique styles, I DO NOT want to have to come over to your house and lecture you!

M420W Spotlight! Both of these versions are equally as neat. The BC ones were famous for wearing the iconic two-tone green and eventually some received the red, white and blue. Of the M420Ws, only 640 - which was involved in a wreck - did not make it to a secondhand owner. Possibly the most famous second-life M420W was 645, which became Genesee Valley Transportation's 2045, which is better known as "Delaware-Lackawanna."

Don't forget the B units! These "booster" cabless M420s could be seen just about anywhere on the system. In fact it was not unusual to see one trailer behind an SD40-2 as mid train helpers. These will be available as A-B sets, with select M420W units sold separately and the two hockey stripe B units as a set. Check out the all of the schemes below!

Note that you can split up these sets after you get them - the models are individually packaged.

ALERT! Because I forget to mention this during the M420 announcement...

Let's not forget the other M420s that went to Ontario Southland! Numbers 641, 644, 646 and 647 went to the OSR and lucky for those fans, Otter Valley Railroad is running an exclusive for 644, 646 and 647! Click here to check them out.

The M420R Locomotives were unique in that Providence and Worcester was the only American road to purchase this MLW model. They purchased five on two separate orders in 1975. They arrived in P&W's attractive orange, white and brown scheme known as the "parallelogram." Two numbers, 2001 and 2003 are available in this scheme.

The final scheme some of these locos wore was the "V" scheme, which is the current scheme most P&W (Before G&W) wore. Numbers 2002 and 2004 are being offered in the also attractive brown, orange and white scheme.

Jason tells me that we've only sold about 150 P&W units so far. We need to reach the magic 600 to cover the tooling costs. So please urge your friends to get their orders in by March 15th.

You'll want to look through the M420 catalogue if you plan on putting that order in! Click the photo below to view it.

Just over a month to go to meet the conditional goals. let's make this happen. We'll revisit the MLW M420 Locomotives next newsletter, perhaps with a video!

Ah, the Alco RS-11 Locomotives. It's been a while. This time we mean it when we say the deadline is March 15th, 2022. They're just about ready to roll. But let's take a look at everything since the last time we saw these.

For an in-depth look, check out the video by clicking here, the photo above or below.

Don't forget! 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! Now let's see some samples!

How about those RS-11 Locomotive features:

All the schemes? You came to the right place! Scroll down to see every scheme on the second run. (There's a lot!)

Should you need to refresh your memory on item numbers, check out the catalog below by clicking on the photo.

The orders for these models are very strong and we appreciate your support. If you haven't ordered yet, the date is set: are you ready? Make sure you double check all of those Alco RS-11 Loco orders before March 15th, 2022!

Note from Jason: Hello fellow hosers. The orders for the RS-11 are miles and miles (or should I say kilometres and kilometres) ahead of the orders for the RS-18u and the RSC-14. I know they have ten times our population and all, but this is still an embarrassment. When we first did the RS-18s and RS-11s, the orders were tied 50-50 between Canucks and Yankees. Now it's about 85-15 in favour of the 'Muricans. Please step up and place your orders by March 15th! OK - back to you, Bobby.

Possibly one of the most versatile Canadian locomotives was the MLW CP "Chopped-Nose" RS-18u. They were commonly seen on locals and short hauls throughout the eastern part of Canada and in CP-owned lines and trackage rights into the US. But you want to see them in action? Of course! Click here, the photo above or below to watch the newest video showing the samples!

Check out all of those neat etched-metal parts!

The RS-18u Locomotives eventually found their way to the rosters of various railways in Canada and the US. Many still exist today working for short lines. In fact, we have a number of short lines we are offering on this run, but be aware, many are conditional orders - so we must meet the target number to produce them. (The OSR and MNNR are just too nice not to produce - so please order away!)

What's in a Rapido HO Scale RS-18u Locomotive? Find out below!

And now for the exciting part! Check the schemes below to see what we are offering on the RS-18u Locomotive.

But wait! There's more! Otter Valley Railroad is running an exclusive for the Trillium Railway versions. they are offering two road numbers: 1842 and 1859. head on over there to place your order for these RS-18us by clicking here.

Have a gander through the RS-18u catalogue. Click the photo below to open it.

Don't forget on March 15th, 2022, the RS-18u Locomotive deadline hits. Tally up your orders and get them in before this neat loco heads to production.

It's Maritime, time! Get it? Like hammertime, except mari-... Never mind. Just admire this true north beauty, the MLW RSC-14 Locomotive! The video will explain everything you need to know about these oddly satisfying locomotives. Click here, the photo above or below to watch.

Now we should mention, you DO NOT need to be in the Maritimes to enjoy this fabled locomotive. In fact, you can live in 100 Mile House and still be a fan, so don't let that stop you from getting one...or seven.

The Rapido RSC–14 Locomotive features include:

And now for the full list of those paint schemes. All two.

Catalogue? Why of course, since this is the seventh time I've had to write this I have to get creative... Click the photo below to check it out.

On March 15th, 2022, the Maritimes will see the order deadline for the MLW RSC-14 Locos set sail....get it? Oh never mind! Make sure you have all of your orders in by that date or I'll be setting sail for new jokes.

Perhaps the most colorful car we offer... maybe not. But it might be one of the most vital cars for its time period. This is the HO Scale 10,000 Gallon X-3 Tank Car. Not only did this car span 50-odd years in service, from the 1920s through the 1970s, but their versatility made them very popular with shippers.

The X-3 Tank Cars were built in various capacities and configurations. The basic 10,000 gallon, single-dome version was the most common style, and that's the one we're doing! From the 1920s onward, Union Tank Car (UTLX) fielded the largest fleet of tank cars in North America, and the 10,000-gallon X-3 accounted for nearly 13,000 of them! Plus, lest we forget, our model has been developed with the help of noted UTLX tank car expert Steve Hile.

We are offering two distinct versions of the HO Scale X-3 Tank Car; the K-brake equipped cars, which are good before 1953, and the AB-brake equipped cars, which are good from the 1940s onward. In addition to brake equipment, our models will feature correct handbrake and coupler cut bar arrangements, which differed depending on the brake equipment installed. Proper Andrews or “Bettendorf” cast steel trucks will be fitted, depending on the era.

Here are the HO Scale X-3 Tank Car features:

But don't you want to see all of those wild and crazy schemes on this car? Scroll down to look. It's a rainbow!

Time to check out the X-3 tank car catalog. Click the photo below to wander through it.

Make sure to get your orders tallied up and handed over to your dealer or through our site for the X-3 Tank Car. March 15th, 2022 we close the lid on the ordering period.

Don't be silly! The flat car is NOT included. Samples are subject to revision.

It's been a while since there was an HO Scale Fruehauf Trailer update, but we have new info to share! First, the order deadline is set for March 15th, 2022 - mark your calendars! The other exciting news is samples and a new video are just around the corner. Keep an eye out for those on our Facebook and YouTube. Now back to the trailers.

As we mentioned in the announcement section, we have added select unlettered trailers for all of your owner-operator and favorite companies not offered.

Time to check out all of the schemes and versions of the HO Scale Fruehauf Trailers. Scroll down to see the three groups.

Lots of variations and schemes to pick from. Now think hard, when was the last time you saw just one trailer? Exactly! So that means you NEED to buy LOTS of trailers! Order by the pallet! In fact, your trailers might even arrive in a... trailer, on a pallet!

Click on the left image for the regular Fruehauf Trailer sales pack. Click the right image for the Unlettered sales pack.

Just over a month to go for the HO Scale Fruehauf "Volume Vans" deadline on March 15th. You know what to do! Head to your dealer or call them up and speak real loudly that you need VOLUME VANS. They'll understand.

Lots to talk about, including a new website, new videos and some new items arriving. Off we go!

Welcome to the new Rapido Trains website! This is a vast improvement from the original website which, although it was high in content, it lacked in speed. The new 2.0 version will let you enter and keep track of your orders, plus browse prior products and all of the pertinent info about each!

If you have a minute, head on over and take a look around. Dan Garcia and Howard Chong are working almost round the clock to iron out the bugs. If you encounter any bugs in the site - apart from missing product images, which just haven't been uploaded yet - please let us know by using this form.

To view our new website, you need a current web browser. The site is not designed to work on Internet Explorer, Netscape, or your Commodore 64. Sorry.

We start off with the HO Scale Comet Cars unboxing. Check out everything Comet coaches and cab cars by clicking here or the photo above.

The next video we have to offer is the most recent Rapido Live! Click here or the photo below to watch.

LOTS of new items are arriving soon! What could they be? Let's find out:

Bill Schneider wanted us to make O&W GLa Hopper Cars.

Since late January, the factory workers have been enjoying a well earned rest. Chinese New Year is the occasion and by the time you read this, they'll be firing everything back up. In fact, many projects are already in production, such as the HO Scale Bilevels and the HO Scale AutoFlood III Hoppers. The first shipment of PAs and PBs will be leaving next month.

The ONLY accurate Metrolink Bilevel Commuter Car - and they're almost here!

This month was jam-packed with product! In fact we ran out of space to put an essay. So, If anyone is still reading, hope you enjoyed us throwing everything but the kitchen sink at you!

Until next time,

Bobby