Did you see this one coming? Surprise! Here comes the HO Scale GMDD GP9RM Mother and Slug Locomotives!

In the early 1980s, CN embarked on a rebuild program in their Pointe Ste. Charles shops to extend the operating lives of the GP9s.The “GP9RM” was the result, which was divided into three groups: The 4000/4100 series were rebuilt as road units, the 7000 series as switchers and the 7200/200 series as “mother” and “slug” pairs. The slugs lacked a prime mover, instead drawing power from the mother to operate the traction motors. The long hoods were cut down and ballast added to help weigh them down.

BUT, our slugs WILL HAVE a motor! YES! You do not have to worry about dead weight being pulled around by the mother locomotive.

The GP9RM locomotive fleet was unique in that the short hood was chopped down, the addition of the normal three coloured marker lights on both ends, the bell was moved to the side of the hood and the dynamic brake blister converted to intake filters. Internally, the units had upgraded 16-645C prime movers and improved electrical systems.

The 4000/4100 series road units were changed to have the short hood end designated as the front, with the control stand reoriented, while the 7000/7200 switchers retained the long hood designated as the front. Our locos will reflect this difference as well as a host of other detail changes the rebuild program made.

The Rapido GP9RM represents the locomotives rebuilt from the original phase II GP9 locomotives, with details corresponding to the earliest rebuilds, right on up to the last, in 1988. The biggest variation of the slug rebuilds was the use of either Blomberg or Flexicoil trucks. We are offering BOTH! Starting in 1994, CN applied Belt-Pack remote control systems to the 7200/200 series locomotives. Some of these new features included extra antennas and strobe lights – all details that will be featured on the 7200 series from Rapido!

The HO Scale GP9RM Locomotive features:

The HO Scale Slug features:

Both the mother and slug models will be available with: DC/Silent (21-pin DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/Sound (with ESU LokSound decoders). The sound-equipped slugs will feature traction motor whine, air let-off sounds, and controllable light features. We have you covered!

Now, let's take a look at the schemes being offered on the initial run. Scroll down to look them over. There are a lot of different schemes.

It's worth mentioning again: That slug is POWERED!

Let's take a peek at the GP9RM and Slug catalogue. Click the photo below, which will open as a PDF.

The HO Scale GMDD GP9RM and Slug will certainly be one popular set, so make sure you start your orders now! These are well into tooling, and we expect our first samples this summer. We will announce an order deadline once we have final samples to show, so stay tuned!

The C30-7 Locomotive was General Electric’s improvement of the U30C locomotive, featuring a 16-cylinder 3,000 horsepower diesel engine. Built between September 1976 and May 1986, over 1100 units were produced for many of the Class I railroads across the United States for use primarily in heavy-haul freight.

It is, perhaps, the most polarizing locomotive from the 1980s and early 90s. The C30-7 was GE's answer to the SD40-2. When one thinks of Powder River and coal, the C30-7 isn't far behind. Burlington Northern owned the most in the States, with just over 240 examples. Santa Fe was a distant second with 157 C30s.

The C30-7 Locomotive featured that distinct radiator, angled fuel tank and of course, that signature GE "chug." (Even if you aren't a sound person, we really suggest buying one with sound just to hear that awesome GE chugging.) But the C30-7 also had many differences from roadname to roadname. In fact, many had differences from one road number to the next. We spared no expense or effort to get these details right, with an actual C30-7 being measured in its entirety.

Did we mention never-before-seen details? Of course we did! A major feature to the HO Scale C30-7 Locomotive is the addition of prototypically correct traction motor details. The underbody of the traction motor covers will have the correct shape and angles - something rarely seen in plastic or brass models! Of course we would raise the bar on detail! Scroll down to check out that awesome render showing off this detail!

The Rapido HO Scale C30-7 Locomotive is a ground-breaking locomotive with features never seen before in plastic (or brass) models. Here are some of the details:

Now, let's see some of those iconic C30-7 schemes on the first run!

For all of your item number needs, check out the C30-7 sales catalog. Click the photo to open up the PDF below.

We've got the base design pretty well complete for the model, so now we'll be fine tuning all the custom details that make the C30-7 stand out. Expect new renders in the future showing off all the custom elements.

Tune in to a future newsletter when we have samples to show off. Once we do, we will announce an order deadline for the HO Scale GE C30-7 Locomotive. Until then, order away!

You've seen the HO Scale version, but N Scalers, it's YOUR TIME. Yes, it's true! The iconic Rohr Turboliner is coming to N Scale!

In the 1970s Amtrak successfully operated French-built RTG Turboliners in the Midwest. Looking to build more Turboliners for the Empire Corridor, Amtrak turned to Rohr Industries in California. Entering service in September 1976, these new RTL Turboliners quickly proved their value, bringing passengers back to the rails. Painted in Amtrak’s stunning red, white and blue Phase III paint scheme, they operated on most Empire Corridor services out of New York City. They also operated to Montreal, Buffalo, Detroit, and occasionally Toronto.

We have visited the remaining Turboliners and taken hundreds of photographs and measurements, and we have original blueprints of the train. This model will have the usual OUTSTANDING Rapido level of detail in N Scale! AND it comes in gorgeous bookcase packaging just like our TurboTrain.

Each N Scale Rohr Turboliner model features:

Now, let's see some more renders.

Ready for even MORE detail? Yes, this is N Scale. Yes, that cab interior is INSANE!

Ready to check out the paint schemes, or we should say, "phases" being offered? All three are below! We should mention owning all three isn't a modeling faux pas, rather a statement that you love the N Scale Rohr Turboliner!

Here's the Rohr Turboliner sales catalog. It has everything you need to know when ordering your set(s)! Click the photo below to open the PDF.

Like the N scale TurboTrain, we are honestly not sure what the demand is for the Turboliner. So this is a conditional announcement, and we're adding a bonus: any order received at your dealer or directly at rapidotrains.com by September 15th will receive a 5% "Early Bird" discount! Provided we get enough interest (which we think we will), the project will go ahead.

Please let everyone know about our Turboliner and encourage your friends to order theirs by September 15th! Keep an eye out for more updates in future newsletters and our Facebook page.

Now that you've read this newsletter, you can watch it all on the big screen! Please click here or on the photo above or below to watch our launch video. It's another Jeremy masterpiece!

Pretty exciting month I'd say. We wouldn't dare say MORE is coming next month, would we?

...well, you'll just have to read our July newsletter to find out!

Until then,

Bobby