Rapido News Volume 71 - ©2015 Rapido Trains Inc.
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| Dear Rapido Customer,
NEW! N Scale Baggage-Express! Hot on the heels of our latest delivery of N scale Panorama Line passenger cars (the 10-5 Sleeper and Cafe-Bar-Lounge), here is our latest model. We're pleased to introduce the N scale Baggage-Express car. Almost every train needs a baggage car, from the hot-shot streamliner to the two-car branchline local. This National Steel Car smooth side baggage-express car has been in use throughout North America for over 60 years. These cars, along with similar cars from other builders, have carried baggage and express traffic on primary, secondary and mixed trains. Many carried sealed mail for the post office. Despite being built in the 1950s, these cars have operated in the 21st century on Amtrak, VIA Rail, Ontario Northland, BC Rail and Algoma Central. They are still used on several tourist lines.
The 73'6" Baggage-Express Car brings a new level of realism to baggage car models and has all the details you've come to expect from our N scale Panorama Line cars. This all-new model incorporates the superb features included on our most recent releases. (It really is all new, including the trucks - we rebuilt our truck moulds.) I don't think optional end doors have ever been offered on a ready-to-run N scale lightweight baggage car before. Ooooh, the HO modellers are getting jealous!
Our N scale Baggage-Express features:
Here's a complete list of paint schemes for our first run. If you don't see your paint scheme of choice, have no fear! This is only the first run. There are too many schemes to do in one batch. Click here to skip all this and go place your order. AMERICAN SCHEMES
The MSRP for our N scale Baggage-Express car is $54.95 in the USA and $59.95 in Canada. The order deadline is a rather optimistic October 31st, for delivery in the first quarter of 2016. Please don't wait around - get your order in ASAP. This is our first attempt at a "tight" order deadline, rather than the usual "It's still available to order. Again. Really." Hopefully we have more than 17 cars ordered by the October 31st deadline. If not, I'll start begging. You can read more about our baggage car by clicking here. You can learn more about the exclusive BC Rail baggage cars from PWRS by clicking here.
 You can order from your dealer or direct. If ordering direct from outside of Canada please order here. If ordering from within Canada please use our Canadian order page. All of the paint schemes are illustrated on the order pages. Dealers please note that full wholesale discounts apply. Dealers can sign up for our Dealer News by clicking here.
NEW! HO Scale Northern Pacific 10000-Series Boxcar! We're really excited (over the moon!) to announce our first railroad model based on a prototype that was built west of Chicago. It's a 100% Northern Pacific prototype, the 10000-Series 40-foot DS Boxcar! This has been at the top of NP modelers' most-wanted lists for generations. The cars ran from 1923 to the 1980s! Nobody has dared to make the NP 10000-Series Boxcar before in ready-to-run plastic because, to be blunt, they would have to be crazy to make it. It was owned by exactly ONE railroad: Northern Pacific. Rapido has never been put off by the phrase, "There is no way this will make money." We built our company on obscure Canadian prototypes, for heaven's sake! So we're diving in head first - this boxcar is far from obscure.
The iconic 10000-series Northern Pacific 40-foot DS Boxcar was built by Western Steel Foundry in Portland throughout the 1920s. 4000 cars were built and many remained in service for over 50 years in regular service and then in company service. These could be found on most NP freight trains as well as on freights across the United States and Canada. Really - you need a lot of these even if you model Motown, Moncton or Miami. They made it that far. Rapido's model has been scaled from original blueprints and field measurements. Most importantly, we have worked closely with Dean O'Neill, Rick Leach, and other members of the NPRHA to make sure that this boxcar is as accurate as our technology and budget will allow.
The NP 10000-Series Boxcar features:
For more information or to order direct, please click on one of the paint scheme illustrations below. We've given the approximate dates for which each paint scheme was applied, but please bear in mind that paint schemes lasted many years beyond the dates shown. The order deadline will be early in 2016. We'll announce it once the tooling is finished, which will be in the next three months or so. (We would have shown you 3D renderings from the factory but there are still some corrections to make and we didn't want to share incorrect drawings.) We'll have samples on display at the Springfield Show in January, located a mere 3000 miles from where most NP modellers actually live. Hmmm... that was well thought out. More info can be found on our boxcar here.
Northern Pacific modelers are now jumping for joy, while non-Northern Pacific modelers are saying, "Gosh, those paint schemes look very similar to each other." We're confident that sales figures will reach at least triple digits... Here's the link to the NP boxcar page again: The Link.
Another Wacky Rapido Video As I was departing for Winnipeg on board The Canadian earlier this month, I realized that we have never actually asked you guys to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Apparently this means I fail the most basic of YouTube marketing exams, so in an attempt to rectify the situation I have put together a commercial for our YouTube channel which shows some of the ridiculous things we do in our videos. If you've only started following our progress in the last couple of years, you may not know that we spent a good deal of time in 2012 throwing our models off high places. Please click here or on the image below to watch our 45-second video and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
N Scale FL9 Update The tooling for the N scale FL9 Locomotive is now 99% finished, and we just received our second decorated pre-production samples. These are on display here in Portland, a mere 3000 miles from where these ran. Once again, we could have thought that out a bit better... Over the next four months we will be tweaking the operation of the N scale FL9 and ensuring that it works perfectly in DCC and DC. We are not rushing this model to market.
We will have samples operating at the Springfield Show at the end of January. The order deadline will be two weeks after the show, with delivery in the spring. Please click here to order your N scale FL9.
HO Scale RDC First Samples Our engineers and one of our tooling workshops have been working overtime the last month in a desperate rush to have some sort of RDC model that isn't just a blob of plastic on display at the train show this weekend. And I must say they came through with flying colours! Have a look at our first sample of the HO scale Absolute RDC-1. The Phase 2 RDC tooling is not yet finished but you can see from the photos of the Phase 1 RDC that this model is unlike any RDC model ever produced in any scale. The full interior is just stunning, as is the jam-packed underbody detail and end chains. If you thought your 60-year-old model with rubber-band drive or your 15-year-old model with moulded-on grab irons is "good enough," you may want to think again...
Full information about our Absolute RDC can be found here. Please place your orders soon before we realize we are selling these too cheaply and increase the price!
N Scale GARX Meat Reefer Production is now finishing up on our N scale GARX Meat Reefer. This is our first American freight car model in N scale, and features the usual extreme Rapido detail. The factory is just waiting for couplers, which I of course forgot to order. Conveniently, I am in PORTLAND, the home of Micro-Trains. The folks at Micro-Trains kindly delivered the couplers to my hotel on Wednesday! The factory should have them early next week so we can finish up production the week after Labor Day.
Our N scale GARX Meat Reefer features:
If you didn't reserve yours, the good news is that we've made a handful of extras. You can still order them from your dealer or directly from us. Click here for more information or to order direct.
Delivery Schedule & HO GMD-1 The new HO scale 1100-series GMD-1 Locomotives have left the factory and are now en route. We have made a handful of extras of each version. Click on any image below to order yours now. Note that the Rail Link GMD-1 is an exclusive for PWRS.
The rest of the HO scale FL9 locomotives have just arrived and will be shipping to distributors in about a week. If you ordered directly from us, please contact your credit card company and tell them to expect a charge from Rapido Trains in the next two weeks. If you are in the USA and you don't give advance authorization, chances are your credit card company will reject the charge because we're located in Canada, and as you know Canadians can't be trusted... Those FL9s do look quite nice, don't they? We're basically sold out of all the HO scale FL9s. But some dealers might have stock available. Good luck!
Finally, our first shipment of RailCrew Remote Uncouplers and Switch Machines with Operating Switch Stands has left the factory and will be arriving around October 1st. We have some pre-production demonstration samples at the office which we are sending out - at no charge - to model train stores and large model train clubs. If you work at a train store or are part of a big club (minimum 10 members) we would be happy to send you a sample set for you to try, share with your buddies, and give us feedback on how we can improve it for future production. Limit one set per club/store. Just drop us a note and if you qualify we'll be happy to send you a free set.
If you haven't yet seen our RailCrew demonstration video, you can click here or on the image below to watch it. Despite the fact that we make our own Macdonald Cartier couplers, I personally recommend you use Kadee couplers on your equipment for 100% reliability of the RailCrew Remote Uncoupler. (Yes, I failed Marketing 101.)
Rapido Launch - Mark Your Calendars! Our Ride The Rapido charter train sold out in two days, but never fear! If all goes smoothly it will not be our last charter train. However, you can still join us for our big Rapido Product Launch Party on Monday October 12th. It will be at Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum near Montreal, between 10:00 and 15:00. In addition to meeting the Rapido crew and about a hundred other modellers and railfans, you will have the chance to tour pieces of historical railroad equipment normally closed off from the public. Exporail has a huge collection of preserved equipment; a working Montreal streetcar you can ride on; a 7.25" miniature railroad; a fantastic HO scale layout; a movie theatre and gift shop. It is a wonderful day out, made even more wonderful by the number of hardcore modellers descending on it for the day! Please join us for the launch. The cost of admission is just the regular Exporail admission price. We would love to see you! That brings another Rapido News to a close. I wrote most of this one aboard the Coast Starlight between Los Angeles and Portland. What a trip! Too bad I missed it because I was staring at this #$%^@ screen the whole time.
I'll be uploading a blog entry about my adventure from Toronto to Portland via Winnipeg, Vancouver and Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Click here to read our current blog, all about our new 1:1 scale sleeping car - which is stuck somewhere in Ohio as I write this. More info on that can be found on our Facebook page. Until next time... Best regards, Jason Jason Shron President Rapido Trains Inc. ABOUT RAPIDO NEWS Rapido News is ©2015 Rapido Trains Inc. You have received this email because you signed up for the newsletter on our web page. Rapido Trains Inc. has never signed up anyone for our newsletters without written consent. To unsubscribe, follow the link below. Rapido Trains Inc. is a registered trademark. |
